### Why was my question deleted with the "Your answer does not answer the original question" reason? The answers to [the meta question you link to](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/263661/458795) recommend answering the original question first, before including your "however you should be doing this instead" answer: > They're more valid if you answer the surface question, and then solve the “but actually your problem is…” problem after. ... > You can hedge your bets a tiny bit by including a preamble that directly answers the superficial question. > But like calling a trick shot in a game of pool, you increase the risk and reward when you do it. And: > Next, build an answer. > > - Start by addressing the question as asked, being respectful of the effort and enthusiasm that went into writing it. > - Move into your "However, there's an even bigger issue here ..." > - End by referencing the conventional wisdom, not because "I said so", but because you built up to it in your answer. --- ### "The normal voting mechanism will decide whether you've succeeded..." > That also indicates to me that downvoting and commenting would be the expected result, rather than a deletion The answer was flagged as NAA (Not An Answer) and sent into the Low Quality review queue. Flagging is an alternative to downvoting and commenting.