The problem with the vote sorting is that the guys voting aren't necessarily the ones having the specific problem. In many cases the asker is the best judge whether an answer is a good solution or not, because he will actually run the code in all the answers. Sometimes you solve it and completely forget about the question. I think the accept rate was a good motivator for sifting through your own questions until you find the one and let others who found it what really solved it. Just email a reminder when accept rate drops below 50% for anyone, newcomer or not.