Questions tagged [answers]
This tag is for questions about answers: how to answer, whether specific answers are appropriate, and so forth.
90
questions
4
votes
1
answer
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Why are the parts of this answer offering a (IMHO original) legal analysis on-topic, even if that's not even solicited by the Q, and probably wrong?
This (accepted) answer offers its own legal opinion on whether driving out Jews from various Arab countries was genocide, even though:
That's not part of the Q, and answers trying to provide similar ...
- 63.5k
4
votes
2
answers
132
views
Should my answer, which addresses implications in the framing of a question, have been deleted?
My answer to this question has been deleted, despite providing a skeptical discussion of the meme posted. It was respectfully written.
At time of deletion, the answer had 8 upvotes, and no comments ...
- 261
3
votes
4
answers
158
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Are answers saying a claim is possible allowed?
Are answers that state themselves as partial answers and only address if a claim is possible acceptable on this site? My understanding is that an answer needs to address the claim itself and be ...
- 5,314
2
votes
1
answer
74
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What should I do when I believe an invalid answer is upvoted for political reasons?
Consider this question:
Were babies found with their heads decapitated in Israel after the Hamas attack?
and specifically, the current top-voted answer. You'll notice it has a number of upvotes and ...
- 2,521
6
votes
2
answers
152
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Feedback on downvotes on my answer. Fixing my errors
In a recent answer I got 3 down-votes. If people disagree with me or dislike the content, that's perfectly fine. I understand and respect their decision.
However, seeing as it's 3 out of 7 voters, I'm ...
- 419
-2
votes
2
answers
171
views
What needs to be done to reinstate my deleted answer?
A question here raised scepticism about a news report of how the US sabotaged the Nordstream pipeline in Europe - Did the CIA blow up the Nordstream 1 pipeline?
As @Joe-w pointed out in the comment, I ...
- 338
-9
votes
2
answers
195
views
What exactly does "Essentially unreferenced" mean when references were provided?
A moderator posted the following regarding this Answer:
I have deleted your answer now because it is essentially unreferenced. A YouTube video by Stefan Molyneux is not a reliable reference.
This ...
- 1,063
-9
votes
2
answers
148
views
Skeptics Stack Exchange, and its relationship with "Poisoning the Well"
Question
What ought to be the relationship between "Skeptics" and those "Skeptics" who intentionally go out and "poison the well", particularly on behalf of other people'...
- 1,063
-9
votes
2
answers
169
views
Ban Fact Checking Websites in Answers
This site should not simply be a conduit for Snopes or FactCheck.
Why not?
I am a skeptic, and it simply irritates me.
Why does it irritate you?
Snopes, and these other fact checking websites, do ...
- 1,063
-3
votes
2
answers
172
views
Premature comment deletion on a non-answer exacerbating HNQ-badness; mods seem to refuse to act upon answer quality despite terrible content, again
Again we see the HNQ issues on a 'popular' Covid question without any proper answers.
Is there an unusual distribution of adverse events by lot number for COVID-19 vaccines?
And the comments under ...
- 44.1k
0
votes
1
answer
95
views
Why would pointing out that there is no evidence offered in a claim considered "opinion"?
The question was "did X do this?"
In my answer, I pointed out that the referenced claim offers no evidence of any kind of involvement by X.
Answer was deleted by Oddthinking as opinion and ...
- 9,683
13
votes
3
answers
425
views
Unpinning the accepted answer
It seems that Stack Overflow is getting a change and is no longer going to pin the accepted answer at the top and will now default to sorting by post score alone. In the post announcing this they ...
- 5,314
15
votes
0
answers
627
views
Some basic skepticism tips when reading the news, and applying this to answers
I've railed against politics questions on this site in the past. I ran for moderator partly on the promise to address the issues with politics specifically. Mostly, my ire is toward the answers, that ...
user11643
2
votes
1
answer
89
views
How do I counter inadequacies in answers to my question if more than a comment is needed?
This concerns answers to my question
Biden 'fake' interview: video of Biden's hands appearing the wrong side of microphones
The most up-voted answer gives as evidence a Snopes article Was ...
0
votes
1
answer
73
views
If a question may not have much direct research, are answers that infer from related evidence acceptable?
In a recent question, I left a comment saying that the actual topic of the question probably doesn't have much direct research, but that answers which provide research in similar areas could be ...
- 11.6k
4
votes
1
answer
107
views
Why do I have a question ban after posting a well reccived question?
I recently had a question ban, because I asked two poorly formulated questions. I waited until the ban had expired, and then asked another question. This was relatively well received, with quite a few ...
- 153
1
vote
1
answer
94
views
Why do we lose a reputation if we down-vote a not-useful answer to our post?
I have read somewhere (I don't remember where) that the OPs lose a reputation if they down-vote a bad answer to their post.
Why should it be in this way?
A low-quality and sometimes incorrect answer ...
- 377
1
vote
1
answer
71
views
Why was this answer converted into a comment?
About an hour ago, an answer was posted to this question by a 1-rep user. It wasn't the best answer, but to me it clearly was an attempt at answering the question. While it referenced the existing ...
- 3,721
0
votes
1
answer
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Are answers based on personal (but documented) experience acceptable on skeptics?
I would like to know if I could contribute by either asking questions or supplying answers that are based on my personal but documented experience.
Obviously, I cannot prove anything scientifically, ...
- 1,050
1
vote
1
answer
56
views
Are people with the trusted users privilege allowed to vote to delete unreferenced answers?
Diamond moderators regularly delete answers on the grounds that they are unreferenced. (Ironically enough, I can find a FAQ stating that answers must be referenced, but couldn't find any post saying ...
- 39.1k
0
votes
1
answer
57
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Is creating a figure based on referenced data original research?
I was thinking about creating and adding a figure to one of my answers. I'd use data from a referenced source to create that figure, which would probably take the form of a bar chart or something ...
- 9,528
12
votes
1
answer
195
views
Accepting "we don't have enough research to know" answers
I asked a question last week, and the only answer so far gives a summary of "[t]his is emerging science, and it is too soon to know one way or the other". It is a well-written answer which lays a lot ...
- 1,207
4
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Answering "Can you achieve immortality through yoga?"
Re: Can you achieve immortality through yoga?
One approach to answering this question is to use the statistical evidence regarding the Maximum Reported Age at Death (MRAD): https://www.nature.com/...
- 1,721
3
votes
2
answers
166
views
Answer moved to comment by mod
I joined a community today because I had something unique to add to a question. There already was a decent answer, but mine was talking about points not mentioned in it.
While my answer was a bit ...
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
55
views
Interpretation, misleading claims, and literalism [duplicate]
I have looked through the various questions and answers on meta regarding this, and have not found anything solid. The nearest can be found here, and the mod's answer is at odds with the highest-voted ...
- 2,140
1
vote
1
answer
30
views
At which level of digging do we decide that a source is acceptable?
Consider the following, if given as evidence in an answer:
In a 2005 Example.com interview of renowned ornithologist George Credibleopoulos, George explicitly stated that snipes do indeed migrate ...
- 1,182
5
votes
1
answer
342
views
What makes a good "the answer is unknown" answer?
In some cases the status of a claim is objectively unknown, e.g. if research indicates that we definitively do not know the answer, or if research leads to no information one way or the other (these ...
- 1,182
138
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Sorry, but we don't care about your political opinions
This is a reminder of an issue that has come up before - around the last US election: Are political comments a problem?
If your comment is little more than tribal markings to indicate the US ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
-2
votes
2
answers
244
views
Answer on my post should not have been deleted
I posted this question:
Does Twitter censor content with a double standard?
To which K Dog answered. There's reasons to down vote the answer, but it was a legitimate answer nonetheless. Though it is ...
user11643
1
vote
1
answer
53
views
Answer was deleted - how can I challenge the reason?
I had an answer deleted with the reason given that it "didn't answer the question" which I disagree with. Is there a way I can respond/chat with the person who deleted it to question their reasoning? ...
- 301
1
vote
1
answer
63
views
What should we do when the accepted answer is incorrect?
I was lurking around Skeptics.SE recently, as I usually do, and I found a question that triggered some thinking on my side.
Let me put out a (not-so-much) hypothetical question.
Let's suppose we ...
- 144
0
votes
1
answer
67
views
Are questions about Hillary, Bill and Donald considered off-topic, at the moment?
I saw some contentious activity (questions, comments) earlier today, e.g., a user that wanted to verify the taped conversation of Trump's words about what he did / does to women because of his fame.
...
- 1
4
votes
3
answers
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Citing holocaust denial sites in answers is regarded as acceptable by moderators
This answer cites the Institute for Historical Review, a holocaust denial organisation.
I flagged the answer, and got
declined - a moderator reviewed your flag, but found no evidence to support it
...
- 39.1k
3
votes
1
answer
242
views
How should we handle claims that are strictly true but generally misleading?
This site is built on testing the referencable accuracy of specific claims. And it does a good job. But I was recently prompted to consider whether strict accuracy is the same as truthfulness.
Two ...
- 56.3k
1
vote
2
answers
95
views
Can a negatively voted down answer be checked as the right one by the owner?
This question is answered by the same OP and although it is negatively voted down, the owner has accepted his own answer! Can these type of answers be removed or deleted even though the owner has ...
- 22.8k
1
vote
1
answer
111
views
Is saying “Woo!” makes apples falling from the sky? (what is the right answer to the groundless hypothesis?)
Is saying "Woo!" makes apples falling from the sky?
This is obviously the wrong assumption, but most likely you will not be able to find any direct and trusted references that it does not. How the ...
- 127
1
vote
0
answers
44
views
Do We Answer Claims or the Arguments They Come From?
I'm new to Skeptics.SE, coming from other .SE sites. Questions here often seem to have two components: a broad argument and a specific claim. My understanding is that a good answer authenticates or ...
- 474
10
votes
3
answers
390
views
How should "conspiracy theory" claims be addressed?
(Related, but not quite the same as, How should unfalsifiable claims be handled?)
What standards should be used when attempting to debunk "conspiracy theory" claims?
Consider as an example Has the ...
- 9,489
2
votes
1
answer
58
views
Bannered answer clean up (2011-2012)
I've deleted the following old answers as unreferenced as abandoned. I've only removed answers which had absolutely no references, or completely inadequate references (e.g. "the sun is yellow [ref: ...
- 78.8k
4
votes
1
answer
243
views
What claims can be debunked or confirmed by pure logic or theory?
Following Do we apply scientific skepticism at Skeptics.SE? I'm left with a curiosity, but I'd like to learn more. Can you help me out?
According to some we are not using all tools allowed in ...
- 78.8k
1
vote
1
answer
68
views
Have quality standards for answers been increasing over time?
Have the quality standards for answers been increasing over time?
I'm not so much referring to the average quality of what gets posted as an answer (there's no stopping for new inexperienced novice ...
- 39.1k
-1
votes
1
answer
113
views
What is the stance on biased answers?
What is the stance of this website and community concerning answers that are 1. accepted and 2. biased?
If the answer has no credible sources to confirm a claim then it is by definition a bias ...
- 974
2
votes
1
answer
120
views
To what extent can OPs discredit sources in advance?
Current policy is that the reference/evidence given in an answer should be 'better' than the reference/evidence being questioned.
To what extent should an OP be allowed to discredit (in their ...
- 26.7k
1
vote
1
answer
37
views
What to do with an answer which is bad except for one line where it gives a good source?
In this answer everything is bad, everything except for the last line which is a link to a good source is unrelated to the question. The first part is a rant against the NRA, and the second part is ...
- 33.3k
2
votes
3
answers
56
views
In answers are there connections between formatting, content, and neutrality?
What do you think of, how do practice, using bold text in answers? Or even UPPER CASE text?
Here are recent comments (the bold text formatting, added to them for emphasis, is mine):
All I can say ...
- 26.7k
2
votes
1
answer
58
views
Is my answer acceptable?
I would like to know if my answer at https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/23856/21485 is acceptable for this site. This is the first post I have made here. I greatly appreciate the existence of this ...
- 1,182
21
votes
1
answer
4k
views
FAQ: What are theoretical answers?
Answers which are wholly based on a theoretical model are generally downvoted and may be deleted.
What are the characteristics that (dis-)qualify an answer as theoretical?
- 78.8k
0
votes
1
answer
120
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Are answers relying on biased first-person supplied subjective information valid?
For a claim in the form of:
Is the (potentially negative) fact F about a person P true?
Is the following answer's conclusion considered valid? (and if not, what would be the conclusion that is ...
- 31.4k
2
votes
2
answers
80
views
Are answers about efficacy based on logic instead of efficacy testing valid?
For a question in the form of:
Is XYZ effective in achieving goal ABC?
Is it valid to post an answer in the form of:
NO.
This authoritative source lists N mechanisms (M1,... MN) for achieving goal ...
- 31.4k
17
votes
1
answer
2k
views
FAQ: What constitutes original research?
Answers which are wholly based on "original research" are generally downvoted and may be deleted.
What are the characteristics that (dis-)qualify an answer as original research? How should these ...
- 78.8k