Best answer undo

April 9, 2005 9:06 AM

I inadvertently marked a best answer on my Askme thread. I would really like to be able to undo that. Possible?
posted by sic to Feature Requests at 9:06 AM (21 comments total)

if everyone flagged it as bad, perhaps it would be deleted (and i don't mind).
posted by andrew cooke at 9:46 AM on April 9, 2005

Thank you, noble lad. However, I was hoping for a non-invasive solution.

In fact, I think all spastic clickers would like to be able to undo things like "best answers" and "flags".
posted by sic at 10:04 AM on April 9, 2005

Well you can still flag other answers can't you? At least that way you can dilute the effect.
posted by peacay at 10:19 AM on April 9, 2005

Actually, I suspect that if the Askme frontpage shows a question as "answered" there is less casual interest in the question. What I mean is that people who aren't asking themselves the same question don't "give it a crack", so to speak. This of course cuts down on participation. This is the main reason I'd like to be able to undo inadvertant best answers.
posted by sic at 10:38 AM on April 9, 2005

sic: that's the main reason I'd like to undo the whole "best answer" feature. I contend that AskMe lives and dies on the participation of the casual browser, and as a CB myself, I know I read a "checked" thread as: there's nothing I can contribute here and the poster considers the issue closed. So unless the question has urgency for me, I don't click through.

When there's no checkmark, I'll pop in, read the answers, and see if there's something I can chip in.

I'd be very interested in hearing the positives of the "best answer" functionality. Who uses this, and how?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 10:52 AM on April 9, 2005

In fact, I think all spastic clickers would like to be able to undo things like "best answers" and "flags".

Adding an undo feature is probably a lot of work. You are unlikely to make the same mistake twice, so the best thing is probably to live with it.

There are good general reasons for not letting people undo things, though they may not apply to this particular instance. If you've done something, and then someone comments on it, and then you undo it, that person's comments look silly. Again, not really a problem in this case, but in other cases, it could be. Also, if people can undo their mistakes, they are less likely to learn from them.
posted by anapestic at 10:54 AM on April 9, 2005

ssF, I like the best answer function for various reasons. If the question is relevant to me, then I want to know what the best answer was so that I'll know which advice is most likely to be helpful. If I've asked the question, it seems like a good way to thank the person who's given me the best answer.

Also, if the question has been answered and answered well, there is really no need for more people to answer the same question in the same way. There is no point in encouraging participation that repeats what's already been done.
posted by anapestic at 10:58 AM on April 9, 2005

True enough anapestic although I do still hesitate about bothering to go inside when it's been ticked.
In fact I'm on the fence on this issue - I see up and downsides. But I've got a lot of free time atm so I tend to be around early on for postings.
However, a best answer is not always so and it sometimes takes one of our many resident experts to come in and sort it out. They probably don't delve much when it's been ticked. Maybe turn off best answer for 4 hours after posting or longer?
posted by peacay at 11:25 AM on April 9, 2005

This is interesting, I thought I was the only one put off by the best answer on the front page.

Perhaps the best answer should only be indicated inside the thread and not on the front page? That way casual users enter and users looking for the best answer in a (possibly) long thread can easily find it. Easily solution that serves everyone needs. Unless of course there are people who actually sort by "answered" threads.
posted by sic at 11:43 AM on April 9, 2005

Easy solution...
posted by sic at 11:44 AM on April 9, 2005

Unless of course there are people who actually sort by "answered" threads.

Well it's a view of the frontpage that one can conjure - must have been a pony somewhere along the line. So I think people do just scope it that way.
Then again, I've also answered after best answer was marked - it's not always only repetition that comes after and also, the poster can mark more than one right - sometimes they do it pretty quickly and still ask people to contribute. All sorts I guess.
posted by peacay at 12:06 PM on April 9, 2005

Just delay best answer selection till 24 hours after, or when it falls off the page. To make sure people don't forget, enforce marking in last AskMe posted, before you can post another question.

For those who object that no answer was satisfactory, let there be a "No answer sufficient" dummy post to mark.
posted by Gyan at 1:25 PM on April 9, 2005

yeah "best answer" is a retarded feature, but since it's a "make money" feature rather than an actually useful one I don't see it changing anywhere soon.
posted by mr.marx at 1:40 PM on April 9, 2005

Make money?
posted by spaghetti at 2:34 PM on April 9, 2005

Cynical euphemism for "long term value", I'm thinking
posted by catachresoid at 3:02 PM on April 9, 2005

I still think that showing the "best answer" mark only within the thread is a nice compromise.
posted by sic at 3:12 PM on April 9, 2005

I'm not entirely sure that a quorum nets a pony but at least no children were harmed in the process.
posted by peacay at 4:27 PM on April 9, 2005

It's not that hard to add an delete option, I just assumed people would be really careful on picking them, but I've almost hit the wrong one before so I understand. I'll add it to the todo list.

I still think that showing the "best answer" mark only within the thread is a nice compromise.

Really? When I added the feature, the vast majority wanted an obvious notification.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:38 PM on April 9, 2005

might want to check this answer since it actualy asnwers the question.
posted by delmoi at 8:54 AM on April 10, 2005

might want to read the comments after it that argue it doesn't.
posted by andrew cooke at 9:45 AM on April 10, 2005

Thanks Matt.


Really? When I added the feature, the vast majority wanted an obvious notification.

Perhaps originally people didn't realize that it would slightly discourage potential contributers from entering the thread?

It seems to me that a person who is really interested in the topic will enter a thread regardless if it is checked as answered or not. People who are only mildly interested in the topic, but nevertheless potential contributers, are less likely to enter if they think the asker has already been satisfied. I like it marked inside the thread for cases where somebody wants to read the best answer quickly and can't be bothered with reading the entire thread.
posted by sic at 6:11 AM on April 11, 2005