Questions tagged [answers]
The answers tag has no usage guidance.
29
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13
votes
4
answers
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When are citations needed in an answer?
With the site's graduation and increase in low-rep visitors, some of whom are beginning to answer, I (and many others) have had to comment a number of times that answers need to be supported by ...
- 15.2k
13
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8
answers
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What is to be done with questions that have no answers yet?
The issue of unanswered question fraction is always in discussion (and it being a factor for site graduation).
In my opinion a lot of mechanisms are unknown in biology (even for some commonly ...
- 35.2k
13
votes
5
answers
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Should we [always] ask for references?
I have possibly spent too much time on Skeptics.SE... but I think we should be a bit more strict in requiring good references for answers.
Take for instance these questions (I hope the answerers do ...
- 6,872
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votes
2
answers
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How do you make sure you're clear but not overly technical when answering questions?
Within these question/answer communities, what 'grade level' are you supposed to answer on or how do you craft the language of your answer? Do you personalize that to the language being used in the ...
- 2,368
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4
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How to deal with an incorrect answer that received many upvotes?
The issue
I have been bothered for a while now by this answer to Why do men have nipples?.
As @Corvus and I mentioned, the answer is misleading and IMO and arguably, incorrect. However, the answer ...
- 68k
11
votes
4
answers
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Are LMGTFY (let me google that for you) links considered sarcastic/discouraging?
(ref: Should "let-me-google-it-for-you" questions be tolerated?)
When questions are asked without googling first, it does tend to show in the quality of the question.
Now, I can be polite ...
- 2,278
10
votes
3
answers
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Increase in answers that do not have any references backing them
It has been quite some time that I visited Bio SE. But I have noticed that the number of answers lacking any references to their content have considerably increased.
Well of course there are so many ...
- 1,955
8
votes
3
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Should we be concerned about the lack of quality answers?
I've been making an effort to ask quality questions regarding actual biological problems. I'm sure people have been able to figure out what type of experiments I'm doing on a regular basis.
I am ...
- 7,867
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3
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Functionality Request: Community Voting for Answers: Citations Need Banner
There have been a number of examples, (Why does evolution not make our life longer?, Is evolution a fact?, If evolution is not about increased complexity, why does so much complexity evolve?), where ...
- 4,985
8
votes
5
answers
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An effective measure to counter unreferenced answers
One of the big problems we are having is the number of poorly referenced answers on the site. They often make unsubstantiated and contentious claims without any supporting material, and that's not the ...
- 16k
6
votes
2
answers
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Why are all of my answers downvoted?
I answer questions to my best ability, correctly, and with as much information as I am able to give, yet 90% of them are instantly shot down, saying it is "not detailed enough." Why does this keep ...
- 363
6
votes
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answer
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Use of Abbreviations and Acronyms in answers?
I am wondering if we should be discouraging (or at least editing out) web abbreviations used in questions. Just to be clear I'm obviously not campaigning against biological abbreviations, more things ...
- 13.5k
6
votes
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answer
105
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Recent lack of answers - is an answer lag a problem?
Out of the last 20 questions (most asked more than a day ago), 15 do not have an answer or no upvoted answer (this is the case for the 14 latest). On a slightly longer prespective it also feels like ...
- 16.7k
5
votes
2
answers
114
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When should answers be deleted?
I sometimes see answers in the review queue that have apparently been flagged/voted for deletion with the boilerplate comment "this does not answer the question...", or something to that effect. In ...
- 17.6k
5
votes
1
answer
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How to post an answer to a closed question?
Question is here, I commented my answer to it,
But I want to post my answer in Answer box, Due to closed status, I can't do anything.
5
votes
0
answers
60
views
Add a clear statement on references in the "How do I write a good answer?"
At the moment there isn't a clear statement on the help page "How do I write a good answer?" saying that answers should preferably include references to back them up. For "good answers" I would say ...
- 16.7k
4
votes
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answers
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Flagging incorrect answers
Related post
What is wrong with flagging answers that are grossly incorrect? Why should flags "not be used to indicate technical inaccuracies, or an altogether wrong answer"?
I understand that it is ...
- 35.2k
4
votes
1
answer
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Should I simplify answers for people who are not biologists?
I am in an odd situation. I am not a biologist. But I have a family member who is so I have access to a raft of books. So I am a non qualified layperson and some kind of expert at the same time.
So I ...
4
votes
1
answer
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views
How do you people identify all these critters?
I am always amazed at the answers in species-identification, especially for insects and plants. It seems like a grainy photo, a vague description, and very broad geographical location (often just a ...
- 4,480
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3
answers
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On answers that are basically "extended comments"
Answers should ideally not be "extended comments" but in certain cases they seem to be useful. I am reluctant to remove such answers for being "not an answer" which as per strict SE rules should be ...
- 35.2k
3
votes
4
answers
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Are comments that partially answer the question discouraged?
Sometimes the comments below a question partially answer the question. I got a message from a moderator stating to refrain from answering in comments.
Answering a question in the comment may be due ...
- 3,050
3
votes
3
answers
91
views
How to deal with posters of consistent poor quality/incorrect answers
Sometimes new users are answering multiple questions in a short period of time but, as is often the case with new users, the quality is low (formatting, research, lack of good sources) or information ...
- 16k
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votes
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answer
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Why was this answer moved to a comment?
Which of the two chromosomes in a pair is expressed?
The first comment on this question was originally posted as an answer. Both statements made are correct and at the level that the question was ...
- 17.6k
3
votes
1
answer
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How does one challenge an unsourced answer?
I came across this answer on looking at a question in the sidebar. The answer was accepted and upvoted 6 times. There is a linked study, but it is a counter example (it is cited as a demonstration of ...
- 8,751
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answers
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If citations aren't provided, should I edit someone elses answer?
Over the last month or so there have been productive questions surrounding citation (When to use citations, how to combat unreferenced answers).
In a recent answer regarding bad eyesight there was a ...
- 11.3k
2
votes
2
answers
48
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Retrieving answers from deleted questions
There were two questions posted by someone recently on measles virus, to which I devoted several hours of work in producing answers. The questions and answers disappeared completely over the weekend. ...
- 24.3k
2
votes
1
answer
105
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Should we discourage the use of tl;dr?
As of lately, the abbreviation "tl; dr" (Too long; didn't read) has been used more and more on the site, which I dislike for four reasons.
It cannot be seen as a standard, well-known abbreviation, ...
- 16.7k
2
votes
1
answer
47
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Feature Request: Modification to the "citations needed" banner
Following an upvoted answer on this question, I'm reposting as a feature request.
I think the "citations needed" banner is too ineffectual (see examples in this post) in its current form, and should;
...
- 16k
0
votes
0
answers
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Answers with no references which have been contested for a long while
I am well versed in the way that Psychology.SE and Health.SE work but I am new to Biology.SE so I am trying to find my feet a little here.
I came across a question here, Why aren't we ...
- 277