Why are answers deleted?
Answers that do not fundamentally address the question may be removed. This includes answers that are:
-
Commentary on the question or other answers.
-
Asking a different question.
-
"Thanks!" or "Me too!"-type responses.
-
Exact duplicates of other answers.
-
Barely more than a link to an external site (i.e., the actual answer is not included in the post).
-
Not even a partial answer to the actual question.
How are answers deleted?
Answers can be deleted in several ways:
-
By the community: Moderators can delete any answer, and trusted community members can vote to delete answers with a score of -1 or lower (3 votes will result in deletion).
-
Automatically: Posts that accumulate enough rude, abusive, or spam flags will be automatically deleted.
Other reasons for deletion
Answers may also be removed if they are copied from another source without attribution, including other answers on Appliance Surge. Answers copied from language models like ChatGPT may also be removed, even if attributed correctly.
If you want to improve an existing answer, you can always click the "Edit" button beneath it. For more guidance, see our page on How to write a good answer.