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If anyone just take a look up question page, then will discover that we have very less accepted answer questions.(Around 10!!!)

Why it is so? This post is to bring attention on to every users please accept the answer if you find it useful.

I thought of putting this meta post after reading @ron's comment somewhere in Chemistry meta few weeks/days ago.

Everyone should look at this question with 2 great answers and still not accepted!!

As commented by @Geoff Hutchison We need community vote to force an accepted answer

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    $\begingroup$ I think some of the non accepted answers may be because some people didn't return to the site to mark them. $\endgroup$
    – LDC3
    Oct 7, 2014 at 4:56
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    $\begingroup$ @LDC3 Yes there are many users you never return after asking the question or after getting the answers. $\endgroup$
    – Freddy
    Oct 7, 2014 at 5:01
  • $\begingroup$ I often verify the answers before accepting. This can take few days or even more. But specifically regarding practical chemistry questions, I think it's better wait than accept wrong and potentionally dangerous answers. $\endgroup$
    – Tomáš Zato
    Oct 12, 2014 at 20:46
  • $\begingroup$ @TomášZato You are right we need to verify answer before accepting, but some answer are straightforward which can be verified by votes, just think answer with 5+ votes are all not accepted!!! $\endgroup$
    – Freddy
    Oct 13, 2014 at 5:04
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    $\begingroup$ @Freddy Feel free to accept my answer to this post. ;) $\endgroup$
    – LordStryker
    Oct 16, 2014 at 17:22
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    $\begingroup$ @LordStryker I almost forget that, lol $\endgroup$
    – Freddy
    Oct 16, 2014 at 17:32

3 Answers 3

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I am an offender when it comes to not accepting answers to a question but only because the answer I received is not satisfying. Clearly if anyone is in this situation should not feel the need to accept the answer given. However, if this is not the case and an answer given appropriately answers the question then that answer should indeed be accepted.

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    $\begingroup$ There's no offense in being discerning about the answers to your questions. You're electing not to accept one for the right reasons. $\endgroup$
    – jonsca
    Oct 3, 2014 at 21:00
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    $\begingroup$ There are answer which are upto the point but still not accepted. $\endgroup$
    – Freddy
    Oct 4, 2014 at 4:18
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    $\begingroup$ Yes, it would be nice if there could be a community vote to force an accepted answer. $\endgroup$
    – Geoff Hutchison
    Oct 8, 2014 at 1:34
  • $\begingroup$ @GeoffHutchison I think another question(feature request) should be made in meta regarding this. $\endgroup$
    – Freddy
    Oct 8, 2014 at 5:20
  • $\begingroup$ @GeoffHutchison I disagree. The accept button is very different from votes, that aims to reward users for satisfying the asker. Only the asker should have the right to say whether an answer is perfect for the OP or not. In your case, people would simply blabber out all the facts regarding the OP's topic, knowing that theirs will get accepted with popular vote. As the asker, the OP must have a greater say in their question than others do. $\endgroup$
    – Pritt says Reinstate Monica
    Jul 14, 2017 at 9:01
  • $\begingroup$ @GeoffHutchison However, I think that a feature request to auto-accept an answer if the word "thanks" was mentioned by the OP in the answer. If the OP still needed clarification, he can unaccept it. $\endgroup$
    – Pritt says Reinstate Monica
    Jul 14, 2017 at 9:10
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I was poking around on Meta.SE and this appears like it will never happen. The closest discussion is here:

Community vote for "Accepted Answer" (Rep. >= 5000 only)

Votes and sorting are the de-facto community answer.

In short, we can (as a community) provide gentle comments to encourage users to accept answers, but the policy of SE is that only the OP can decide an answer is correct, as discussed by @LordStryker.

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The greatest problem I think as a junior is that people who are new or inexperienced with SE do not know how to accept an answer and are not aware of the site's features. They just come across the site thinking of it as a Q/A site where any question is answered straightaway without credit. The reason is that many skim over the introduction just to earn the INFORMED badge.

Secondly, many new contributors and even old ones cannot properly phrase or convey their question. The answers they receive are relevant and fine but they personally donot feel that the answer is correct. The Comment section is a testament to this. Many contributors stray from the topic of their question in the comments despite the answer being perfect.

Thirdly, the site comprises of contributors from PhD scholars to those who are just Lower Secondary students. Thus many contributors receive answers that are far too complex for them. For example this contributor received a complex answer according to his level of study so he reposted his question despite the answer being well explained. Common Ion Effect Equilibrium

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    $\begingroup$ I think at the time this question was asked it was concerning a completely different problem. A question in SE terms is answered when it has an answer with score >0. That is sufficient for most things. The volume of questions has increased a lot since 2014, so the concern about the 'accepted rate' is not a real one anymore. If new users treat this site like other Q&A pages, then likely their questions will not be well received and most times won't be answered anyway. We do not need to concern ourselves with this. Cleanup will likely take care of this. $\endgroup$
    – Martin - マーチン Mod
    Aug 31, 2020 at 15:33
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    $\begingroup$ I honestly don't understand your second paragraph and how it relates to the question. The third point you raise is problematic. While we try to cater also to curious people with limited chemistry background, our primary target audience and most of our contributors are professionals. If an answer is too complex, then work is required to understand it. The question you have linked is testament to this; reasking a question will almost always result in closure. Those will be cleaned up eventually. $\endgroup$
    – Martin - マーチン Mod
    Aug 31, 2020 at 15:39
  • $\begingroup$ The second paragraph highlights how many people ask poorly structured questions and fail to get answers catering to their problems. $\endgroup$
    – Stack3002
    Aug 31, 2020 at 15:47
  • $\begingroup$ hence they do not accept answers. $\endgroup$
    – Stack3002
    Aug 31, 2020 at 15:47
  • $\begingroup$ Answering a question at the level it was asked is ever so important. $\endgroup$
    – Hal
    Dec 2, 2020 at 0:44
  • $\begingroup$ exactly but this problem remains ever so irritating $\endgroup$
    – Stack3002
    Dec 8, 2020 at 16:28

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