Low quality answers

0

A lot of questions on this site have answers that are sometimes just one sentence or a link. I think that these kinds of answers provide very limited value and don't follow the basic rules of how to write a good answer.

A few examples of what I think are bad answers:

A few good examples:

How do we handle this?

asked 2016-09-14T08:40:16.310

None

4I don't think that the second and third example of "bad" answers are really bad. For a single word request, a very short answer without much discussion is just fine. Both answers are accepted, showing that they provide something useful to the OP of the questions.–None–2016-09-14T08:58:31.123

Answers

2

If a short answer is posted after a long one, it is possible that the second respondent deleted some material to avoid repetition. You could perhaps add a comment requesting clarification or more information. If none is forthcoming, all you have to do is refrain from upvoting.

If you cannot think of anything to ask, it is possible that the short answer is adequate. After all, a verbose answer with a lot of extraneous material may be less helpful to a person whose grasp of the language used in the answer is shaky.

There are some Stack Exchange sites on which competition for attention is fierce and people habitually overwrite their answers, add big pictures and diagrams, etc. Sometimes just delivering the needed piece of information without pavado is a better way to go.

asked 2016-09-14T08:40:16.310

None

1

On my opinion, short answers don't mean there is a problem with the question. I would think that a short answer could mean the user who answered didn't give enough details in the answer, or posted as answer something that suits better a comment.
In the same way, long answer could mean there is a problem with a question, for example that the question is too broad, and the users who answer are giving a answer that covers all the possible cases.

In both the cases, it is not possible to consider a question problematic basing on the given answers. For example, if a question is subjective, it is subjective independently from the given answers; you don't need the answers to understand the question is subjective.

asked 2016-09-14T08:40:16.310

None

So, we can conclude that answers should go into answers, even if they're short?–None–2016-09-21T08:15:06.220

It would be preferable to give more details, when possible. Any answers could be make longer, even including references. Certanly, an answer short like Yes. isn't much helpful.–None–2016-09-21T08:38:07.393