14
votes
Accepted
Am I right? No, you're wrong!
The problem is a real one; but I don't much care for the proposed solution.
It requires additional effort on the part of users who in many cases struggle to express themselves once.
It separates ...
- 174k
12
votes
Accepted
How can a native English speaker with no experience teaching or learning English help, if at all?
The way that I approach this as someone who enjoys language, but probably has a better technical understanding of the construction of software languages than natural languages, is to
be very aware ...
- 11.9k
12
votes
What is the recommended action when the top-voted answer is incorrect significantly?
Well, according to the answers to this question:
Comment (you already did that)
Downvote (I assume you did that as well)
Invoke the Meta effect
Write your own (correct) answer.
I think there's ...
GlorfindelMod
- 14.7k
11
votes
Stop answering close-worthy questions!
There are two sides to this coin. Some might wonder, "Why are people answering these close-worthy questions?" But others might wonder, "Why are we closing these answerable questions?"
Incidentally, I'...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
11
votes
Accepted
Cite your sources!
There is no policy declaring that answers must have a URL attached to be considered valid.
That said, there are a couple reasons why some in the community might appreciate a reference from a ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
10
votes
So many answers in comments
Huh, weird. This gets asked often enough in metas, and I was fairly certain it was asked here too, but for the life of me I can't seem to find it. Anyway, here's the wisdom of the ancients on it.
...
- 7,341
9
votes
Accepted
If there is more than one right answer can I summarize the answers?
The As a learner, how do I choose which answer to accept? discussion might help a little. If you truly can't decide among all the answers which one helped you the most, you don't have to accept one at ...
- 11.9k
9
votes
Let's use plain language (this time for real)
One thing that your post overlooks that should be highlighted is that ELL is not divided into "askers" and "answerers". In many cases, because they've struggled with the same ...
- 11.9k
9
votes
Let's use plain language (this time for real)
As an editor and proponent of what editors call plain language, I feel I have to act as a kind of apologist here, as well as provide possible side commentary to what's already been said.
In the ...
- 36.1k
8
votes
How useful are "Here, say this instead" answers, when the OP isn't asking for them?
Your Q2 is interesting:
Is "foo bars the baz" grammatically correct?
If we followed your guidance to an extreme, and only answer what the O.P. is directly inquiring about, we'd end up with a lot ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
8
votes
Accepted
Lesser of evils on ELL: comment vs. LQ answer
If someone understands the SE guidelines and why they're a good idea, the answer to "what is the preference?" is (in my opinion) to simply act in good faith and do what you think is best for the site ...
- 11.9k
8
votes
Why was my answer on the "caps in soccer context" question removed?
Adding greater emphasis on the correct meaning in the citation would have probably been enough.
There are dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of posts across the entire network that expand and ...
- 24.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Should I delete my answers?
There is no shame in an answer receiving no upvotes or not being accepted. Be patient. Do not be discouraged if an answer is not (yet) accepted or has received no upvotes. I have had answers accepted ...
- 68.2k
8
votes
Answering when proof of negative required
The appropriate answer on Stack Exchange to the question "Are any humans over 3 meters tall?" is not "I don't think so"; it is "The tallest recorded human is 2.72 m according ...
- 11.9k
7
votes
Do answers need to be in English?
Answers should be in English, for the reasons that snailboat gives and also so that they can be verified by native speakers. We get quite a lot of answers by learners that are incorrect on various ...
- 8,005
7
votes
Accepted
Answering: correctness vs. practicality
It is best practice to find a dictionary definition that supports your use of the word regardless of your native language. This helps support your answer and helps the asker feel confident in it.
As ...
- 25.3k
7
votes
Answering: correctness vs. practicality
I am new here, so correct me if I'm wrong, but my assumption is that most knowledge seekers here have some other means by which they are learning the basics of English, and are seeking nuance. I think ...
- 1,852
7
votes
How can a native English speaker with no experience teaching or learning English help, if at all?
I've been there!. First, read this post of mine which I had posted in March 2014. Take some time thinking on it.
Do you see the frustration I had in my mind then? I completely understand your concern ...
- 65.4k
7
votes
Am I right? No, you're wrong!
Are they suitable for the site? Yeah. But here's the thing.
Firstly, I've always been a little bit hesitant to suggest that questions are a poor fit based solely on the answers that they would ...
- 4,040
7
votes
How can a native English speaker with no experience teaching or learning English help, if at all?
In general, if you think that something sounds wrong, but you don't want to say much more than that, I'd recommend leaving a comment.
If you want to expound on that some more, however, and leave an ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
7
votes
Should a refutation to an answer be added to the question?
I think when people can listen to the source for themselves it is not appropriate. When I listen to the clip of the game I hear “gearing up for a huge storm”, and I think that is correct based on what ...
- 11.9k
7
votes
Let's use plain language (this time for real)
While loquaciousness for the sake of loquaciousness is obviously a bad thing to have in an answer, I do think taking a common sense approach to writing answers is enough, and don't agree that ELL ...
- 9,149
6
votes
How can a native English speaker with no experience teaching or learning English help, if at all?
I think the most important thing we can do as native speakers is provide something a grammar book can't, namely to tell what sounds natural and what sounds stilted, contrived, or just "off."
My ...
- 312
6
votes
Am I allowed to post short, simple answers if they answer the question?
@gotube's answer is great, but there's another reason why such answers are often deleted, which is applicable to all sites in the network.
Suppose somebody else answers as follows:
The first sentence ...
GlorfindelMod
- 14.7k
5
votes
How useful are "Here, say this instead" answers, when the OP isn't asking for them?
I think the best way to answer this question is by way of example - if you see somebody wandering around looking lost, and they ask whether an incredibly convoluted set of directions will get them ...
- 2,140
5
votes
Accepted
Guide to formatting ELL answers -- best practices?
In general, don't overuse formatting. If you can make do with a paragraph containing one italicized word and a "short" quote, don't turn it into a bulleted list with bold and italics and superscript ...
5
votes
Accepted
Is wiktionary a reasonable source to back up answers?
There is a list of resources, including dictionaries, on English Language and Usage Meta that you may find helpful.
To answer your question about Wiktionary: as long as the definition is accurate, I ...
- 6,875
5
votes
Answering: correctness vs. practicality
Experience as a source of good answers is the rule of thumb on every SE site* I have, well, experience in … including Stack Overflow. Answers should be supported by references where possible, ...
- 9,443
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible