On a question I have two answers. One was technically more correct but the other answer was more helpful for me to understand the subject of my question.
Which answer should be given the green tick?
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25$\begingroup$ It is strictly your call. No one else can tell which answer you found the most helpful. The other users can express their opinion with their votes. The tickmark is your privileged vote. $\endgroup$– Jyrki Lahtonen ModCommented Mar 31, 2016 at 4:54
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6$\begingroup$ Note that the answer with the tick is called "accepted answer", not "correct answer". While it does not make sense to accept an incorrect answer, it is perfectly fine to accept a helpful one. $\endgroup$– Olexandr KonovalovCommented Apr 4, 2016 at 22:06
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$\begingroup$ Related on Unix & Linux: Whose choice is accepting an answer? $\endgroup$– catCommented Apr 4, 2016 at 22:44
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1$\begingroup$ Related (to some extent): What factors should be considered to accept an answer: Time, completeness or what? (and maybe also other posts linked there). $\endgroup$– Martin SleziakCommented Apr 13, 2016 at 4:33
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$\begingroup$ Tick-mark. (Asian). Check-mark (Asian -> Not Asian). Check (Definitely not Asian). Don't know what the purpose of the comment is... $\endgroup$– Asker123Commented Apr 14, 2016 at 1:13
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1 Answer
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I would go with the answer that was more helpful to me to understand the subject of my question. How do you even know that the other answer was "technically more correct"? Would you have arrived at that conclusion without the answer you found more helpful?
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12$\begingroup$ The other answer may be "technically more correct" because it addresses the question directly but the accepted one does not. E.g. the OP asks how to complete their unfinished approach to a certain problem. The accepted answer does not pick up where the OP was stuck. Rather, it demonstrates a far more superior approach. In this case, the accepted answer is "incorrect" because it's irrelevant to the OP's approach, yet it may be more useful. $\endgroup$– user1551Commented Apr 6, 2016 at 2:37
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1$\begingroup$ Good point, I think I have seen examples of that. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 6, 2016 at 21:04
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1$\begingroup$ I hate it when people refuse to use the method asked for. Usually the point of asking for the means to do it under a specific method is so that one can do something with that method. Even worse is when people just start correcting your premise and refusing to try answering. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 12, 2016 at 18:40
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1$\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck sometimes I am tempted to answer the myriad "calculate this limit without assuming L'Hopital's rule" questions by first proving L'Hopital's rule and then using it to solve the particular limit. $\endgroup$– hunterCommented Apr 13, 2016 at 14:27
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$\begingroup$ No, it's more like... "Calculate the derivative of X while assuming the derivative of Y is Z." Most people will just correct you and say the derivative of Y is A rather than act under the bent premise. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 13, 2016 at 17:34
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$\begingroup$ Or better yet. If someone wrote an alteration to L'hopitals rule and asked you to work under that premise and you instead used your answer to sit there correcting them on why that's not lhopitals rule even though they SAY that it's an alteration and not the true law. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 14, 2016 at 5:24