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Could someone please explain why this answer on the main site appears grayed-out, but when I put my mouse over it, it springs into life like a regular answer. There are two other answers to that question and both appear like regular answers.

I don't think it's a deleted answer as I don't have sufficient rep points to see deleted stuff.

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    $\begingroup$ It's because the answer has a net score of $\leq -3$ (though it might happen at net scores of $\leq -2$; I'm not altogether sure when the "graying out" kicks in.). When an answer is heavily downvoted, it "grays-out", unless you hover over it. This is by design, to help deflect from a potentially problematic answer. $\endgroup$
    – amWhy
    Commented Nov 14, 2018 at 22:01
  • $\begingroup$ @amWhy: "This is by design, to help deflect from a potentially problematic answer." For me, the first few times I encountered this the difference in background drew my attention towards the answer. However, I've seen enough of these now to recognize it's a signal for being down-voted a bit (how much, I never knew nor really cared). $\endgroup$
    – Dave L. Renfro
    Commented Nov 18, 2018 at 20:37

1 Answer 1

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Indeed, an answer appears in gray text (unless hovering over it) when its net score is $\leq -3$. Please see this post on Meta.SE for confirmation.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thankyou for the explanation. Does this appear in the Help Centre? I did have a look and didn't see anything. Maybe it should be added. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Phipps
    Commented Nov 15, 2018 at 0:11

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