At the time of writing, this post has 28 views and no downvotes (or upvotes). I see it simply as a PSQ (Problem Statement Question), and it is quite possible it will be closed soon. I didn't downvote it, because I found it a bit interesting. Even added a hint, and am working on it myself. Of course, I won't post a solution, but finding a solution will help me sleep. I didn't upvote it too, since it shows no effort. But I've seen other PSQs attracting downvotes rather quickly (even I downvote the ones which I don't find interesting). So, do we all refrain from voting on PSQs that seem interesting to us (of course, for many people, this will be very trivial)? I would like an honest answer and not an answer that just describes what ought to be done with PSQs. (Now it has just one upvote and one downvote, so no net change).
Also, I wonder if adding a comment-hint (like I did here) or a comment-answer (I've seen them quite a few times) to PSQs is ethical. Does it violate the quality standards? I often see comment-answers as a way to answer the PSQs question without the risk of downvotes.
Edit: Okay, so I understood a little about the original question. About the side question: Although the comment by Sarvesh talks a bit about answering PSQs in the comments, I'm still not satisfied. Again, do I violate the quality standards if I answer an absolute no-work PSQ (no context even in the comments) in the comments? What about providing a hint in the comments?
According to the question linked by Nij, comment-answers to PSQs should be avoided. What about comment-hints to PSQs?