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So there is a question that I answered. I feel that I answered well and completely, even cited sources.

Suddenly 2 other people post nearly exactly the same answer I gave. Whats more odd is they are almost immediately upvoted. They are poorly written, in my opinion, especially in contrast to my own answer so I suspect the upvotes may be invalid.

I read that the consensus is to delete the duplicates, but since they have up-votes and I don't I am weary of that.

The question I'm referencing is this Is it possible to enchant items in Minecraft: Pocket Edition?

The only difference is they give a sourced link, but it's a link that is not considered official, and is notably horribly out of date. Their source actually cites my source ironically.

As the quality of my answers has been noted as a serious issue I don't want to take action against them in case it's taken to be retaliation.

This is the first time I've encountered this phenomenon personally so I never had to worry about it.

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I'd say no, as there does not appear to be anything nefarious going on.

One of the two answers was posted within an hour of your answer, and before you edited yours to improve the wording and formatting. The other answer contains a link to the source of his information, which in my books makes it worthy of existing alongside two other correct answers.

Personally, I only find duplicate answers to be an issue when they:

  • add no new, better, or more correct information.
  • are not presented in a superior manner to the existing answers.
  • were posted a significant amount of time after the existing answers.
    • The amount of time that is 'significant' may vary from user to user. But I'm generally fine with most answers posted within 24 hours of the existing ones.

There are other factors to consider, like if any of the existing answers are highly voted, or are accepted... but those are the three main points I tend to consider before contemplating taking action against them.

So none of the other two answers on that question are out of line. As for how things were voted on? Tim Post forgot his keys again... He really needs to stop doing that.

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    that post should become the standardised 'duplicate of' for all "why was i down-voted" questions.
    – user106385
    Jul 27, 2015 at 5:19
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I can not see any reason these users should be flagged for their answers.

This is a community. If you dont agree with the upvotes, you are in your right to downvote, but those upvotes generally come from other members of the community. Their opinion means just as much as yours or mine. To give you the best example, you might consider this the top answer. Other users may come to this question, later, and find a differant answer has 5 times the upvotes. That answer would be considered the "true answer", as a greater majority has voted for it.

I notice two things that make the other two stand out from yours.

For one, the middle answer uses bold text on the direct answer. Using bold to define important parts are a good way to break up the body, and help people get the information they want more efficiently. Sometimes users dont want to read the how and why. They just want to be told directly. Using markdown is almost a necessity in creating good quality answers - users don't want to be hit with a wall of text. Break it up. Make it look pretty. Even add in a picture or two - if appropriate.

The second answer uses a source that in your opinion is not reliable. Many feel this way about wikis, but there are many more who do not. Many users may even up-vote for a wiki link, as this gives them somewhere to read further, if they wish.

Lastly, while you do give sources, you do not link your sources. So you say they are sources. But as is, we are still taking your word for it. That is why written sources are so much longer.

Ultimately, the user asked "can you do this" and the answer is "no". There are only so many ways to say that. If the other answers are favored over yours, use it as a learning example. One thing I do is hit edit on the other answer, to see how the markdown was used. Never actually edit the answer unless you have a valid reason, but this can give you a behind the scenes on how it was put together.

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  • you dont need to link if the user is the OP. For a convention, I would list a game report site that says "they said this at that convention". for a book there are various other methods. Your professors are likely showing you what to do for posting assignments and such. This is a game website. While there is an expectation of quality, it is not a professional environment, like a university or college. This is why anyone can critique you. You should be posting what you think will be easy to read, understand etc. Not necessarily what a professed has told you .
    – user106385
    Jul 27, 2015 at 0:16
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    Bleh. You should use bold very sparingly. It, by itself, does not make a question more readable.
    – Frank
    Jul 27, 2015 at 0:16
  • My source, how do you cite a convention that everybody who went wouldn't have missed it - I'm not sure what you mean by that. Obviously not everyone went to minecon. I took about ten seconds of my time to do a quick google, I believe this youtube video details the updates coming to pocket edition from minecon, just as you said. youtube.com/watch?v=opPgdHUoEKo
    – user106385
    Jul 27, 2015 at 0:20
  • @Frank, I did not say to use it to make it more readable, I said to use it to define the part that was most important. Given that some users tend to skim read larger bodies of text, it is a good method to emphasis the important part for users wanting a direct answer. I did say that.. straight after.. but it wasn't in bold, so I guess I made my point :D
    – user106385
    Aug 2, 2015 at 4:43

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