answer based on links (case: How to enlarge a Sketchup Model)

Question

I'd like to discuss the case 'How to enlarge a Sketchup Model' question and my answer of course.

I do agree with Robert Cartaino when he said: 'The folks here will work hard to curate this collection of knowledge(...)'

It's true that SE forums are so valuable also because there are hard working moderators and editors - no doubt.

I also agree with this (but with some objections): '(...) when someone finally finds this site through search, the last thing we want to do is send them elsewhere to find that information'

Being strict, according to this part, linking is not allowed... which is not true isn't it?. I didn't link poor websites or other forums or any information from "somewhere" / "elsewhere". I did link "the sources", pages which are the real sources of the knowledg in the case of asked question. And because these sources are quite big and stable, it's high prpbablility that there were available for long time (till the question and answer will have any meaning) and they will be the most accurate and up to date as possible.

So the question is, should I rewrite such sources just because answer based on links is not allowed or maybe it's better to be not such strict.

Please consider and express what you think about such situations.

ps: I admit my answer could be comment insted of answer and if there will be such will of mods I'll rewrite it as comment as I wanted to help this user (and I think he upvoted which means he gathered the knowledge he asked for).

Answer 1

I believe you more or less answered your own question here! In the post, Tom van der Zanden commented:

Perhaps you could edit your answer to make it self contained (by giving brief instructions on how to resize in sketchup).

You responded that this would be an very simple answer, and that you would have to explain the OP how to "press the resize icon and resize the model". If I were you, that is exactly what I would have done. In other words, explain how to resize the model and perhaps add a simple illustration.

Remember that best answers are those than can be easily understood. :-)

PS: Linking sources is great, so keep that up! Just remember to summarize the essence of it in the answer itself.

Answer 2

You raise an interesting issue that swerves into the very purpose of having a Stack Exchange site.

Here is the actual guidance that went with the removal of that post:

Thank you for answering, unfortunately links sending users elsewhere to find that information aren't really considered an "answer" in the context of this site. The folks here will work hard to curate this collection of knowledge, so when someone finally finds this site through search, the last thing we want to do is send them elsewhere to find that information. If you don't think the question is worth answering here, you can always vote to close, but I have to remove this as "not an answer" in the context of this site.

The quality of the link you provided is not in question. The problem is that Stack Exchange isn't meant to be a search engine or a list of links. We have Google for that.

Our role in making the Internet a better place is in curating a high-quality collection of crowd-sourced knowledge. Stack Exchange rates very highly among search engines, so when someone clicks through thinking they finally found an answer from a highly-trusted source, we have a responsibility not to purport having information we do not.

sometimes it's better to accept not-perfect-answer than leave the man with no answer at all

That's a well-meaning consideration, but it ignores the purpose of curating this content as a whole. You may help that one person in the minimal possible sense… but for the hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people who come after, all we did was create yet another barrier between the user and the information they were searching for.

That does not make the Internet better.

Redirecting users elsewhere can also displace folks who may have posted a proper answer. Few people are actually privy to these meta discussions and what makes these Stack Exchange sites "work", so oftentimes users looking on will largely consider the issue resolved. Folks mostly emulate the practices and methods they see, so if cutting and pasting a link serves as an answer, then everyone can do it.

And in that vein, please do not answer questions in comments. Comments do not have the voting and the wiki-style editing features which allow us to properly vet and improve this content. And comments sit very prominently right there below the question, so they appear before even the best answers which are supposed to rise to the top.