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I noticed very often in stack overflow that questions aren't marked as answered, simply because the author of the question became inactive, does not log in to SO very often or simply does not care to mark one of the answers as accepted.

Note that only the author of the question can currently mark an accepted answer, so there is no way to change this if someone does not log in to his account any more.

I think it would be useful when searching for a topic, finding the answer which is most likely the right one very quickly.

My suggestion is to create another review category after x weeks of inactivity (i.e. no more comments added, no more answers created, no changes whatsoever), for example "Unaccepted answers" and let the SO users review this allowing them to mark the most suitable answer (say, if they have 2000 reputation points or more).

Of course, the author of a question should be notified so he has the chance to mark the right answer by himself before that happens (giving him a grace period of x weeks before the question is put into the review category).

Is it possible to add this feature to SO?

I originally asked for automatically select an answer, but that topic is already covered here as Thomas told me, so I have changed my question.

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  • Why did you downvote? Please leave at least your comment. If you don't, that's spineless. Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 7:32
  • See meta.stackexchange.com/questions/21043/… Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 7:35
  • Thank you, Thomas. I didn't find that question so I placed my question here. But I'll change it now because I think that a new review category would help here. Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 7:38
  • @Bart, so you think it is better to have hundreds of questions "unanswered"? I don't think so. Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 7:45
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    The checkmark indicates that the particular answer was most helpful to the OP. For the community there are upvotes. A significantly upvoted answers is a pretty good indicator. We don't need anything else. Look through the various proposals on MSE for more arguments. Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 7:47
  • An unanswered question is one without an upvoted answer @Matt. Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 7:49

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Please, no.

You're effectively proposing to give the power to decide the best answer to my question to some random person. Why? What does a random person know about this that I don't?

You're unlikely to actually find out any more information this way than you do currently. People will just "select" the highest voted answer (if any have votes) and a random one otherwise. You'll also mislead a lot of people into believing that the OP or the site has endorser answer X when it's just one random person.

Acceptance does not matter that much. It's just a method for the OP to say what worked for them - this does not even mean that the answer was right.

If you're looking for the best answer read them all first! Work out for yourself based on votes and comments and then try that one first. If you're just after a little bit more reputation then answer more questions?

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    I think you misunderstood. I am proposing that after some time (x weeks), during which you have the chance to mark it, a review process should be started. I agree that, if there is no suitable answer, it should remain unmarked - that option should be available in the review too. But then there is a chance to identify answers and mark them, if possible. Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 8:15
  • @Matt as per meta.stackexchange.com/a/80321/161198 "The "accepted answer" feature was never intended to mark which answer is best or even if the answer is correct. It is, simply stated, the answer that the original author found most useful in solving their problem." Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 8:32
  • @Bart: I see, thank you for this explanation. I think that information is sufficient for me. I will add this as answer to my question. Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 8:43
  • Wouldn't it be better then to replace the green tick mark by a thumbs up icon? A green tickmark implies that it is the right answer, a thumbs up icon would just state the author of the question found it good or helpful. Commented Sep 23, 2022 at 5:49
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I think that Bart's comment answers my question best:

As per "Would it be possible to have a “community accepted” feature?":

"The 'accepted answer' feature was never intended to mark which answer is best or even if the answer is correct. It is, simply stated, the answer that the original author found most useful in solving their problem."
– Bart

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    If the green tick is meant to be soooo meaningless/untrustworthy, I think it should perhaps be smaller / non-green / less eye-grabbing. Green is associated with "Success" or "Go" (reference Bootstrap or any other intuitive, general-use technology, or traffic light). The tick is often the only green thing on the page -- it is a beacon that captivates the unknowing researcher and even draws the attention of experienced SO/SX users. Make is blue. Make it purple. Make it a yellow smiley face. Make it a rainbow if you like. As things are, it has a tendency to misinform when "misplaced". Commented Jun 28, 2018 at 6:01

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