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I noticed recently that someone asked a question (I won't specify it because the OP deleted it) where he asked a question (Perfectly acceptable and within the scope of the FAQ) and immediately answered his own question (which was also the right answer).

This question quickly got a few downvotes and was soon after deleted.

My question is How is this viewed in the community?

It obviously is looked down on a little (hence the downvotes) and I understand this is a Q&A site for people to ask questions they don't know the answer to, but is that the only reason?

I couldnt find anything about this in the FAQ but maybe there is something I missed.

To be clear I am not trying to convince anybody to allow this practice; I'm simply trying to come to a clear understanding of how the community views this.

Maybe this has already been discussed; I don't know.

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  • I know which question you're talking about. As far as I know, and I can't speak for the downvoters, could it have been a piggy-back? It had no background context, but this question was clearly objective. All things considered, it was legit...just merely an extension (for lack of a better term) of a similar question (your question in fact). – user527 Dec 14 '12 at 18:49
  • @edmastermind29 I figured you might :) and your right it was based on a question earlier but It was a legit question and answer and if someone googled that question it would have been helpful – Maniac Dec 14 '12 at 18:59
  • That's an interesting paradox, we don't want to say, "use Google" because we encourage content and membership on our site...but we also discourage questions that could simply be found on Google. See this for example. – user527 Dec 14 '12 at 19:04
  • @edmastermind29 The fact of the matter is imo that the majority of questions on here can be answered after a google search. There are exceptions(like that draft pick one) that I couldnt find on google – Maniac Dec 14 '12 at 19:12
  • I don't disagree. "Is it acceptable to ask a question already knowing the answer?" Yes. – user527 Dec 14 '12 at 19:14
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See the FAQ on Meta.SO: Can I answer my own questions, even those where I knew the answer before asking?

Yes!

There are already numerous posts that answer their own questions. There's nothing wrong with it. It's even encouraged.

It's likely that others have the question for which you have the answer but can't find it anywhere, so post away! You can even accept your own answer (but not earlier than 48 hours after asking the question).

The only restriction is placed on new users with less than 100 reputation; they are not able to do so for the first 8 hours since the question was asked. No such restriction exists if you have more than 100 reputation.

Two things, however:

  1. Normal quality rules still apply; if you ask and answer a question that doesn't deserve to be on the site in the first place, don't be surprised if it is closed or deleted.

  2. Ultimately, the community decides how they feel about self-answered questions; such questions are permitted by policy and supported by the system, but people may downvote them just the same.

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  • @mmyers thks for the very clear precise answer. Especially that last part about the community decides and may feel differently about individual questions. That pretty much sums it up i think – Maniac Dec 14 '12 at 19:27

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