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While getting new privileges I got the option to "suggest post for deletion".

For example this message: Custom canonical urls using sh404SEF

Thats a good example, because I'm not sure if its good to say that a component is "good" or "bad".

What would be the way to go?

Other Question is what todo with offtopic answers like this (maybe look at the edit history of this post): Do 'disabled' extensions slow down Joomla! site performance?

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IMO it's really about answer the question. If the supplied answer is only giving opinion like "don't use that, use this" and does nothing to answer the question, it's not a good answer and should be deleted.

There are so many variations for types of extensions available, it's possible the author of a competing extension that the OP is asking about could just pop in and say "use mine instead!" - that's not good community and we shouldn't support those types of answers. We should downvote and flag for deletion to deter such actions, IMO.

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    Good point, for example I'm the developer of jDiction (a Multilang component like joomfish) and I would recommend may component as part of the answer, but would add 2 things to may answer. First a disclaimer that I'm the developer of jDiction and second the alternatives.
    – Harald Leithner
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 15:49
  • It's a valid point, but then again I've actually been helped more than once by those types of threads on SO that say "use/try X instead" - they've helped me find the tool I've been looking for.
    – Andrew Eddie
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 21:58
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    But it's a balance. If I ask "do disabled plugins slow down my site?", and someone answers "Just enable caching", that's a low-quality answer and should be removed.
    – Don Gilbert
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 22:00
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I'm pretty much on side with Don and Toni on this.

As the OP of the question, I'm looking for a very specific yes/no answer and some information as to why (i.e. what's happening behind the scenes).

Here are my thoughts - if it is plain and obvious that the answer does not address the substantive issue raised in the question we should vote to discard it.

I get what Andrew is saying and agree with it, but at the very least, the minimum standard should be to answer the question.

My test for that in this case is simple - the answer did not address the substantive issue of the question and as the OP, I did not ask for alternative solutions. I am therefore suggesting that post for deletion - IMO it actually has 'zero' value in context of the question being asked.

But for me personally, this a 'strict test' - for example, if the answer even remotely 'addresses the question' (as opposed to missing the question completely) and has some value, however minimal, then I'd let the up/down vote system do it's work.

Don and Andrew I know you both to be very seasoned at answering and evaluating questions and answers relating to Joomla! so I don't think we could go wrong with your personal discretion on a case-by-case basis - and more than anything, I think going with your 'gut feeling' is quite alright as opposed to seeking consensus - the beauty of the SE system is that it's built exactly for that.

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I agree, and I think we should vote on removing those non-answer answers on the sh404 question in order to make sure the right tone is set for this site.

Thoughts?

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