What do we do about abandoned questions, with a correct answer that was never accepted?
If we suspect the original poster forgot about it completely?
Not sure if we have any sort of process, or if we just let them say that way?
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keep in mind that sometimes the author didn't get the answer he needed with the highest voted.– xenoterracideMar 6, 2012 at 2:44
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1It is a little bit annoying to spend much time for the "right" answer and to never earn the accept-points for it, just because the poster did never attend his question again...– NilsJun 20, 2012 at 19:22
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@Nils, I agree completely, that's exactly what I was referring to in my OP. I understand sometimes a question never gets a correct answer, but sometimes an answer is undeniably correct. The system also fails to appreciate the lack of votes on tumbleweeds. You might never get an up-vote, your only points might be those of an accepted answer.– J. M. BeckerJun 21, 2012 at 13:52
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2 Answers
Leave them. It's nice if the asker marks the answer as accepted, but not really required; without an accepted answer the answers are just sorted purely by votes, so the community can upvote the right answer to make it show up first in the list. The system generally considers a question "unanswered" if it has no upvoted answers, not if it has no accepted answer; for example, this is how the unanswered list works
answered Mar 5, 2012 at 20:54
If a question didn't got accepted, it might have a reason. And it might take much time, to make a very good decision without the asking person.
I often receive bonuses for old questions which get accepted lately - I guess, because people ask again a question, and get told to work on their accepting rate, so they visit old questions and vote the best ones up.
Spending much time on old questions doesn't seem rational for me.
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1I sometimes wait for a better answer for a long time. Sometimes I did not get the right answer even after awarding a bonus. Sometimes I just need time to test the answers thoroughly. And sometimes I get a late "accept", too. So Michael is probably right (again).– NilsJun 20, 2012 at 19:21