Isn't this a link only post? Why on earth SO tells me I should have click on "Looks Good"?

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Not sure if this a duplicate. It seems from there that as long as the link is from a valid site, this is a valid answer. So shouldn't "link-only answers" have some other name or be a more well defined?

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    The explanation you'll get is that it is technically an answer because it contains the text "what you want is an SQL Parser" which is an answer. The answer in itself is low quality to me and I would downvote it, but in the eyes of the rules it is acceptable. – Jeroen Vannevel May 24 '14 at 21:42
  • I think this discussion is relevant to your question. – PM 77-1 May 25 '14 at 2:05
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    I had this exact same problem 2 days ago. I feel ya bro. It should be noted though that, according to Brad Larson, the option to challenge a review audit when you've failed one is going to be added some time in the future. I wouldn't expect it to be the very near future, but I think you could expect it to be added some time soon. – Joeytje50 May 25 '14 at 2:23
  • Thanks, @Joeytje50. You probably should have named your question more specifically, because mine is definitely a duplicate of your's – David Arenburg May 25 '14 at 7:27
  • possible duplicate of Why did a link-only answer get 3 upvotes? – gnat May 25 '14 at 10:52
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    I don't think that's a duplicate. It's related, but not a duplicate. – Lightness Races with Monica May 26 '14 at 12:45

It tells you that because the post has 7 upvotes. It was evaluated by the community as a great answer, and you've just gone and said "no it's not". So "you're wrong" because that's not the action the community took.

Now, I'm with you. It doesn't at first glance look great just looking at the answer. But even just on that bit of information, we can't say it's a link-only answer. It tells the OP that his problem might be solved with a SQL parser. That's the answer part and the link adds to that.

Now let's take a look at the question this is an answer to. Looking at what the problem is, and how the OP is trying to approach it, all of a sudden the answer doesn't look all that strange any more. It's essentially a "Stop what you're trying to do. Don't make it so difficult for yourself. Just use a SQL Parser and you're done". Which, with my limited knowledge, seems rather sensible and could explain the upvotes it has gotten, given that it entirely seems to avoid what would have been a tricky road the OP tried to follow.

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    Just a side note, It didn't tell me that it had 7 up votes when I saw it at the beginning. The up votes came after I recommended deleting it – David Arenburg May 24 '14 at 21:48
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    Sure @DavidArenburg. It's just what the system uses to determine "this is good content and you better tell us it is when we audit you with it". – Bart May 24 '14 at 21:49
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    Yeah, that's what i thought how it evaluate what's a "good answer" is. The problem is imo, that this is a type of a bug in the system. Because if this answer was just a link and had some up votes, the system still would tell me that I'm wrong, although I would be right by the systems own definition of a "link-only" answer which keep being fuzzy. – David Arenburg May 24 '14 at 21:54
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    Yep @DavidArenburg. That does on occasion happen. Not terribly often though, it seems. But in that case, make sure to give the post the downvote it deserves. That's the best way to get it out of the rotation as a "great contribution" audit. – Bart May 24 '14 at 21:55
  • That's probably a good idea. Thanks – David Arenburg May 24 '14 at 21:56

There was a discussion on MSO before the split (Your answer is in another castle: when is an answer not an answer?) and it covers your question quite good.

As you see, the general opinion is that link-only answers are okay, as long as they have some guiding text with it. Of course, it still gives you the freedom to downvote, but when flagging these questions you risk being disputed (often I still see them deleted).


I need to add something to that topic, I had exactly the same kind of review (a link and a text), and I clicked on "Deletion" only to see the choice of comments. It then told me that it was a test and that I passed and the answer needed to be deleted. The problem is just like you, I think it's rather irrelevant when there is a text with the link, describing what to expect from it.

So I find it worrying that on two audit, the same action has different result. I didn't take a screenshot but I can assure it was the same kind of posts without the 7 upvotes.

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