In this question: Is there a way to expand the current WorkingSet of a process to 1GB? I think I had the first reasonable answer: my deleted answer and about 10 minutes later came another similar answer: other, non-deleted answer

So I'm wondering why my answer was converted to a comment, while a similar answer wasn't. The differences are:

  • The other one references a different function (mine should work just as well)
  • The other one says to pass 1GB as the minimum (shouldn't be necessary to specify, as it should be obvious from the question)
  • The other one specifies things you might need (I thought it was too wishy-washy to include)
  • The other one has a link to some 3rd-party library with no explanation of what it does or how to use it

Unfortunately, as a comment, its links are broken, it will likely get lost in the clutter of comments, it can't be edited, and it can't easily be discussed.

I have since discovered that the OP is probably asking the wrong question and I have edited my answer accordingly, but I can't undelete an answer that was converted.

Can a mod undelete my answer, or do I have to create a new one?

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(Sorry for previous comment if you have read it, there was a typo) You can flag your own post and ask the mod to undelete it. –  nhahtdh Sep 1 '12 at 9:20
You can add a new answer. This is particularly a better option as it is completely different from the converted one. –  Oded Sep 1 '12 at 9:36
The moderator already posted the same answer: –  Uphill Luge Sep 1 '12 at 20:50
As a general rule, you should state the case why your answer should stand out on it's own without comparison to others. We generally don't use "but he did it" as justification for anything around here. –  casperOne Sep 3 '12 at 0:46
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2 Answers

Actually they're not very similar. Yes, you're suggesting the same thing (note: I'm not expert about the topic) but your answer lacked some detail that the other answer does not. You provided a one-line (or better, one-sentence) answer and regardless of its correctness, it's still "less valuable" than an answer that tries to explain more. This is my speculation about why the moderator converted yours.

Your answer was correct, and that's why it wasn't simply deleted, but it probably triggered the automatic "Low Quality Post" flag and so the moderator answered by converting it into a comment.

You also said that you fixed the answer. In this case, just flag it for moderator attention, choose the random reason and explain what you want to say, something along the lines of:

Fixed answer, can you please undelete it?

Or alternatively, like Oded said in the comments, you can add a new answer with the fixed content.

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I converted the answer to a comment. It was severely lacking on details, as it was a one-liner and wasn't obvious to a general audience how it would address the issue.

Now that you've expanded the answer to include (much) more information, I've undeleted it.

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