When reviewing late answers, one can see this tip:

This is a late answer to an old question provided by a new user. Watch for hidden gems, non-answers, and spam.

I have doubts on what the hidden gems part means. What exactly should one be looking for? A few examples (the most recurring or offending ones at least) might clear up the concept.


I believe that a "hidden gem" in this case refers to an answer that's surprisingly outstanding in quality, especially coming from a new user.

Such answers are rare to come by, plus you don't often find these when sifting through a series of usually low-quality answers or "thanks", "me too!" non-answers (which are the norm when it comes to late answers by new users).

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    I actually read it as sarcasm... Especially since its in a list of generally unwelcome content... More along the lines of the urban dictionary's definition... – Lix Oct 21 '12 at 10:48
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    Oh OK, I thought a hidden gem was a negative thing, like some weird looking link or something. Thanks for clearing that up. – Betoverse Oct 21 '12 at 10:48
  • Nice, I stole your wording to update the glossary. Hope you don't mind? ;) – Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask Oct 21 '12 at 11:26
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    @ShaWizDowArd: No problem. Just FYI, the term wasn't coined by Stack Exchange - it's a common idiom in English. – BoltClock's a Unicorn Oct 21 '12 at 11:35
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    Not so common, couldn't find any reliable source; on the contrary - urban dictionary gave not-so-pleasant meaning to this term. :D – Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask Oct 21 '12 at 11:47
  • Googling for hidden gems list places where the only meaning could be positive I thnk urban dictionary is wrong here – mmmmmm Oct 21 '12 at 11:51

I've cooked up a data explorer query that finds not-so-hidden gems: answers that new users made within a week of registering, to questions that were at least six-months old at the time, that have accumulated more than a net of 25 votes.

The top one is the only post by that user, and now has over 600 up-votes. It's a bit short, so maybe the query could be enhanced to limit only to answers that are 'worth a read'.

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