I just recently put a lot of effort into writing a lengthy answer to the following question:

What is the Scriptural Basis Against the Trinity

It wasn't until after I wrote it that I realized that it was really just a duplicate of a couple of other question:

Since I posted my answer, the question was closed as a duplicate and a bit of a heated debate swelled, first in the comments section and then later in the following Meta post which was started for the very purpose:

Based on the comments made, it seems now that I would have been better off posting my answer to one of those other questions (or both?). In the meta discussion, there was talk about the question eventually being deleted, in which case, I'm assuming, my answer will also be deleted and all that effort wasted. Someone said something on there about the moderators having the ability to migrate answers from one question to another, but if they fail to do that, before the question is deleted, wouldn't that mean my answer would be lost?

So my question is, based on all of those concerns, should I take the initiative to copy my answer to one or both of those other answers, or perhaps move it (copy and then delete the first one)? It seems wrong to me to have duplicate answers floating around.

  • 1
    Duplicates are rarely deleted (typically only if they are very low quality). They serve a good purpose, asking the same question in a different way, which helps users find it better. – 3961 Jan 16 '14 at 20:59

There are a few options here, and we're still discussing and exploring what to do with that question.

There is some contention over whether or not it is a duplicate, and if it is a duplicate which question to keep.

Our options are to merge the questions, leave everything as is, or to ask good answers to copy and paste their answers over.

We'd rather not have duplicate answers, and if the answer isn't going to change between questions, that's a pretty sure sign that they are, in fact, duplicates. If you'd like to move your answer, you are welcome to, there is likely a merge of the two questions coming (we just need to sort out which one will be the master), and the results will be the same. the only thing that would change is that you'd keep your reputation if you leave your current answer alone and wait for a merge.

  • Thanks. I'll wait :) – Steven Doggart Jan 16 '14 at 15:07
  • For what it's worth, I personally agree with those that say it is a duplicate. I couldn't detect any discernible difference between the two (or three for that matter). – Steven Doggart Jan 16 '14 at 15:09
  • Assuming that one of the questions is closed as duplicate, I would be abolutely in favour of you copying your answer to the one left open - possibly deleting the original answer if you like. – DJClayworth Jan 18 '14 at 17:59

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