I came across this answer that I flagged as "a link only answer" (flagged manually, not via low quality review task):

Maybe it's your antivirus. Are you using avast if so look at this https://feedback.avast.com/responses/eclipse-debug-functionality-not-working-after-upgrade-to-avast-2014

I solved mine with the help from that link.

However, a moderator declined my flag with "no evidence to support it".

Why isn't this answer considered a "link only answer"?
What makes an answer a "link only" answer?

  • Moderators tend to want more detailed custom flag messages, not just "link only answer". For example, list how it cannot stand on its own without the link, and explicitly state it should be deleted. – Qantas 94 Heavy Nov 22 '13 at 10:50
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    Just suggesting that the problem could be the antivirus is helpful, so it's not a link only answer. That said, it would be good to add something more, but deleting the answer it's not the solution, because helpful information would be deleted. – Pablo Nov 22 '13 at 10:59
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    By the way, I went ahead and edited the answer to add more information from the link. – Pablo Nov 22 '13 at 11:09

Probably, moderator who declined was one of those guys willing you to do more work, like:

  • first, comment suggesting OP to improve and vote down,

  • next, wait for several days to give a chance to OP to fix their crap,

  • then flag, preferably with a detailed message explaining what you did and how it didn't help in getting the answer into a better shape.

I have never seen these guys explaining how their favorite approach would help with ~24K link-only answers having positive score at Stack Overflow but oh well.

  • 3
    FWIW, users who get link-only answers deleted can always post a new one. As a moderator for Stack Overflow (where the community raises nearly 1000 flags per day), I don't have the time to sit on someone's link-only answer to see if they're going to fix it. – Robert Harvey Nov 22 '13 at 18:55

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