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What should we do when we find the answer to question A in the answers to question B? For example, this answer is copied directly from another answer on Stack Overflow (exact duplicate), but the question is clearly not a duplicate. Copy and paste the answer? Link to it? Both?

While copy-paste seems most useful to the reader, it sets off alarms in that part of my brain that hates duplicate code.

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Related: Handling answers that build heavily on (or are copied outright from) existing answers. If you dig through the Linked and Related sections you may find duplicates there (I didn't, but I didn't exactly look, either). –  Time Traveling Bobby Apr 25 '12 at 8:49

2 Answers 2

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Copy paste, if not by the original person who answered should at the very least be accompanies by a link to the original answer.

If you have found such a duplicate, without attribution, by someone different, by all means comment with a link to the original.

Note that I say "should" and not "must" - all content on the site is licensed as CC with Attribution Required - this means on other sites. Within the SE family of sites, it is not required, but a nice to have.

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I quote the answer, with a link.

Done it many times:






Note that I try to add more meat to each answer. The answers are 'tailored' for a different question, so I add some extra explanation below.

IMO, the answer you linked to is fine, though he could have explained what was going on.

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