How do we feel about self-answering?

Question

As far as I know, we haven't had this happen yet, but what if? Would it be acceptable?

I ask this because to me there is a grey area in the posting guidelines when it comes to something like this. If this site is for asking others for recommendations, is it okay for me to recommend something to myself so others can benefit?

But at the same time it makes sense to do this simply because you might want everyone to know of a hard-to-find product that matches extremely specific requirements, and waiting for someone else to ask about it wouldn't happen.

This topic isn't anything too important, but better to ask than not ask.

Answer 1

Self answers should be allowed.

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However, a self answer must also have a good question. The question must be on topic and of decent quality. When the question is written, it needs to be able to stand on it's own - without your answer. If the community would allow the question without the answer, then there is no reason to get rid of the question.

In the event that you are asking a question to promote a product you are personally involved with (ie. the manufacturer is your employer, it's your piece of hardware, you receive royalties from each sale, etc.), this must be disclosed. The difference between Hardware Recommendations and other sites on the network, is that a self-answer can very easily look like spam. Spam is bad and should be whacked with every giant stick this community and it's leaders have.

I've noticed, in my travels around Stack Exchange, that self answers tend to be judged much more critically. Be aware of this phenomena. If you can provide a high quality question and answer, then go for it. If you can not, the community is here to explain (via comments, down votes, and close votes) that this particular content is not appropriate.

Finally, a self answer should not be the end of a particular Q&A post. You may have a great question and answer, but the community may have something even better. It's worth remembering that, even on self answers, other answers are encouraged.

Answer 2

Absolutely they should be allowed.

This is one of those aspects where we share with the rest of the Stack Exchange network. Across the network, self-answers are not just allowed but explicitly encouraged, and I don't see any reason to change that rule for this site.

But, as Andy says, self-answers are still held to the same - if not higher - quality standards for both question and answer, and if they don't meet those then there's downvotes, close votes, or even deletion for them.

Answer 3

Self-answers should be allowed for the simple reason that if people are truly searching for hardware that meets specified criteria, they are the ones that ultimately decide if their needs have been met and how they were best met.

If nobody responds to their question, or the answers are of poor quality (not all specifications met), or the OP finds a better solution (extra features that were not specifically required), of course we want them to post that information for others.