How to select the correct answer and award the bounty

Question

I have asked a question and opened a bounty to get some attention. Fortunately, I received two good but wildly different answers. The differences as I see them are:

Answer 1

• Seems like a more automated, flexible, and general solution.
• Not exactly what I asked for, but a great alternative. (Solves the problem but not in the way I proposed.)
• More complicated than the Answer 2. I like simplicity.
• Due to its complexity, I have not been able to implement this solution for all my possible use cases.

Answer 2

• Very simple and easy to understand (other people will need to understand my preamble).
• Not exactly what I asked for, but a good alternative. (Solves the problem but not as automated as I had hoped.)
• Needs manual adjustment of white space if things are changed.
• I have implemented this answer properly in my document.

How do I select the best answer? I feel like I need to take this more seriously as there is also a bounty included. Both answers were made after the bounty was opened.

When I select an answer, what is the best way to make it clear that both answers are good. Should I write a comment to clarify my choice? Or would that be frowned upon like writing "Thanks"?

Answer 1

This is one of the privileges of asking a question. It allows you to decide which answer helped you most. Like voting, your decision-making process doesn't have to be disclosed.

My suggestion would be that if neither answer addresses your question in its entirety that you request more clarification or improvement from those who posted answers.

If no answer meets your needs at the end of the bounty period, you don't have to award it to anyone. There is an automated awarding process, giving 50% of the bounty to the highest-voted answer having a score of at least 2 that was posted after the bounty was created. Regardless, 100% of the bounty is removed from your reputation at the initiation.