Which is your best underestimated (by other users) answer?

Question

Sometimes it happens to receive a lot of votes for a simple answer, ten minutes' work, whereas an excellent or elaborated one earns fewer votes it deserves.

A famous example of the first kind is David Carlisle's answer to the grandma's question.

A recent instance of the second type is another David's post which is the cleanest among the answers to that question but not the most upvoted (at the time I wrote this post).

Which is your best answer among the ones which received few votes?

If you are too humble to point out your own answer, you could highlight another user's one.

You could also extend this to questions.

I like the idea, although I'm too lazy to search for an answer :) — TeXnician, Jul 11, 2017 at 12:41
@TeXnician just post an example, you can update your answer later, if you find a best one :):):) — CarLaTeX, Jul 11, 2017 at 12:49
just pick any answer of mine where an answer of egreg has a green tick — David Carlisle, Jul 11, 2017 at 12:50
@DavidCarlisle There is only the embarrassment of choice, then! LOL — CarLaTeX, Jul 11, 2017 at 12:55
Maybe tex.stackexchange.com/questions/256627/… or tex.stackexchange.com/questions/318670/… where each time the answer included work on and an update to my package… — cgnieder, Jul 11, 2017 at 15:55
Now is this a call to upvote the underrated answers by user John or Jane Doe? ;-) I think a lot of answers are underrated and show the lack of appreciation — user31729, Jul 11, 2017 at 20:03
@ChristianHupfer Why not? It may be a way to reward them, even if a bit late... :):):) — CarLaTeX, Jul 11, 2017 at 20:20
Sometimes I have a feeling, that egreg's answers get more upvotes just because he is egreg, not because they are noticeably better. — Skillmon, Jul 12, 2017 at 13:51
@Skillmon David Carlisle will be very happy of your comment :) — CarLaTeX, Jul 12, 2017 at 14:07
@Skillmon: Cough.... and some other posts as well just because they are written by ... (fill in the names yourself ;-) — user31729, Jul 12, 2017 at 15:28
@DavidCarlisle, this Numbering many equations... came to my mine. Although you didn't provide an answer but you've written the package. LOL — CroCo, Jul 17, 2017 at 0:00
It's been a few months now, and some of the highlighted answers have gotten a few new upvotes, but most of the activity has taken place here on meta. As a reminder for future visitors, "reward existing answer" is an officially sanctioned reason for starting bounties. — Pops, Oct 9, 2017 at 14:15
Of course, but you can't start a bounty to reward your own answer :):):) — CarLaTeX, Oct 9, 2017 at 14:23

samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-11 13:39:40Z

15

I'd like to add this answer of @moewe:

https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/170321/36296

This basically creates a completely new style and for all the work it did not even get accepted by the OP and only a single upvote :( There are many similar answers of her/him but I guess since most bibliography questions are about tweaking something to fit some very particular style, they are often not widely applicable and therefore terribly underrated - but maybe it's just the missing ducks.

answered Jul 11, 2017 at 13:39

samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz

159k3 gold badges26 silver badges64 bronze badges

2

Excellent example! Posts with BibLaTeX are among the most complex and underestimated ones.
– CarLaTeX
Jul 11, 2017 at 13:58
2

Ahh, that's where all the upvotes came from. I expected some elaborate voting fraud scheme, ... Yes, biblatex answers are sometimes 'underrated' especially when it comes to things that are lots of work, while sometimes very easy answers get lots of upvotes (of course they are also easier to understand). But I guess you know that
– moewe
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:45
1

@moewe Not to forget all your work on goLaTeX where you can't get any upvotes. Once again, a big Thank You.
– Johannes_B
Jul 14, 2017 at 6:23
1

@cfr The question explicitly states "... you could highlight another user's one." So I think it answers the question and works really well -- +27 votes for moewe!
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Jul 18, 2017 at 8:28
@samcarter Oops. Missed that. You're quite right. Sorry. (I still thought your answer was a perfectly good one, regardless.)
– cfr
Jul 18, 2017 at 13:59
2

Maybe we need somebody to ask for a bibliography style which incorporates ducks, just so moewe can answer and make up the missing reputation?
– cfr
Jul 18, 2017 at 14:01
1

@cfr I wonder what the bib style for the Donald Duck Adventures is :) We should ask this next January: daysoftheyear.com/days/rubber-duckie-day
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Jul 18, 2017 at 14:06
1

In my view, biblatex questions on this site are too dependent on whether or not @moewe looks at them and answers them. I have a number of biblatex questions here that wouldn't have a solution if @moewe wasn't here.
– Sverre
Aug 10, 2017 at 11:41
@Sverre You're definitely right, we have few BibLaTeX experts here!
– CarLaTeX
Aug 18, 2017 at 9:34

Add a comment |

Alan Munn · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-11 15:27:51Z

14

Maybe I have sentimental attachment to this answer of mine, which was one of the first few questions I answered. It was very instructive on how the reputation system actually works. The answer took quite a bit of sleuthing, but received only four votes. At the same time answering simpler questions that could be answered simply by reading package documentation could gain many more votes. And then of course there's the tikz automatic bonus. :)

lineno and syntax package incompatibilities

I also answer a lot of linguistics questions which since few people use those specialized packages tend not to get many votes. I do, however, get many thanks from random people at linguistics conferences, which makes up for it.

answered Jul 11, 2017 at 15:27

Alan Munn

218k2 gold badges73 silver badges135 bronze badges

1

Thank you for your contribute! Also for mentioning the linguistics posts.
– CarLaTeX
Jul 11, 2017 at 15:45
It might help to add an image i.stack.imgur.com/vKHKs.png
– John Kormylo
Jul 15, 2017 at 16:28
3

@JohnKormylo Yes, I notice that many of all of our older answers don't include images, but now we almost always include them. But I think the reality is that the more specialized the question, the fewer views it gets and also it's harder for non-specialists to decide whether it's a good answer or not so people just tend not to upvote them. (Of course I don't need any more votes).
– Alan Munn
Jul 15, 2017 at 16:37

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Skillmon · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-12 14:13:40Z

11

I think one of mine which required a good slice of work but got only 1 upvote is this answer to the question "Justifying ('ragged right/left, center') all the tables in a document". There might be others but I think only 1 upvote is a bit harsh even if this answer is not applicable for anyone else.

answered Jul 12, 2017 at 14:13

Skillmon

60.7k1 gold badge9 silver badges17 bronze badges

1

The single upvote is not even by the OP although this seems exactly like the solution he/she was looking for - so sad :(
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Jul 12, 2017 at 14:35
@samcarter how do you know who placed votes? I can only see the balance but not who did vote... When does one get this privilege?
– Skillmon
Jul 12, 2017 at 14:37
5

@Skilmon One never gains this privilege, the only votes you will ever see are your own. Let's just say that in this specific case I coincidentally know who voted :)
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Jul 12, 2017 at 14:41
@samcarter ok, that explains everything! And I thought you were a hax0r...
– Skillmon
Jul 12, 2017 at 14:47
1

@Skillmon: Now there are 3 votes as of now ;-) And you can look on the number of votes somebody has cast on his/her profile -- of course not for which posts the votes were cast
– user31729
Jul 12, 2017 at 15:19
8

Especially this is the case of careless users: Coming, requesting an answer and never responding/appreciating :-(
– user31729
Jul 12, 2017 at 15:19
3

You too can share the special powers by visiting the OP's profile: tex.stackexchange.com/users/122478/alexey-orlov?tab=topactivity ;) i.stack.imgur.com/zrWfF.png :(
– cfr
Jul 16, 2017 at 1:51

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Paulo Cereda · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-27 11:02:10Z

10

This one.

edited Jul 27, 2017 at 11:02

Paulo Cereda

44.2k4 gold badges60 silver badges88 bronze badges

answered Jul 16, 2017 at 1:36

cfr

199k18 silver badges27 bronze badges

1

@CarLaTeX Who's ROLF? Is that your dog?
– cfr
Jul 16, 2017 at 1:53
2

I've laughed so hard. Love wild thoughts :)
– CroCo
Jul 17, 2017 at 0:03
7

@cfr How many upvotes will it take until you edit your answer to "Not this one."?
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Jul 17, 2017 at 20:11
1

@samcarter v is neither a constant nor an independent variable. At time t, v_t depends on v_{t,a} \forall a \in \{my answers \mid a \neq this one\}.
– cfr
Jul 18, 2017 at 1:08
1

Some people are just more courageous than others (+ > 1).
– touhami
Jul 19, 2017 at 7:14
@touhami: One could interpret posting such an 'answer' as infamy as well
– user31729
Jul 21, 2017 at 16:10
@ChristianHupfer Do you mean as an attempt to achieve infamy? Not sure how posting an answer could itself be interpreted as infamy. Desire for infamy? Aspiring to infamy?
– cfr
Jul 21, 2017 at 17:19
1

It's very funny but @ChristianHupfer is right, this is not an answer to my question, I'm flagging it.
– CarLaTeX
Jul 27, 2017 at 2:20
@CarLaTeX I cannot honestly see that it is not an answer to your question. You did not specify answers had to be on the main site. Moreover, none of the other answers will be answers to your question in cases where other users later vote up the answers to which they refer. So you will have to flag all those also, if you are to be fair about things.
– cfr
Jul 27, 2017 at 3:25
@CarLaTeX I don't have any under-appreciated answers on the main site: only over-appreciated ones.
– cfr
Jul 27, 2017 at 3:27
1

@cfr The other answers where low-voted at the moment they posted their answer here. If you don't have under-appreciated answer, you could point out someone else's one.
– CarLaTeX
Jul 27, 2017 at 3:36
5

@cfr: Secret duck message successfully deployed. :)
– Paulo Cereda
Jul 27, 2017 at 11:02
@CarLaTeX This answer had ZERO votes when I posted it, so unless the others all had negative scores, it can hardly be excluded on that basis.
– cfr
Jul 27, 2017 at 12:40
@CarLaTeX Besides, you can hardly deny that the current version will inevitably be under-appreciated!
– cfr
Jul 27, 2017 at 12:42
@cfr but yours was not an answer, the others were answers :):):)
– CarLaTeX
Jul 27, 2017 at 12:42

| Show 5 more comments

John Kormylo · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-15 16:49:59Z

6

Two of my answers that I am rather fond of are Multiple \marginnote commands on the same line in math environment and Pgfplots: Placing legends individually to the end of lines, both dealing with how to place text at specific vertical locations without overlapping them. (I really should go back are redo the first using macros instead of dimen registers.)

answered Jul 15, 2017 at 16:49

John Kormylo

79.9k10 silver badges7 bronze badges

Both excelent answers, thank you!
– CarLaTeX
Jul 15, 2017 at 16:59

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Schweinebacke · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-21 15:24:57Z

5

https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/369953/9057 is a typical example of mine for answers that are in a mad challenge with an answer of @egreg (see David's comment to the question above). If egreg answers a question the best you can do is either to not try to answer it too or—if you have already answered it—delete your answer before someone else can see it.

On the other hand https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/366576/9057 was a 5 minutes answer (most of the time was needed to make all the links) with too much votes for.

But the answer which made me crazy was https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/350024/9057. After getting more than 10 votes for this answer, I've asked myself whats wrong with this world. And I found the answer: Germany will get 12 points never ever again. ;-)

answered Jul 21, 2017 at 15:24

Schweinebacke

26.4k12 silver badges9 bronze badges

1

I'm one of the upvoters of the second one and the third one, hahaha! (To compensate I've just upvoted the first). However, I have an answer that was accepted instead of egreg's one: tex.stackexchange.com/a/318959/101651, hence, there's some hope! Thank you!
– CarLaTeX
Jul 21, 2017 at 15:41
@CarLaTeX Hey, you've broken my example! ;-)
– Schweinebacke
Jul 21, 2017 at 15:50
Noooooo hahaha!
– CarLaTeX
Jul 21, 2017 at 16:02
2

You can just leave a comment under @egreg's answers with "Hmm, I wonder if this is possible with xparse" and that will give you some extra time while he is gone to his evil lab singing o O O o O o m m o O O or whatever that input syntax is meant to summon.
– percusse
Jul 21, 2017 at 18:12
Some users are more popular than others, that's the basic scheme
– user31729
Jul 21, 2017 at 20:01
3

@ChristianHupfer Some users are more competent than others. BTW: I've no problem with low votes. I find it only strange which of my answers reach high votes. Mostly these are answers that do not cost a lot—perhaps the answers that can be read and used in seconds, sometimes even without the need to understand them.
– Schweinebacke
Jul 22, 2017 at 9:04
@Schweinebacke: If competence would be really appreciated most of us would have more votes... The problem is that an answer (even the first one to a question) will be neglected as soon as the high rep users answer basically in the same way (and although I am a 100k user, I don't belong to the high rep group)
– user31729
Jul 22, 2017 at 10:15
@ChristianHupfer Only 18 users have more reputation than you. The high rep club is very exclusive!
– CarLaTeX
Jul 23, 2017 at 19:10
@CarLaTeX: Yes I know that I am don't belong to the high rep club. Me being beyond 100k is just by accidence
– user31729
Jul 23, 2017 at 19:18
1

@ChristianHupfer It's more strange my being beyond 11k hahaha!
– CarLaTeX
Jul 23, 2017 at 19:29
2

@CarLaTeX: Duck-related content pushes the rep, especially in conjunction with TiKZ ;-)
– user31729
Jul 23, 2017 at 19:35
@ChristianHupfer Indeed! 475 points earned with the tikzduck answer & question! Hahaha
– CarLaTeX
Jul 23, 2017 at 19:39
@CarLaTeX: Yes. Think about it ... I think, we lost seriousness
– user31729
Jul 23, 2017 at 19:41
@ChristianHupfer I don't agree, also prof. Knuth is known for its sense of humour. There is already too much sad things in the world, let's laugh every now and then!
– CarLaTeX
Jul 23, 2017 at 19:54
1

Sometimes you succeed in giving a better answer than @egreg’s! (;-)
– GuM
Mar 31, 2018 at 1:48

| Show 2 more comments

CarLaTeX · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-28 07:22:45Z

3

Eventually, I managed to find a Steven B. Segletes's answer that I remembered.

I think it's a simple and very useful way to align text within table cells (a thing particurarly complicated to beginners).

At the moment I'm writing, it earned only 3 upvotes.

answered Jul 28, 2017 at 7:22

CarLaTeX

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Phelype Oleinik · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-16 10:31:19Z

1

This answer is exactly the opposite. I just showed OP the utilization of \hyphenation and got about 15 upvotes in that day and a couple more a few days later.

It was one of the easiest questions I answered and it is the most upvoted :P

answered Mar 16, 2018 at 10:31

Phelype Oleinik

70.9k1 gold badge8 silver badges19 bronze badges

This often happens, people upvotes what it useful, and often the simplest things are the more useful. In your case, I think also the beautiful image helped :):):)
– CarLaTeX
Mar 16, 2018 at 12:16
Makes sense... I just found interesting the fact that 15 people found that useful in one day only. The image, though, is a good explanation :)
– Phelype Oleinik
Mar 16, 2018 at 12:20
@PhelypeOleinik Just imagine how many votes you would have gotten with a duck in the answer :)
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Mar 16, 2018 at 13:06
@samcarter =D I'll put my mummy duck everywhere now! Fun fact: The last page of my graduation project (is this the name?) has a Quero-quero in it :)
– Phelype Oleinik
Mar 16, 2018 at 13:14
@PhelypeOleinik Oh, the bood-thirsty-red-eye-bird :)
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Mar 16, 2018 at 13:17
@samcarter Exactly! They are beautiful *-* My project :)
– Phelype Oleinik
Mar 16, 2018 at 13:23
@PhelypeOleinik Unfortunately I cannot read anything, but it looks very nice!
– samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Mar 16, 2018 at 13:26
@samcarter The important part is the quero-quero. The rest is just gibberish to fill up space U_U
– Phelype Oleinik
Mar 16, 2018 at 13:31
@CarLaTeX: The overrating of some answers (in general) is becoming more and more ridiculous and the underrating of many others is really annoying.
– user31729
Mar 16, 2018 at 15:24
1

@ChristianHupfer I think prof. van Duck will write an article on the topic "voting behavior on TeX.SE", not in the next issue (already in press), but in the following one :):):)
– CarLaTeX
Mar 16, 2018 at 15:52
@CarLaTeX: That will not change much, I fear.
– user31729
Mar 16, 2018 at 20:17
@ChristianHupfer I think there's nothing else I can do...
– CarLaTeX
Mar 16, 2018 at 20:48

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