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I frequently find that I ask a question and I get several answers that are entered at almost the same time.

When all answers are equal, I give the nod to the first one.

But what about when both answers are right, but the second one wrote a bit more. It MAY be a better answer, but I got what I needed from either one.

Who you usually do reward points to in this scenario?

(Here is the question that prompted this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2867588/make-the-text-of-a-disabled-textbox-easier-to-see)

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Related: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/49000 –  Grace Note May 19 '10 at 17:03
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Upvote them all, pick the one you like best. Can be totally random or as arbitrary as you like. –  Randolpho May 19 '10 at 17:24

3 Answers 3

up vote 9 down vote accepted

I normally accept the answer which was most helpful, and most thorough.

In the case of a tie, I accept whichever answer came first/sooner.

I always upvote everything that was even remotely helpful and always comment if two answers were right and I could only accept one.

So in your case I would probably accept @dtb's answer because it refers to a source and seems more thorough.

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+1 and wholeheartedly agreed. If the answers are the same, go with the one with the most information. If they have the same information, give it to the fastest fingers. –  Andy E May 19 '10 at 17:22

If both anwers are equally helpful for me, I usually accept the one which offers additional useful information, or the one that says the same thing in less words. For me, it doesn't matter much, who answered first.

My thought is: When other people have the same question, and are looking for an answer (maybe by googling it), could the extra info be useful for them? Will it answer their question more quickly (e.g. if the info is embedded concisely in the answer, instead of only providing a link to another page).

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I agree, and to make it clear, I only use who answered first in the case where the answers are virtually identical, like "Use the following function", when both answers link to the manual. Oh, and I'd upvote but AGAIN I have used up all my meta upvotes! I need to ration myself ;-) –  The Unhandled Exception May 19 '10 at 17:18

I try to upvote all answers that are useful.

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I think the question centers around choosing which answer to accept. This is definitely a good policy too though. :) –  Daniel DiPaolo May 19 '10 at 21:15

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