Questions and accepted answers

When you post a Question, you can mark one reply as the accepted answer.

How to accept an answer

Open your question, find the reply that solved it, and select Accept answer. A green check appears on it, and the question is shown as solved in feeds and search results.

Why it matters

• For the person who helped you, it is the strongest signal of thanks on the platform, and it is worth +15 reputation — the largest single award there is.
• For the next person, it is the difference between reading fourteen replies and reading the one that worked.
• For you, accepting an answer earns +2 reputation. Closing your own questions is treated as a contribution, because it is one.

Changing your mind

You can un-accept an answer and accept a different one. The reputation moves with it — the previous answerer loses the +15, and the new one gains it. Nothing is permanent.

Nobody answered

• Check the title. Would you know what it was asking if you had not written it?
• Add tags, so people who follow the subject see it.
• Add detail. "It does not work" cannot be answered; the exact error message can.
• Consider whether you posted it in the right community.

If you worked it out yourself, post that as an answer and accept it. A question with your own answer attached is more useful than one that trails off.