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If a question I asked gets answered by multiple users. And all of them solve the question satisfactorily, which answer should I accept?

  • Should it be the one that was posted first (first come first served)?
  • Should it be the one that is the longest (cause the user put in more effort)?
  • Should it be the one that is the shortest (cause it's concise and to the point)?

Now consider another scenario in which multiple answers are given but not one addresses the complete issue? Reading answers from user-1 and then from user-2 clarifies the concept. So should I accept the answer from user-1 or from user-2?

Edit:
Is it okay to combine the essentials of all the answers into one post and answer your own question? And then accept it?

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    $\begingroup$ If you are struck between two options, just flip a coin in the air! It works. $\endgroup$ – Achmed Mar 17 '18 at 10:38
  • $\begingroup$ @Achmed what about 3 options. :D $\endgroup$ – SmarthBansal Mar 17 '18 at 16:01
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    $\begingroup$ If you throw your coin $n$ times you have $2^n$ outcomes, the probability of each of which is $\frac{1}{2^n}$. The larger $n$ is, the better you can divide $2^n$ into three approximately equal parts: Just define $a_n=[2^n/3]$ and $b_n=[2\cdot 2^n/3]$, where $[\cdot]$ denotes rounding off (or on). Since $\frac{a_n}{2^n}\to\frac{1}{3}$ and $\frac{b_n}{2^n}\to\frac{2}{3}$ as $n\to\infty$, each of the three outcomes "the number of Heads is between $0$ and $a_n$", "the number of Heads is between $a_n$ and $b_n$", $\endgroup$ – Achmed Mar 22 '18 at 9:39
  • $\begingroup$ and "the number of Heads is between $b_n$ and $2^n$" has approximately the probability $\frac{1}{3}$. $\endgroup$ – Achmed Mar 22 '18 at 9:39
  • $\begingroup$ math.stackexchange.com/questions/2356/… $\endgroup$ – Achmed Mar 22 '18 at 9:40
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    $\begingroup$ What some of us have done is to offer suggestions in the comments to explain what would improve a particular answer sufficiently to gain acceptance. In another case, where there was a Bounty, the OP could not decide; he ended up choosing the other answer and giving me the Bounty (plus an upvote) - I was happy with that outcome. You can also edit the answer and choose it. None of those points seem to address your questions directly, to constitute an answer, so I've left this as a comment. $\endgroup$ – Rob Mar 26 '18 at 18:45
  • $\begingroup$ Concerning "Is it okay to combine the essentials of all the answers into one post and answer your own question? And then accept it?" I don't know if there's a direct rule against it; but it probably wouldn't be well received. It really depends on just how much is missing from the other two answers and how that affects their quality. $\endgroup$ – JMac Mar 28 '18 at 13:59
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Accept the answer you find most helpful. It's your question, and the only criterion you need is how helpful you found the answer.

It's not uncommon that someone will post an answer then someone else will post with more details, which can give you a difficult choice of who to accept. But the same criterion applies - accept the answer you liked best.

You shouldn't worry that people might get offended if you don't accept their answer (especially if they've put a lot of work into it). All of us here are physics enthusiasts who write answers because we enjoy doing it. Many of us will sometimes deliberately write a more detailed answer than was asked for, or an answer at a higher level than was asked for, because we're not just aiming the answer at you but also at future visitors to the site. In that case it's perfectly reasonable to accept a different answer that more directly targets your question.

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Which answer should we accept if multiple answers address the question?

The one that you think is the best. How you decide that is up to you.

Should it be the one that was posted first (first come first served)?

Not unless you absolute can't decide which answer to pick.

Should it be the one that is the longest (cause the user put in more effort)?

Only if it gives a more detailed explanation.

Should it be the one that is the shortest (cause it's concise and to the point)?

Maybe. Some answers can be long and tedious and wander off the point. But not always. Do you have an example you can show us?

Now consider another scenario in which multiple answers are given but not one addresses the complete issue? Reading answers from user-1 and then from user-2 clarifies the concept. So should I accept the answer from user-1 or from user-2?

It depends. And remember, you don't have to accept either of them.

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