Looking in the delete queue - there's always many duplicates. Now some truly bring no value to the site. They have no or one poor answer (if judging answers by votes) and they won't be missed being deleted.

Some have good answers (again judging answers by votes) , or at least one good answer and many other answers that are also not bad.

For example:

Loop scope for variable in Java

Why does equals "==" operator behave differently

Unexpected Behaviour when printing ' ' with ints?

Often times people can go through the linked duplicates to find a solution they understand. Particularly for people new to programming (talking from my own past experience), some people think literally and it can take looking at an answer in many forms for the penny to drop. In other instances the answers will vary and all be valid.

For example, in this question and its linked duplicates:

Could not find required file 'setup.bin'

If the duplicate target has a load of answers, it's understandable that there is a limit to what can be said in a different way between the answers of both the target and the linked duplicates

What is a NullPointerException, and how do I fix it?

However, it may well serve a good purpose having many examples for these popular duplicates, to assist newcomers. (I know they helped me in the beginning).

It's more worrying when the duplicate target does not have many answers on it.

For example this question (which has no delete votes - but is here as a benchmark)

void pointer as an argument in function

What parameters do we want when deleting duplicate questions?

  • 2
    I don't know exact numbers but number of views should also be considered. If a good number of people are finding the dupe target by searching for terms that take them to the duplicate first, it should stay up as a good sign post. – BSMP Jul 23 '17 at 3:24
  • @BSMP very good point. Maybe you can put that in a an answer. I think we need to put together all the parameters we want/need – Yvette Colomb Jul 23 '17 at 3:26

Parameters to consider

  • Unique search terms
    The primary purpose for a duplicate question is to be a signpost which allows people to find the answers on the dup-target. A duplicate should not be deleted if it's serving this purpose. Look for terms used in the question or answers which are not in the dup-target. What constitutes a unique term could be almost anything and will vary from tag to tag and question type to question type. It could even be parts of the code in the question or answer, including API method names, parameter names, classes, etc. Try to think about what someone with the problem would be searching for, even if they implemented it differently.

    Take the time to select various portions of the title, question text, answer text, etc. Search for those selections on Google (and/or your favorite search engine). If the duplicate question appears in the results and the dup-target does not appear in the top 5 or 10 results, then we should definitely keep the duplicate question. If the dup-target is in the top couple/few results for every search you made which also found the duplicate, then deleting the duplicate question may be OK.

  • Views
    If a good number of people are finding the dup-target by searching for terms that take them to the duplicate first, it should stay up as a good sign post. Note: Duplicates with no answers will be deleted by the Roomba script after 365 days, if the question's score <= 0 and the views <= the age of the question in days times 1.5, and it also meets some additional criteria (e.g. <= 1 comment).

  • Answers on duplicate
    Has someone contributed something useful that doesn't exist on the target question?

Note: This is a community wiki - please add other suggestions.

  • Thanks and that's a great idea - making it a community wiki – Yvette Colomb Jul 23 '17 at 3:34
  • @YvetteColomb No problem. I included a line about it being a CW because in the past users have left comments on CWs I created rather than just edit it. I'm hoping that by explicitly pointing it out people will add to it. – BSMP Jul 23 '17 at 3:36
  • Exactly my thoughts also - great minds and all that :) – Yvette Colomb Jul 23 '17 at 3:37
  • 1
    Agreed with the first two, not with the third. Answers on duplicates are not a reason to keep the duplicate around—they're a reason to merge the answers into the "main" question. Unfortunately, that's still a mod-only privilege, so you'll need to flag a moderator to do it. In my experience, they will comply—albeit slowly because they're pretty overworked. In general, though, my views are that there's nothing wrong with leaving duplicates around. The only time I would delete them is if they are absolutely broken windows—egregiously low-quality questions. Otherwise, closing as a dupe is enough. – Cody Gray Jul 23 '17 at 8:48

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