What is meta? ×

This one

Yes, it was snarky. Yes, it wasn't really an answer, but, as the comments have noted, it's the best answer of the bunch (as evidenced by the 100+ upvotes it has).

Moreover, it's the only answer that states—if in a snarky, circuitous way—the fundamental problem with the original question: OP's code is dominated much more by the IO than with the speed of the respective languages.


I'd just like to also point out that, as @thirtydot says, whatever problems this answer suffers from are more than made up for with the comments beneath it.

share|improve this question
At the very least, convert it to a comment. And then let us massively upvote it. –  Anthony Pegram Jan 31 '12 at 18:13
@Anthony - I really think it needs to be an answer at the very top (well, second in line) for visitors to see, not buried in the comment pile. –  Adam Rackis Jan 31 '12 at 18:14
I don't disagree. If anything, just a minor addition entailing what your third paragraph says is all that's needed to clarify the point for those who do not find it obvious. –  Anthony Pegram Jan 31 '12 at 18:16
@Anthony - agree. A little edit and the votes would comport with SO's newer, stricter standards. –  Adam Rackis Jan 31 '12 at 18:18
Why undelete that answer when you should delete the whole question! –  user7116 Jan 31 '12 at 18:18
If the answer was edited to add the clarification, I would perhaps agree. The problem is, IMO, that if someone does not already know that, and therefore is asking/wondering that question, what is there now will simply seem to be an insult. Adding, after the snarky part, a clear explanation would at least make it an answer. Although, one I personally would still not upvote as 'Helpful'. That said... I think the question is bad to start with... –  Andrew Barber Jan 31 '12 at 18:20
@six - sigh, I hope this meta post doesn't result in the whole question being wiped. There's a lot for future visitors to learn from seeing other people's bad ideas / bad questions, and I think this is a good example. –  Adam Rackis Jan 31 '12 at 18:20
It's funny and true. Undelete it! The comments more than make up for the succinct answer. –  thirtydot Jan 31 '12 at 18:36
"There's a lot for future visitors to learn from seeing other people's bad ideas / bad questions". This might explain a lot of the arguments I see on meta –  Michael Mrozek Jan 31 '12 at 18:40
@AdamRackis: Why deal with the, "but this question is still here!" There are plenty of better, "why is my performance like this?" questions. –  user7116 Jan 31 '12 at 18:50
DELETED. Will just finished undeleting the answer, though. –  JNK Jan 31 '12 at 19:04
I find it funny that this discussion essentially resulted in nine more people downvoting the question. In regards to what @sixlettervariables said, I also support Adam's point about leaving the question in place -- the OP is asking an innocuous (if poorly-worded) question and is ignorant about an absolutely crucial point of software development. I read this question when I became an active member here, and the "aha!" moment of reading Timbo's answer was invaluable. –  jwiscarson Jan 31 '12 at 21:00
@jwiscarson - I knew some downvotes would come to OP when I posted, so I threw him a +1 to try to compensate. Also, it looks like the answer in question has also received 17 upvotes today! –  Adam Rackis Jan 31 '12 at 21:03
@AdamRackis, not a bad thought (re: the question itself). I hadn't upvoted that answer before because it was so short, but Will's edit made it so much better, and so warranted the upvote today. –  jwiscarson Jan 31 '12 at 21:08
@jwiscarson: if the question is worth asking, it'll get asked again. Hopefully this time without so many snarky comments pretending to be answers. Otherwise, it'll get closed and deleted again. –  user7116 Feb 1 '12 at 14:50

1 Answer 1

up vote 13 down vote accepted

After a little conversation amongst moderators, I edited the answer to move a couple of the good comments into it. Its now undeleted.

share|improve this answer
Thanks Will. Stack Overflow is now a slightly better place thanks to you :) –  Adam Rackis Jan 31 '12 at 20:08
.. and now the whole thing is vaporized with no mechanism for us serfs to vote to undelete. :( –  sarnold Feb 1 '12 at 2:04
No good deed goes unpunished. –  Won't Feb 1 '12 at 13:58
Will - did OP flag his question asking for it to be deleted? Is that why Shog killed it? –  Adam Rackis Feb 1 '12 at 15:06
@AdamRackis: That's a good question for Shiggety. I have no idea; it all happened after I debooked the area. –  Won't Feb 1 '12 at 15:09
Might be a good question for the moderator-only chat. Pity that after all that it's just nuked –  Adam Rackis Feb 1 '12 at 15:18
@AdamRackis: I guess some folk are unhappy with the quality of the question, and that not enough people cared to vote to reopen (it was closed for a year or so before this). Now its generating more noise than signal, and when that happens things tend to be deleted. –  Won't Feb 1 '12 at 15:25
Ok, thanks Will –  Adam Rackis Feb 1 '12 at 16:17

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .