In this answer a user suggests that "answers should almost always be posted as answers”, which I quote
If the question exists elsewhere on the site, and you have an answer for it, it should go on that question. if the question doesn't exist, you should write it up and self-answer it.
This is the best fit for our format.
The primary goal is to get feedback about your solution. And the way we get feedback for solutions is to post them as a solution, and then people have at them.
(FYI: the tag proof-verification is now identified to solution-verification, so I am using modern day terms.) This suggestion gives arises to two questions. A stronger one is:
Should solution verification (always) be posted as self-answers?
And a weaker one is:
Can solution verification be posted as be posted as self-answers?
There are a few scenarios that I can imagine, in which I would like to ask a solution-verification question:
- I finished the proof, and a something in the middle is contradictory to a result that I found in the other book.
- I finished the proof, but I am not confident that the conditions to plug in a theorem are indeed justified.
- I finished the proof, and realized that my methods also applies to a significant generalization of the original problem. Sub-cases includes:
- I was going to do a college-level exercise, but indeed proved a famous unresolved problem.
- I was going to prove $p\wedge q \to r$, but indeed proved $p\to r$. That is, some seemingly critical conditions are not used.
- I originally had a problem with my proof, and the problem resolved as I typed in that question. But I am still only 85% sure that the whole thing is correct.
Because of the premise of (1), (2) and (3.1), I think the answer to the stronger question is “no”. But this still leaves the weaker question open.
On the one hand, it looks fruitful to post answers as answers. Because if the answer to “Is my proof stated as … correct?” is likely “Yes”, such questions are unlikely to receive a well-written answer (specifically, a well-written answer in MSE. A related opinion. How to answer proof verification questions?).
On the other hand, I haven’t seen anyone doing that. In fact, I haven’t seen many self-answers. Occasionally people write up their solutions after being hinted and/or encouraged in the comments, but the actions of simultaneously posting questions and answers are, in my perspective, rare. Moreover, it seems difficult to do that. It appears that the community has a high-quality standard for self-answers (source: e.g. this). Also, providing context can be hard. (Is self answer considered as adding sufficient context?)
I would like to know under what circumstances posting solution-verification as self-answers is allowed/encouraged, and if there have been successful examples of people doing so.