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Charlie Brumbaugh, thanks for bringing this up. I like to vote, so this subject is really important to me.

You've done a great job of explaining your thoughts, as have the people who've answered you. My comments got too long so I wrote an answer. I apologize for the redundancies.

The bottom line, as you said, is that if a question is worth our answer, it deserves our vote.

Unfortunately the SE system is set up so answers are far more highly rewarded than questions. Question votes get 5 rep, (2 more if they accept an answer), but answers get 10, and accepted answers get another 15. It's a huge discrepancy, and is another reason not to answer a question without upvoting it. In fact, it can even appear self-serving to answer a question without upvoting.

Question upvoting empowers people. This is true for everyone, but especially new users. It takes 15 rep to upvote, 50 to comment and 125 to downvote. People can't fully participate unless we help them. It's really sad to see people ask a few questions, not get to the threshold they need to become active community members, and give up. It's especially sad when those same people have answers on their questions, which goes back to your original point!

If we have an answer but don't feel the question is up to our standards, we should edit the question (which may help many people down the line), or leave a comment asking for clarification, before answering. This is also part of the SE instruction not to answer questions which need work. See Answer well-asked questions in the Help Center.

@James Jenkins also made an extremely important point. The question OP should pay attention to all their answers. Every answer to our questions should have a vote (either up or down) or a comment, or both. Lots of people don't answer right away, but their contribution is just as important. It takes courage to add an answer when there are already others, especially if one is accepted. Late answers often get fewer votes, even though they can be just as good or better. The first answer is not always the best.

Anonymous voting is one of the most important foundations of the SE model. If you don't want to upvote when you answer, in case it exposes you as the voter, please remember to come back later and upvote. That way the question OP gets the support they deserve, and the answer OP keeps their voting anonymity.

Of course @Rory Alsop is right too. We can't control what people do, but discussions like this are encouraging, and valuable. I hope this one results in a stronger, happier community.

Charlie Brumbaugh, thanks for bringing this up. I like to vote, so this subject is really important to me.

You've done a great job of explaining your thoughts, as have the people who've answered you. My comments got too long so I wrote an answer. I apologize for the redundancies.

The bottom line, as you said, is that if a question is worth our answer, it deserves our vote.

Unfortunately the SE system is set up so answers are far more highly rewarded than questions. Question votes get 5 rep, (2 more if they accept an answer), but answers get 10, and accepted answers get another 15. It's a huge discrepancy, and is another reason not to answer a question without upvoting it. In fact, it can even appear self-serving to answer a question without upvoting.

Question upvoting empowers people. This is true for everyone, but especially new users. It takes 15 rep to upvote, 50 to comment and 125 to downvote. People can't fully participate unless we help them. It's really sad to see people ask a few questions, not get to the threshold they need to become active community members, and give up. It's especially sad when those same people have answers on their questions, which goes back to your original point!

If we have an answer but don't feel the question is up to our standards, we should edit the question (which may help many people down the line), or leave a comment asking for clarification, before answering. This is also part of the SE instruction not to answer questions which need work. See Answer well-asked questions in the Help Center.

@James Jenkins also made an extremely important point. The question OP should pay attention to all their answers. The first answer is not always the best. Every answer to our questions should have a vote (either up or down) or a comment, or both. Lots of people don't answer right away, but their contribution is just as important. It takes courage to add an answer when there are already others, especially if one is accepted. Late answers often get fewer votes, even though they can be just as good or better.

Anonymous voting is one of the most important foundations of the SE model. If you don't want to upvote when you answer, in case it exposes you as the voter, please remember to come back later and upvote. That way the question OP gets the support they deserve, and the answer OP keeps their voting anonymity.

Of course @Rory Alsop is right too. We can't control what people do, but discussions like this are encouraging, and valuable. I hope this one results in a stronger, happier community.

Charlie Brumbaugh, thanks for bringing this up. It's no secret that I like to vote!, so this subject is really important to me.

You've done a great job of explaining your point, as have the people who've answered you. I was trying to leave comments on all the posts, but they got too long, so I'm adding an answer. I apologize for the redundancies.

The bottom line is what you've already said. If a question is worth our answer, it deserves our vote. If we have an answer but don't feel the question is up to our standards, we should edit the question (which may help many people down the line), or leave a comment asking for clarification, before leaving an answer. It can appear arrogant to answer a question without supporting it, even if it's not meant that way.

It really bothers me that the SE system is set up so answers are more highly rewarded than questions. Question votes get 5 rep, (2 more if they accept an answer), answers get 10, accepted answers get 15. It's a huge discrepancy, and is another reason not to answer a question without upvoting it.

Question upvoting doesn't just say thanks, it empowers people. This is true for everyone at every level, and especially new users. It takes 10 rep to post more than two pictures, 15 to upvote, 50 to comment and 125 to downvote. People can't fully participate unless we help them. Not everybody knows that though, so we who know the system should set an example. It's really sad to see people ask a few questions, not get to the threshold they need to become active community members and give up. It's especially sad when those same people have answers on their questions that are highly voted, which goes back to your original point!

@James Jenkins brought up an extremely important point too. I agree one hundred percent. The question OP should make sure they pay attention to all their answers. Every answer to our questions should have a vote (either up or down) or a comment, or both. Also, lots of people don't answer right away, but their contribution is just as important. It takes courage to add an answer when there are already others. Late answers often get fewer views, and votes, even though they can be just as good. Sometimes they should even become the accepted answer, even if means the question OP has to switch the acceptance. The most highly voted answer isn't always the best one.

Anonymous voting is vital to the SE system, and I respect it. Most of the time, I've already upvoted a question long before I write an answer, so my answer doesn't correlate to the timing of my vote, but that's not always the case. If you answer a question but don't upvote because it looks obvious that you're the voter, leave your answer, but please come back later and upvote the question. That way the question OP gets the support they deserve, while the answer OP gets the anonymity that they deserve.

Of course @Rory Alsop is right too. We can't control what people do. Discussions like this are encouraging, though, and definitely worth having. I hope this one results in a stronger, happier community.

Charlie Brumbaugh, thanks for bringing this up. I like to vote, so this subject is really important to me.

You've done a great job of explaining your thoughts, as have the people who've answered you. My comments got too long so I wrote an answer. I apologize for the redundancies.

The bottom line, as you said, is that if a question is worth our answer, it deserves our vote.

Unfortunately the SE system is set up so answers are far more highly rewarded than questions. Question votes get 5 rep, (2 more if they accept an answer), but answers get 10, and accepted answers get another 15. It's a huge discrepancy, and is another reason not to answer a question without upvoting it. In fact, it can even appear self-serving to answer a question without upvoting.

Question upvoting empowers people. This is true for everyone, but especially new users. It takes 15 rep to upvote, 50 to comment and 125 to downvote. People can't fully participate unless we help them. It's really sad to see people ask a few questions, not get to the threshold they need to become active community members, and give up. It's especially sad when those same people have answers on their questions, which goes back to your original point!

If we have an answer but don't feel the question is up to our standards, we should edit the question (which may help many people down the line), or leave a comment asking for clarification, before answering. This is also part of the SE instruction not to answer questions which need work. See Answer well-asked questions in the Help Center.

@James Jenkins also made an extremely important point. The question OP should pay attention to all their answers. Every answer to our questions should have a vote (either up or down) or a comment, or both. Lots of people don't answer right away, but their contribution is just as important. It takes courage to add an answer when there are already others, especially if one is accepted. Late answers often get fewer votes, even though they can be just as good or better. The first answer is not always the best.

Anonymous voting is one of the most important foundations of the SE model. If you don't want to upvote when you answer, in case it exposes you as the voter, please remember to come back later and upvote. That way the question OP gets the support they deserve, and the answer OP keeps their voting anonymity.

Of course @Rory Alsop is right too. We can't control what people do, but discussions like this are encouraging, and valuable. I hope this one results in a stronger, happier community.

Charlie Brumbaugh, thanks for bringing this up. It's no secret that I like to vote!, so this subject is really important to me.

You've done a great job of explaining your point, as have the people who've answered you. I was trying to leave comments on all the posts, but they got too long, so I'm adding an answer. I apologize for the redundancies.

The bottom line is what you've already said. If a question is worth our answer, it deserves our vote. If we have an answer but don't feel the question is up to our standards, we should edit the question (which may help many people down the line), or leave a comment asking for clarification, before leaving an answer. It can appear arrogant to answer a question without supporting it, even if it's not meant that way.

It really bothers me that the SE system is set up so answers are more highly rewarded than questions. Question votes get 5 rep, (2 more if they accept an answer), answers get 10, accepted answers get 15. It's a huge discrepancy, and is another reason not to answer a question without upvoting it.

Question upvoting doesn't just say thanks, it empowers people. This is true for everyone at every level, and especially new users. It takes 10 rep to post more than two pictures, 15 to upvote, 50 to comment and 125 to downvote. People can't fully participate unless we help them. Not everybody knows that though, so we who know the system should set an example. It's really sad to see people ask a few questions, not get to the threshold they need to become active community members and give up. It's especially sad when those same people have answers on their questions that are highly voted, which goes back to your original point!

@James Jenkins brought up an extremely important point too. I agree one hundred percent. The question OP should make sure they pay attention to all their answers. Every answer to our questions should have a vote (either up or down) or a comment, or both. Also, lots of people don't answer right away, but their contribution is just as important. It takes courage to add an answer when there are already others. Late answers often get fewer views, and votes, even though they can be just as good. Sometimes they should even become the accepted answer, even if means the question OP has to switch the acceptance. The most highly voted answer isn't always the best one.

Anonymous voting is vital to the SE system, and I respect it. Most of the time, I've already upvoted a question long before I write an answer, so my answer doesn't correlate to the timing of my vote, but that's not always the case. If you answer a question but don't upvote because it looks obvious that you're the voter, leave your answer, but please come back later and upvote the question. That way the question OP gets the support they deserve, while the answer OP gets the anonymity that they deserve.

Of course @Rory Alsop is right too. We can't control what people do. Discussions like this are encouraging, though, and definitely worth having. I hope this one results in a stronger, happier community.

Charlie Brumbaugh, thanks for bringing this up. It's no secret that I like to vote!, so this subject is really important to me.

You've done a great job of explaining your point, as have the people who've answered you. I was trying to leave comments on all the posts, but they got too long, so I'm adding an answer. I apologize for the redundancies.

The bottom line is what you've already said. If a question is worth our answer, it deserves our vote. If we have an answer but don't feel the question is up to our standards, we should edit the question (which may help many people down the line), or leave a comment asking for clarification, before leaving an answer. It can appear arrogant to answer a question without supporting it, even if it's not meant that way.

It really bothers me that the SE system is set up so answers are more highly rewarded than questions. Question votes get 5 rep, (2 more if they accept an answer), answers get 10, accepted answers get 15. It's a huge discrepancy, and is another reason not to answer a question without upvoting it.

Question upvoting doesn't just say thanks, it empowers people. This is true for everyone at every level, and especially new users. It takes 10 rep to post more than two pictures, 15 to upvote, 50 to comment and 125 to downvote. People can't fully participate unless we help them. Not everybody knows that though, so we who know the system should set an example. It's really sad to see people ask a few questions, not get to the threshold they need to become active community members and give up. It's especially sad when those same people have answers on their questions that are highly voted, which goes back to your original point!

@James Jenkins brought up an extremely important point too. I agree one hundred percent. The question OP should make sure they pay attention to all their answers. Every answer to our questions should have a vote (either up or down) or a comment, or both. Also, lots of people don't answer right away, but their contribution is just as important. It takes courage to add an answer when there are already others. Late answers often get fewer views, and votes, even though they can be just as good. Sometimes they should even become the accepted answer, even if means the question OP has to switch the acceptance. The most highly voted answer isn't always the best one.

Anonymous voting is vital to the SE system, and I respect it. Most of the time, I've already upvoted a question long before I write an answer, so my answer doesn't correlate to the timing of my vote, but that's not always the case. If you answer a question but don't upvote because it looks obvious that you're the voter, leave your answer, but please come back later and upvote the question. That way the question OP gets the support they deserve, while the answer OP gets the anonymity that they deserve.

Of course @Rory Alsop is right too. We can't control what people do. Discussions like this are encouraging, though, and definitely worth having. I hope this one results in a stronger, happier community.