I think what I'm saying (because I'm kind of thinking aloud here) is a significant number of up votes are evidence in themselves. Not perhaps of factual correctness, but of a perception that is frequently so strong and so prevalent that it has to be understood and considered. As programmers we sometimes forget that factual correctness isn't everything and that situations are more complex than that, that the softer and more emotive side of things is equally important and that any answer which ignores that may be factually correct but isn't usefully correctthe whole story.
I think what I'm saying (because I'm kind of thinking aloud here) is a significant number of up votes are evidence in themselves. Not perhaps of factual correctness, but of a perception that is frequently so strong and so prevalent that it has to be understood and considered. As programmers we sometimes forget that factual correctness isn't everything and that situations are more complex than that, that the softer and more emotive side of things is equally important and that any answer which ignores that may be factually correct but isn't usefully correct.
I think what I'm saying (because I'm kind of thinking aloud here) is a significant number of up votes are evidence in themselves. Not perhaps of factual correctness, but of a perception that is frequently so strong and so prevalent that it has to be understood and considered. As programmers we sometimes forget that factual correctness isn't everything and that situations are more complex than that, that the softer and more emotive side of things is equally important and that any answer which ignores that may be factually correct but isn't the whole story.
EDIT (from a comments discussion with Aaronaught):
So just to be clear from the outset - I wish all posts drew on research and personal experience and provided links to reputable sources where the claims warranted them. To me that's a good post and what we should aspire to.
But what we have is a situation where some popular answers don't meet that standard, and a question about what that means and whether it's a big deal.
To me the nature of subjective questions means that the most useful "answer" isn't a single answer (whether the top voted or not) but is the amalgamation of all the great information contained in all the answers that have been provided. Subjective questions by their nature don't have a single answer so for me what the upvotes are saying is the community indicating "here is something you should have a think about while you're working out how to handle the specific situation you find yourself in".
In that context a glib unsupported popular answer with a mass of up votes is useful information. Sure it would be more useful if it was better supported but if you get 40+ people saying "I agree with this" it is absolutely something you should consider even if it's categorically wrong.
The reason for that is that right and wrong are not the only thing that matters. If you're in a shitty job and you post about it you will get an answer with a bunch of votes saying "Quit now!" sure as the sun will rise tomorrow morning. While on one level that's a bad answer it gives you useful information - that you work in an industry where a significant number of people believe that that is an acceptable approach to the problem. While I and many others would argue it's not the most constructive approach that doesn't change the reality that many people believe this and act on this and it is something that you will see and have to deal with in the industry.
I think what I'm saying (because I'm kind of thinking aloud here) is a significant number of up votes are evidence in themselves. Not perhaps of factual correctness, but of a perception that is frequently so strong and so prevalent that it has to be understood and considered. As programmers we sometimes forget that factual correctness isn't everything and that situations are more complex than that, that the softer and more emotive side of things is equally important and that any answer which ignores that may be factually correct but isn't usefully correct.
Obviously this requires the reader to apply some thought to the answers being provided and understand a wider context but I hope and believe that the people we're talking to are capable of doing that. If they're not then I suspect there's not much we can do for them anyway.
So I'm not saying we should encourage bad answers, just that very popular bad answers provide useful information we can learn from and that we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss.
EDIT (from a comments discussion with Aaronaught):
So just to be clear from the outset - I wish all posts drew on research and personal experience and provided links to reputable sources where the claims warranted them. To me that's a good post and what we should aspire to.
But what we have is a situation where some popular answers don't meet that standard, and a question about what that means and whether it's a big deal.
To me the nature of subjective questions means that the most useful "answer" isn't a single answer (whether the top voted or not) but is the amalgamation of all the great information contained in all the answers that have been provided. Subjective questions by their nature don't have a single answer so for me what the upvotes are saying is the community indicating "here is something you should have a think about while you're working out how to handle the specific situation you find yourself in".
In that context a glib unsupported popular answer with a mass of up votes is useful information. Sure it would be more useful if it was better supported but if you get 40+ people saying "I agree with this" it is absolutely something you should consider even if it's categorically wrong.
The reason for that is that right and wrong are not the only thing that matters. If you're in a shitty job and you post about it you will get an answer with a bunch of votes saying "Quit now!" sure as the sun will rise tomorrow morning. While on one level that's a bad answer it gives you useful information - that you work in an industry where a significant number of people believe that that is an acceptable approach to the problem. While I and many others would argue it's not the most constructive approach that doesn't change the reality that many people believe this and act on this and it is something that you will see and have to deal with in the industry.
I think what I'm saying (because I'm kind of thinking aloud here) is a significant number of up votes are evidence in themselves. Not perhaps of factual correctness, but of a perception that is frequently so strong and so prevalent that it has to be understood and considered. As programmers we sometimes forget that factual correctness isn't everything and that situations are more complex than that, that the softer and more emotive side of things is equally important and that any answer which ignores that may be factually correct but isn't usefully correct.
Obviously this requires the reader to apply some thought to the answers being provided and understand a wider context but I hope and believe that the people we're talking to are capable of doing that. If they're not then I suspect there's not much we can do for them anyway.
So I'm not saying we should encourage bad answers, just that very popular bad answers provide useful information we can learn from and that we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss.
In all areas of life extraordinary claims should require not just evidence but extraordinary evidence.
If this doesn't happen, this shouldn't actually be a problem that needs a specific solution. You'd hope that an answer that makes such claims without backing them up is a poor answer and should be treated as such by those voting and commenting, at least that's the theory.
But the nature of PSE and the audience it has means it doesn't always work that way. There are some answers which get away with some fairly outrageous claims because the answer presents a broadly popular perspective. Suggest that someone quit a shitty job and you can get away with almost anything else in the same post. Similarly blame management for getting in your way and the detail will likely be ignored.
While that's annoying it's not actually that much of a problem. For the most part I'd look to read not just the top answer, but the top three or so answers. Generally where you get one answer playing to the crowd, somewhere close to it you get a contrary view point.
And it's important not to discard the populist viewpoint. It may not be what you want to do but you should use it to inform your understanding of the world and the culture you work in. One place I work lived by the phrase "the perception is reality" - essentially saying that even if something wasn't true, if enough people believed it, it was something you had to deal with and I think that's the case with these answers.
Read all the answers, use your own judgement to work out where you think the truth lies but try and learn from all the views that have been put forward as they will all tell you something, even if it's not exactly what the poster was trying to say.
(I speak as someone who is most proud of some of my answers that have got next to no up votes...)