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Comments on Should we be able to tag answers?
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Should we be able to tag answers?
On some of our communities, it would be helpful to be able to label answers systematically:
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On Code Golf, by language.
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On Software Development, Power Users, or Linux Systems, by specific version/platform/library -- for example, if the answer to a C++ question is different for C++11 than C++14, or a browser answer is different for Firefox and Chrome, or a front-end question is different for pure Javascript or jQuery.
In some cases perhaps the question should be more specific, but it seems like in some cases it'd be better to have the answers all together. And, of course, on Code Golf, varied answer languages are expected.
It's sometimes useful to be able to just tell at a glance what an answer applies to. There are probably people still using (or maintaining code in) Java 7, so you don't want to nuke those answers, but you want the person who's looking for a current solution to a Java problem to be able to tell at a glance that this answer is for an older version.
Would it make sense to be able to add tags to answers, in addition to the tags on the question?
In addition to making answer scoping more visible, answer tags could support sorting. I'm imagining another sort option at the top of the answers alongside "Score" and Activity", and maybe also showing answer tags in the table of contents. I'm also imagining that this would be something communities would opt into, since it doesn't make sense on every community.
I think tag hierarchies are orthogonal; while (if they exist, which I haven't checked) C++11 and C++14 should be children of C++, a challenge on Code Golf doesn't have any question-level language tags at all.
This isn't a bad idea. I'd like the tag system to have some more features. Why tags on answers could be useful Sys …
7mo ago
This seems like a good idea from a programming or computer hardware and software perspective. Choosing the version of …
3y ago
Examining precedent The Stack Exchange network has the core of this feature: you can write `[tag:tag-name]` in the bo …
8mo ago
This should probably be per-community configurable. Since even on Code Golf, not all tags are meaningful on answers, one …
3y ago
It sounds like a feature of very limited use. I agree that it would be neat for Code Golf, where different answers are p …
3y ago
Post
It sounds like a feature of very limited use. I agree that it would be neat for Code Golf, where different answers are per definition of "different kinds". I don't really see any use for it on any other of the existing sites though.
Regarding the specific example of C++ on Software Development, the tag policy is this:
Unless the question explicitly mentions which version of the C++ standard that is uses, the current active version of ISO 14882 is assumed (C++17).
And very same "latest version unless you said anything else" policy can likely be assumed to apply for other languages too. This policy comes from SO where there was a very broad consensus in favour for it.
This means that:
- If a question is tagged C++ you are assumed to give an answer which will at least work in C++17 (even though it might not be optimal). In particular, it shouldn't use obsolete/withdrawn language features.
- If the question is tagged C++ and C++11, you are required to give an answer that works in C++11. Giving one that only works in C++98 or C++17 etc would be off-topic.
One might need to prompt the OP for details in case it matters. Generally, a good question is specific and unambiguous enough that there can't be multiple types of answers.
I am particularly concerned for such an answer tag encouraging off-topic posts. Suppose you have a Q&A tagged C++. Then someone pops up out of the blue and posts "this is how you would do it in Java" and puts on a Java tag on their blatantly off-topic answer. We know from experience that this occasionally happens even without such a tag feature.
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