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## Such questions are accepted and encouraged, by design

It's [not our idea, or a new idea](https://stackoverflow.blog/2011/07/01/its-ok-to-ask-and-answer-your-own-questions), either. It's fundamental to the design and concept of Q&A sites, Codidact included.

People who actually need an answer to a question are often in a *uniquely bad* position to actually *ask* that question. Out of all the information they've gathered about the problem, they don't know what's actually relevant to explaining the situation of implementing a solution - that only comes with hindsight. They also don't necessarily know the right way to frame the problem, or the right *scope* for the question. An expert may have seen hundreds of people fail in a similar manner, and thus understand what those cases *have in common*. Finally - and especially for technical issues - people experiencing a problem might not know how to *describe* it accurately and unambiguously - because they don't fully understand the terminology of the problem domain.

The Q&A format *can be* an excellent device for experts to communicate their expertise. It's not always the best choice - which is part of why the Codidact software supports other category types. But when there is a specific problem that can be described - either "why does doing X fail in Y manner?" or "how do I do Z with W tools?" - asking that framing question and answering it is a fantastic presentation method. A well-chosen title can be easily found with a search engine; the body of the question confirms the nature of the problem; and an answer can convey all the necessary information - whether it's a three-step guide, a pages-long conceptual explanation, or anything in between.

Aside from that, asking the question invites *others* to offer competing explanations of the material, alternate approaches to solving the same problem, etc. Questions stay open indefinitely by default, which is also a key part of the formula.

A self-answered question is still a question; and that question should be judged on its own merits. If someone is self-answering questions simply in order to show off expertise rather than to be helpful, the result will be a *question that doesn't make sense to ask* - [perhaps because](https://meta.codidact.com/posts/289687) it's [improperly scoped, lacking detail or clarity, or inappropriately subjective](https://meta.codidact.com/posts/285197/289668#answer-289668). As a rule, questions should be judged the same way whether or not the OP offered an answer.