How best to leave comments on questions and answers in the review queue?

Question

I notice that regular Review Queue patrollers often leave a stock comment, particularly on "first posts" and "low quality posts". There are many issues that arise time and again, for example an answer which is just a link with no description, where we encourage the author to write more in case the link goes dead, or a question which should be flagged as self-study and we would prefer the author to show their attempt. Are these comments produced by template, through the review mechanism itself, or is there simply a list to copy and paste from?

Answer 1

A compendium of comments I've found useful. Feel free to add more. The suggested replies to Answers have been moved here.

Questions

Self-study

• Is this a question from a course or textbook? If so, please add the self-study tag & read its wiki.

  Is this a question from a course or textbook? If so, 
  please add the [tag:self-study] tag & read its 
  [wiki](https://stats.stackexchange.com/tags/self-study/info).
  

• Please add the self-study tag & read its wiki.

  Please add the [tag:self-study] tag & read its 
  [wiki](https://stats.stackexchange.com/tags/self-study/info). 
  

• Please add the self-study tag & read its wiki. Then tell us what you understand thus far, what you've tried & where you're stuck. We'll provide hints to help you get unstuck. Please make these changes as just posting your homework & hoping someone will do it for you is grounds for closing.

  Please add the [tag:self-study] tag & read its 
  [wiki](https://stats.stackexchange.com/tags/self-study/info). Then tell us what you understand thus far, what 
  you've tried & where you're stuck. We'll provide hints to 
  help you get unstuck. Please make these changes as just 
  posting your homework & hoping someone will do it for you 
  is grounds for closing.
  

• Please type your question as text, do not just post a photograph or screenshot (see here). When you re-type the question, add the self-study tag & read its wiki. Then tell us what you understand thus far, what you've tried & where you're stuck. We'll provide hints to help you get unstuck. Please make these changes as just posting your homework & hoping someone will do it for you is grounds for closing.

  Please type your question as text, do not just post a 
  photograph or screenshot (see [here](https://stats.meta.stackexchange.com/a/3176/)). 
  When you retype the question, add the [tag:self-study] tag 
  & read [its wiki](https://stats.stackexchange.com/tags/self-study/info). 
  Then tell us what you understand thus far, what you've 
  tried & where you're stuck. We'll provide hints to help 
  you get unstuck. Please make these changes as just 
  posting your homework & hoping someone will do it for you 
  is grounds for closing.
  

Reproducible examples

(Link is specifically for R-related questions)

• Please add a reproducible example for people to work with.

  Please add a [reproducible example](https://stackoverflow.com/q/5963269/) 
  for people to work with. 
  

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about how to use R without a reproducible example.

  I'm voting to close this question as 
  [off-topic](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) 
  because it is about how to use R without a reproducible 
  example. 
  

(For coding questions other than R)

• Please add a reproducible example for people to work with.

  Please add a [reproducible example](https://stackoverflow.com/help/mcve) 
  for people to work with. 
  

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about how to use without a reproducible example.

  I'm voting to close this question as 
  [off-topic](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) 
  because it is about how to use <!--REPLACE_ME--> without a 
  reproducible example. 
  

• Welcome to CV, . Offering a minimal reproducible example would help immensely. Until then, all we know is that you are having trouble with your script. Without the example, every possibility is on the table, ranging from bugs in the code, to a misunderstanding of what it does, to a coding error or erroneous data.

   Welcome to CV, <USER>. Offering a minimal reproducible        
   example 
   would help immensely.  Until then, all we know is that you               
   are having trouble with your script.  Without the example, 
   every possibility is on the table, ranging from bugs in the        
   code, to a misunderstanding of what it does, to a coding 
   error or 
   erroneous data.
  

Ambiguous code / statistical question

• Questions solely about how software works are off-topic here, but you may have a real statistical question buried here. You may want to edit your question to clarify the underlying statistical issue. You may find that when you understand the statistical concepts involved, the software-specific elements are self-evident or at least easy to get from the documentation.

  Questions solely about how software works are
  [off-topic](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) 
  here, but you may have a real statistical question buried 
  here. You may want to edit your question to clarify the 
  underlying statistical issue. You may find that when you 
  understand the statistical concepts involved, the 
  software-specific elements are self-evident or at least 
  easy to get from the documentation.
  

No need to sign off/give thanks etc

• Welcome to CV. Note that your username, identicon, & a link to your user page are automatically added to every post you make, so there is no need to sign your posts. In fact, we prefer you don't.

  Welcome to CV. Note that your username, identicon, & a 
  link to your user page are automatically added to every 
  post you make, so there is no need to sign 
  your posts. In fact, we prefer you don't. 
  

• On this site there's no need to say "thank you" at the end of your post - it might seem rude at first, but it's part of the philosophy of this site to "Ask questions, get answers, no distractions", and it means future readers of your question don't need to read through the pleasantries.

  On this site there's no need to say "thank you" at the end 
  of your post - it might seem rude at first, but it's part 
  of 
  [the philosophy of this site](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/behavior) 
  to "Ask questions, get answers, no distractions", and it 
  means future readers of your question don't need to read 
  through the pleasantries.
  

New information in comments

• Please do not give new information only in comments. Edit your question to add the new information. We want posts to be self-contained: comments can be deleted, and anyhow, information in comments is not well organized. Also, many people do not read comments.

   Please do not give new information only in comments. Edit 
   your question to add the new information. We want posts to 
   be self-contained: comments can be deleted, and anyhow, 
   information in comments is not well organized. Also, many 
   people do not read comments. 
  

Demands fast answer

• Please don't say your question is urgent or ask people to answer quickly. Remember that you are asking strangers to volunteer their time to help you for free. People will respond at the rate that is comfortable for them.

  Please don't say your question is urgent or ask people to 
  answer quickly. Remember that you are asking strangers to 
  volunteer their time to help you for free.  People will 
  respond at the rate that is comfortable for them.
  

Critical information for question behind link

• Please paste in whatever context is necessary to understand & answer your question. We want this thread to remain valuable even if the link goes dead.

  Please paste in whatever context is necessary to 
  understand & answer your question. We want this thread to 
  remain valuable even if the link goes dead.
  

Too broad

• Questions in the SE system are supposed to be narrow & concrete such that they can be given a definitively correct, factual answer in at most a few paragraphs. This isn't a site for discussions or opinions.

  Questions in the SE system are supposed to be narrow & 
  concrete such that they can be given a definitively 
  correct, factual answer in at  most a few paragraphs. 
  This isn't a site for discussions or opinions.
  

Refer to textbook

• This question is very broad, and I believe you would profit from reading an introductory level textbook. We have a helpful list of free statistical textbooks. If afterwards you still have more specific questions, then please do ask them here. If you already have read such a textbook, please edit your question to make it more specific. Thank you!

  This question is very broad, and I believe you would 
  profit from reading an introductory level textbook. We 
  have a helpful list of
  [free statistical textbooks.](https://stats.stackexchange.com/q/170/). 
  If afterwards you still have more specific questions, then 
  please do ask them here. If you already *have* read such a 
  textbook, please edit your question to make it more 
  specific. Thank you!
  

• Specifically for forecasting:

  This question is very broad, and I believe you would profit from reading an introductory level textbook, e.g., the free online Forecasting: Principles and Practice by Hyndman & Athanasopoulos. If after reading this you still have more specific questions, then please do ask them here. If you already have read such a textbook, please edit your question to make it more specific. Thank you!

  This question is very broad, and I believe you would 
  profit from reading an introductory level textbook, e.g., 
  the free online 
  [*Forecasting: Principles and Practice* by
  Hyndman & Athanasopoulos](https://otexts.org/fpp2/).
  If after reading this you still have more specific 
  questions, then please do ask them here. If you already 
  *have* read such a textbook, please edit your question to 
  make it more specific. Thank you!
  

  (More reasoning behind this comment can be found in this Meta answer.)

• Specifically for neural networks:

  This question is very broad, and I believe you would profit from reading an introductory level textbook. We have a helpful list of textbooks and courses about neural networks. If afterwards you still have more specific questions, then please do ask them here. If you already have read such a textbook, please edit your question to make it more specific. Thank you!

  This question is very broad, and I believe you would 
  profit from reading an introductory level textbook. We 
  have a helpful list of 
  [textbooks and courses](https://stats.stackexchange.com/q/226911/) 
  about neural networks. If afterwards you still have more 
  specific questions, then please do ask them here. If you 
  already *have* read such a textbook, please
  edit your question to make it more specific. Thank you!
  

Has been discussed extensively before

• Similar questions have been discussed multiple times before. Please search the site, noting the tips on advanced search options, and tell us what you found and why it didn’t meet your needs. This demonstrates that you’ve taken the time to try to help yourself, it saves us from reiterating obvious answers, and above all, it helps you get a more specific and relevant answer!

  Similar questions have been discussed multiple times 
  before. Please 
  [search the site](https://stats.stackexchange.com/search), 
  noting the 
  [tips](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/searching) on 
  advanced search options, and tell us what you found and 
  why it didn’t meet your needs. This demonstrates that 
  you’ve taken the time to try to help yourself, it
  saves us from reiterating obvious answers, and above all, 
  it helps you get a more specific and relevant answer! 
  

Duplicate question

• I think you will find the information you need in the linked thread. Please read it. If it isn't what you want or you still have a question afterwards, come back here & edit your question to state what you learned & what you still need to know. Then we can provide the information you need without just duplicating material elsewhere that already didn't help you.

  I think you will find the information you need in the 
  linked thread. Please read it. If it isn't what you want or 
  you still have a question afterwards, come back here & 
  edit your question to state what you learned & what you 
  still need to know. Then we can provide the information 
  you need without just duplicating material elsewhere that 
  already didn't help you.
  

Off-topic (only about software)

• Questions that are only about software (e.g. error messages, code or packages, etc.) are generally off topic here. If you have a substantive machine learning or statistical question, please edit to clarify.

  Questions that are only about software (e.g. error 
  messages, code or packages, etc.) are generally off topic 
  here. If you have a substantive machine learning or
  statistical question, please edit to clarify.
  

Deleted and re-posted a closed question

(Include link to deleted instance within the parentheses)

  Please do not simply delete and repost [a closed question}(...). 
  Instead, please follow our guidance to edit and improve the closed 
  post. Any edit will automatically put it up for a vote on 
  reopening, and if enough voters agree that the post now is 
  acceptable, it will be reopened.

Vandalism

• Please do not vandalize your question. When you posted on SE, you gave up exclusive ownership of the content under CC BY-SA 4.0. If there are no answers, you may delete your own question (see here): just click the faint gray 'delete' at lower left (your account needs to be registered for this). Otherwise, the thread will remain according to SE's rules.

  Please do not vandalize your question. When you posted on 
  SE, you gave up ownership of the content under
  [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/licensing). 
  If there are no answers, you may delete your own question 
  (see 
  [here](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/what-to-do-instead-of-deleting-question)
  ): just click the faint gray 'delete' at lower left (your 
  account needs to be registered for this). Otherwise, the 
  thread will remain according to SE's rules.
  

XY Problem

• It sounds to me like the problem you're trying to solve is <X>, and you're wondering if <Y> is a good way to go about it. Is that fair? Because if your real question is "<X>?" then I would suggest only asking about that. As it is written right now, the question appears to be an XY Problem.

  It sounds to me like the problem you're trying to solve is 
  `<X>`, and you're wondering if `<Y>` is a good way to go 
  about it. Is that fair? Because if your real question
  is "`<X>`?" then I would suggest only asking about that. As 
  it is written right now, the question appears to be an 
  [XY Problem](http://xyproblem.info/).
  

Cross posted question

• Please don't cross post on multiple SE sites. Cross posting is against SE policy & wastes a lot of people's time. Decide which site you want your question on & only post there (or delete the copies elsewhere, as appropriate).

  Please don't cross post on multiple SE sites. Cross 
  posting is 
  [against SE policy](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/64068/) 
  & wastes a lot of people's time. Decide which site you 
  want your question on & only post there (or delete the 
  copies elsewhere, as appropriate).
  

• I’m voting to close this question because it is cross-posted to [another site on stack exchange] with an answer there. In the future, please don't post the same question in multiple places. Instead, choose the community that is the best fit and ask it there.

  I’m voting to close this question because it is cross-posted to [another site on stack exchange] with an answer there. In the future, please don't post the same question in multiple places. Instead, choose the community that is the best fit and ask it there.

Screenshot of equation, but not self-study

• Hi, there are blind and visually impaired users of this site who interact with it using screen readers. The screen readers can't handle the equation in your screenshot. Please edit the post to include the equation as TeX. If it helps, we have some resources on using LaTeX on Cross Validated.

  Hi, there are blind and visually impaired users of this 
  site who interact with it using screen readers. The screen 
  readers can't handle the equation in your screenshot. 
  Please edit the post to include the equation as LaTeX. If 
  it helps, we have some 
  [resources on using LaTeX on Cross Validated](https://stats.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1605/155836).
  

Multiple closely related questions from same author

• You have asked multiple very closely related questions. Please edit each of them to provide links to the others. This is so that people asking for clarifications or providing answers are aware of the context and do not duplicate efforts. Thank you!

  You have asked multiple very closely related questions.
  Please edit each of them to provide links to the others.
  This is so that people asking for clarifications or providing 
  answers are aware of the context and do not duplicate efforts. 
  Thank you!
  

(The Answers section moved to a new post.)

Reference request, "Please do a search," etc.

• In the years that this site has been active, variations on this question have been asked hundreds of times. There's a limit to how many questions can be linked as duplicates, but this should help you get started. If you feel these questions do not address your needs, please [edit] to explicitly state what you want to learn. But first, do a search. FAQ: Best Practices for Searching CV

  In the years that this site has been active, variations on this question have
  been asked hundreds of times. There's a limit to how many questions can be linked 
  as duplicates, but this should help you get started. If you feel these 
  questions do not address your needs, **please [edit] to explicitly state what you
  want to learn.** But first [search](https://stats.meta.stackexchange.com/q/5549/).
  

Asking for using MathJax

• Hi. Welcome to CV. This is a MathJax-enabled site. Please use this facility to typeset your mathematical expressions for better legibility. For a quick guide, check this Meta CV post: Instructions on how to use LaTeX on CrossValidated.

  Hi. Welcome to CV. This is a MathJax-enabled site. Please use this 
  facility to typeset your mathematical expressions for better 
  legibility. For a quick guide, check this Meta CV post: 
  [Instructions on how to use LaTeX on CrossValidated](https://stats.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1604/instructions-on-how-to-use-latex-on-crossvalidated).
  

Query (partly) based on ChatGPT

^{Courtesy to a brief conversation in Ten Fold}

  It seems you have sought a response from ChatGPT and (partly) used 
  it to frame your post. Please note that ChatGPT and similar Large 
  Language Models are often highly unreliable in formulating 
  coherent statistical assertions. Apropos to that, it is a common 
  precedent here to abstain from using such to create a post, and 
  to tread with caution here. 

Answer 2

[Edit: It looks like the queues seem to have improved a little in recent times -- I find it easier to figure out why something closed for example -- so to an extent some of the gripes here may be a little out of date.]

I definitely agree that the interface in the various review queues is not as helpful as it should be -- it hides essential information that you then need to go elsewhere to find.

For example, trying to assess a "reopen" review - what's the first, most critical thing you need to know? Why it was closed in the first place -- but it's not on the screen! In the interface it takes fiddling around to get it - it's usually actually quicker to open the original in a new tab. That sort of thing makes me wonder if the person designing that interface actually does reviews. Other review queues have similar problems.

When doing various reviews I often pop up several additional tabs to get all the information I want to judge a review - most of which really ought to be readily available in the review screen I think, either directly or via links.

I'd usually recommend doing your final review actions (such as voting to close or whatever) in the review screen, so you at least get credit toward the badges, but the rewards-per-effort are pretty pathetic compared to other badges (250 reviews for a silver badge? much wow; compare that to a Constituent badge. "Yay, I clicked, gimme a silver badge.").

---

On the "Stock comments", some kinds of comments are generated in the process of voting to close (perhaps in some cases only if doing it on the post itself rather than in the review queue, I'd have to look through everything to be sure) - instead of appearing in a blue box, a standard comment will appear under the name of the person who voted by selecting some option in a dialog.

Some other comments are just pasted or typed. For example, I recently gave something like this comment:

Your question appears to be routine bookwork. Please add the self-study tag and read its tag wiki, modifying your question to follow the guidelines where necessary.

I do a lot of comments like that, but for me they're usually just typed from scratch every time.

Gung has some stock comments, but to me they usually seem to be the same each time, so I expect he's pasting them. I did seriously consider setting some script up to autogenerate the regular ones for me but I've never gotten around to trying to do that.

Answer 3

Answers

Link-only answer

• Welcome to the site. At present this is more of a comment than an answer. You could edit to expand it, perhaps by giving a summary of the information at the link, or we can convert it into a comment for you.

  Welcome to the site. At present this is more of a comment 
  than an answer. You could [edit] to expand it, perhaps by giving a 
  summary of the information at the link, or we can 
  convert it into a comment for you.
  

• Welcome to the site. We are trying to build a permanent repository of high-quality statistical information in the form of questions & answers. Thus, we're wary of link-only answers, due to link rot. Can you edit to include a full citation & a summary of the information at the link, in case it goes dead?

  Welcome to the site. We are trying to build a permanent 
  repository of high-quality statistical information in the 
  form of questions & answers. Thus, we're wary of 
  link-only answers, due to link rot. Can you [edit] to include a full 
  citation & a summary of the 
  information at the link, in case it goes dead? 
  

Code only answer

• Although implementation is often mixed with substantive content in questions, we are supposed to be a site for providing information about statistics, machine learning, etc., not code. It can be good to provide code as well, but please elaborate your substantive answer in text for people who don't read this language well enough to recognize & extract the answer from the code.

  Although implementation is often mixed with substantive 
  content in questions, we are supposed to be a site for 
  providing information about statistics, machine
  learning, etc., not code. It can be good to provide code 
  as well, but please elaborate your substantive answer in 
  text for people who don't read this language
  well enough to recognize & extract the answer from the 
  code. 
  

Ambiguous answer / comment / new question

• Welcome to the site. Was this intended as an answer to the OP's question, a comment requesting clarification from the OP or one of the answerers, or a new question of your own? Please only use the "Your Answer" field to provide answers to the original question. You will be able to comment anywhere when your reputation is >50. If you have a new question, click the blue ASK QUESTION at the top of the page & ask it there, then we can help you properly. Since you're new here, you may want to take our tour, which has information for new users.

  Welcome to the site. Was this intended as an answer to the 
  OP's question, a comment requesting clarification from the 
  OP or one of the answerers, or a new question of your own? 
  Please only use the "Your Answer" field to provide 
  answers to the original question. You will be able to 
  comment anywhere when your reputation is >50. If you have 
  a new question, click the blue `ASK QUESTION` 
  at the top of the page & ask it there, then we can help 
  you properly. Since you're new here, you may want to take 
  our [tour], which has information for new users.
  

Original poster posting a clarification to the question as a new answer

• Unlike forum-style discussion sites, Cross Validated threads do not consist of a sequence of posts forming a conversation between the original poster and the answerers. We use a Q&A style where the question is posted once at the top, and is updated (using the "edit" button) where necessary for clarification. Sometimes it makes sense to ask a new, follow-up question instead of editing the old one. Please don't use the "answer" space to post clarifications to your own questions - have a look at the [tour] to understand how our site works.

  Unlike forum-style discussion sites, Cross Validated 
  threads do not consist of a sequence of posts forming a 
  conversation between the original poster and the 
  answerers. We use a Q&A style where the question is posted 
  once at the top, and is updated (using the "edit" button) 
  where necessary for clarification. Sometimes 
  it makes sense to ask a new, follow-up question instead of 
  editing the old one. 
  Please don't use the "answer" space to post clarifications 
  to your own questions 
  - have a look at the [tour] to understand how our site 
  works.
  

Low quality / too short

• This is being automatically flagged as low quality, probably because it is so short. At present it is more of a comment than an answer by our standards. Can you expand on it? You can also turn it into a comment.

  This is being automatically flagged as low quality, 
  probably because it is so short.
  At present it is more of a comment than an answer by our 
  standards. Can you expand on it? We can also turn it into 
  a comment.
  

OP comments that he liked an answer, but does not upvote/accept

• If you found this answer helpful, then please consider upvoting and/or accepting it.

  If you found this answer helpful, then please consider 
  [upvoting](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/why-vote) 
  and/or 
  [accepting](https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/accepted-answer) 
  it.
  

  Note that posting this about someone else's answer is often a good thing to do, while suggesting this about your own answer is better left for someone else to do.

OP accepts the first answer five minutes after it is posted

• Oops ... thank you for accepting. However, seeing an accepted answer may discourage other users from answering (or even looking at your question), and they may have something better to say. So please consider un-accepting and seeing whether something better comes along. You can always re-accept later!

  Oops ... thank you for accepting. However, seeing an 
  accepted answer 
  may discourage other users from answering (or even looking 
  at your question), and they may have something better to 
  say. So please consider un-accepting and seeing whether 
  something better comes along. 
  You can always re-accept later!
  

Answer used to ask question

• Welcome to the site. Please do not use the "Your Answer" field to ask new or follow-up questions. Instead, click the blue ASK QUESTION link at the top of the page & ask there. If you want to address the author of an answer, you will need 50 reputation first to leave comments. Since you're new here, you may want to take our [tour], which has information for new users.

  Welcome to the site. Please do not use the "Your Answer" 
  field to ask new or follow-up questions. 
  Instead, click the blue 
  [ASK QUESTION](https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/ask) 
  link at the top of the page & ask there. If you want to 
  address the author of an answer, you will
  need 50 reputation first to leave comments. Since you're 
  new here, you may want
  to take our [tour], which has information for new users.
  

Posts tentative answer & asks for feedback

• Welcome to the site. Please don't post tentative answers and ask for feedback. [stats.SE] is strictly a Q&A site, not a discussion forum. If you want to ask about your understanding of something, please post it as a new question. Since you're new here, you may want to take our [tour], which has information for new users.

  Welcome to the site.  Please don't post tentative answers 
  and ask for feedback.  [stats.SE] is strictly a Q&A site, 
  not a discussion forum.  If you want to ask about your 
  understanding of something, please post it as a new 
  question. Since you're new here, you may want to take our 
  [tour], which has information for new users.
  

Non-answer as answer

• Please only use the "Your Answer" field to provide answers to the OP's question. CV is a strict Q&A site, not a discussion forum. Since you're new here, you may want to take our tour, which has information for new users.

  Please only use the "Your Answer" field to provide answers 
  to the OP's question. CV is a strict Q&A site, not a 
  discussion forum. Since you're new here, you may
  want to take our [tour], which has information for new 
  users.
  

Duplicate answer

• This is very similar to the answer here. Please do not post duplicate answers. If you believe a question is completely answered by an answer elsewhere, flag / vote to close that question as a duplicate of the other. If it isn't completely answered by the other answer, customize your answer here to be more specific to the question.

  This is very similar to the answer [here](). Please do not 
  post duplicate answers. If you believe a question is 
  completely answered by an answer elsewhere, flag / 
  vote to close that question as a duplicate of the other. 
  If it isn't *completely* answered by the other answer, 
  customize your answer here to be more 
  specific to the question.
  

Answer should have been a comment

• Welcome to the site. This should be a comment; it isn't an answer by our standards. You will be able to comment anywhere when your reputation is >50. Since you're new here, you may want to take our [tour], which has information for new users.

  Welcome to the site.  This should be a comment; it isn't 
  an answer by our standards.  You will be able to comment 
  anywhere when your reputation is >50.  
  Since you're new here, you may want to take our [tour], 
  which has information for new users.
  

Comment that would make a good answer

• @: do you want to post your comment(s) as an answer? Better to have a short answer than no answer at all. Anyone who has a better answer can post it.

  @: do you want to post your comment(s) as an answer?
  [Better to have a short answer than no answer at
  all.](https://stats.meta.stackexchange.com/a/5326/)
  Anyone who has a better answer can post it.
  

  (Insert the commenter's nick after "@" so they are notified.)

General

Duplicate Account

• Please register & merge your accounts (you can find information on how to do this in the My Account section of our help center), then you will be able to edit & comment on your own question.

  Please register &/or merge your accounts (you can find 
  information on how to do this in the **My Account** 
  section of our [help]), then you will be able to 
  edit & comment on your own question.
  

Answering a question but without upvoting it

• Please see My upvoting policy, when you find a question sufficiently clear to write an answer, consider to upvote the question!

  Please see 
  https://stats.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6304/my-upvoting-policy, 
  when you find a question sufficiently clear to 
  write an answer, consider to upvote the question!
  

Non-English post

• Welcome to the site. While it may seem unfair, Cross Validated is an exclusively English language based site. All posts here need to be made in English. Since you're new here, you may want to take our [tour], which has information for new users.

  Welcome to the site.  While it may seem unfair, [stats.SE]
  is an exclusively English language based site.  All posts 
  here need to be made in English.  Since 
  you're new here, you may want to take our [tour], which 
  has information for new users.
  

Uses R's tidy-code

• Welcome to the site. Please consider using base R, & commenting it extensively, when illustrating posts here with R code. Not everyone who will come to this page will be familiar with R, & not all of those will be able to read tidy-code. This is a Q&A site for statistics, not R.

  Welcome to the site. Please consider using base R, & 
  commenting it extensively, when illustrating posts here with  
  R code. Not everyone who will come to this page will be 
  familiar with R, & not all of those 
  will be able to read tidy-code. This is a Q&A site for 
  statistics, not R.
  

Question asked in chat

• @ , please ask that on the main site. There we have better facilities for asking & answering questions (e.g. formatting options will work) and the information will be available for people with the same question. That isn't a chat item.

  @ , please ask that on the main site. There we have better 
  facilities for asking & answering questions (e.g. 
  formatting options will work) and the information
  will be available for people with the same question. That 
  isn't a chat item.
  

  (Insert the commenter's nick after "@" so they are notified.)