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@Scimonster I thought we decided that a mi.y link was OK. This is not to say, of course, that the other link shouldn't be expanded on :) – Shokhet 6 hours ago

@Shokhet, 1) 2 upvotes doesn't necessarily imply consensus. 2) That "OK," such as it is, is for duplicate answers, while this is a link to a related, non-identical question. To make this an answer to this question, there has to be more fleshing out of what's there and how it applies here, IMO. – Isaac Moses 4 hours ago

Comments from https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/6079/5151

The page Shokhet linked says:

I'd add that if the questions are actually duplicates in your eyes but for some reason haven't been designated as such, you can probably answer the later one with "See my answer to a very similar question." Usually, we don't like answers that are just a reference, but within the site seems OK.


Now, do we agree with this position that internal MY link-only answers are OK?

1 Answer 1

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No

The standard link-only comment text states

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes.

This applies just as much to MY questions/answers as external sites.

Answers can get deleted and/or edited, so that by the time someone visits the link, it may not be what the poster intended to link to. Non-10k users can't see the deleted stuff, and casual visitors might not know to check the history.

Also, from Monica's excellent answer to What's the point of posting an answer based on something that's already online?:

Don't be so quick to dismiss the value of your summary. Some people who won't read a book will read an article; some who won't read an article will read a paragraph. The dedicated student will follow your link for the full text anyway, but you reach more people with a helpful answer if you also provide that summary. And if you make it enticing, then perhaps people who normally wouldn't follow the link to read the article will do so. Your summary spreads torah.

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