What do you do when the same answer applies to 2 different questions? Does that mean the questions are dupes even if they don't look like it?
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related meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/q/1299/759– Double AA ModAug 17, 2012 at 14:11
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To the downvoter - lest you think I'm referring to @DoubleAA's example of two questions along the same theme but with derivative branches, I'm talking about where the word-for-word answer will work for both questions, despite the fact that the questions are distinct.– Seth JAug 17, 2012 at 14:56
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SethJ My linked question is actually about 1 question which is not as broad as it could be. Your case is about 2 questions each of which is apparently not as broad as it could be. So couldn't one be generalized into a dupe for the other?– Double AA ModAug 17, 2012 at 15:09
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@DoubleAA Dunno. They may be very difficult to broaden while still maintaining their usefulness.– Seth JAug 17, 2012 at 16:05
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1 Answer
In my opinion, duplicate answers shouldn't be merged. To give an extreme example, would you merge two answers that both said "Yes," though the questions were different? It would be slightly different in a usual case, but it would be something like this:
Two answers to two different questions both have this wording:
The halachah is that every Jew is valid to slaughter animals.
However, the first question is, "Can a non-Jew slaughter animals?" And the second is, "Can someone slaughter an animal without being ordained?" On the first question, the answer emphasizes "Every Jew;" and on the second, it emphasizes "Every Jew."
So in my opinion, two answers should be left on two different questions if it's possible to expand on them to answer the question: In my example, in the first case, you could expand on it "...and therefore a non-Jew can't;" in the second, "...and therefore you don't require ordination to slaughter."
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But in your example, in both cases (as in the extreme example you gave) the answer is incomplete. My question is about a complete answer that does not require additional wording or filling in any blanks to satisfy the two separate questions.– Seth JAug 17, 2012 at 20:21
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@SethJ I think the answer is fine; anyone can naturally figure out what it means. (If you look, many answers on the site are like that.) But since it is possible to continue it, I think that the intentions behind the answer are what distinguishes them.– b aAug 17, 2012 at 20:25
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Oh, I agree that the answer is fine for both questions. However, in both cases they can be expanded. I'm referring to these separate questions for which this detailed answer fully satisfies both. (Can it be expanded in one or both of those? I suppose so. But I think in your example the answer kind of begs for an expansion, even if it's an obvious one, but these examples the answer is really quite satisfactory for both, at least IMO.)– Seth JAug 17, 2012 at 20:35
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1@SethJ, one factor to keep in mind is: would the asker of question A (1) find question B and (2) see that it also answers his question? Aug 17, 2012 at 20:46