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I asked a question that recently received this answer. As stated in the comment, this is clearly some sort of fan-fiction. Aside from the obvious downvote, which (if any) flag would be appropriate here? I feel "Not an Answer" isn't any good, because they are trying (and failing) to provide an answer, yet I feel "Spam" isn't sufficient either.

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    Intriguing.....
    – AncientSwordRage Mod
    Mar 17, 2015 at 21:11
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    @Pureferret - You forgot to add /lifts eyebrow...
    – Valorum
    Mar 17, 2015 at 21:18
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    For the record, I'm 99.9% sure it's fanfic, not 100% sure.
    – Valorum
    Mar 17, 2015 at 21:32
  • Well, there's definitely a lack of citation for one...
    – Zibbobz
    Mar 18, 2015 at 13:10

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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The stated policy is that "flags should not be used to indicate technical inaccuracies, or an altogether wrong answer".

That said... There's a case to be made that the answer should be deleted on the grounds that "it is very low quality" (or even just flagged as "other" with an explanation why it needs closing) but frankly, I'm happy to just leave it for now. The community is doing its job in downvoting it to hell and there's a comment explaining to the poster why.

UPDATE : In light of receiving several community flags (and reflecting a substantial numbers of downvotes) I've decided to delete the answer in question, if for no better reason than for the sake of the poster.

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  • Fair enough. That's why I thought I'd ask here. For myself, and future users.
    – PiousVenom
    Mar 17, 2015 at 21:23
  • I toyed with the idea of deleting it but I couldn't see any good reason to. It's not a bad answer per se, other than being completely inaccurate.
    – Valorum
    Mar 17, 2015 at 21:24
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    @Richard - other than being dead, the patient is in remarkably good health.
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Mar 17, 2015 at 22:13
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    @Richard It seems to me that deleting something that is not an answer is the right course of action. Let me put it another way: suppose the author had started his/her attempt at an answer with this: "I don't know the answer, so I'll write some fan-fiction instead [the rest of the post follows]". Would deleting seem better in that case?
    – Andres F.
    Mar 18, 2015 at 0:35
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    @AndresF. - In that case, I'd have no hesitation in deleting it. Fanfic isn't an answer in 99.999% of cases.
    – Valorum
    Mar 18, 2015 at 19:20
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Based on discussion here, the consensus was that we don't assume an implicit requirement of canon answers. So, unless the question does specify that canon answers are sought, non-canon answers are technically fair game.

That said, if you find it to be less than useful, you are more than welcome to downvote it.

*Note: Yes, the other discussion was largely focused on canon versus speculation-based answers, but the original question was a bit broader.

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    That seems to be about canon and semi-canon stuff like Star Wars Legends. Fanfic is straight up non-canonical. There's no place for it here.
    – curiousdannii
    Mar 18, 2015 at 9:04
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    @curiousdannii legends canon material is the very definition of fan-fiction. The only difference is that the Star Wars material was released by a publisher
    – phantom42
    Mar 18, 2015 at 11:34
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    @phantom42 - The majority of Star Wars fiction was at least released under license and sold. Fanfic (by comparison) is generally released as "not for profit" in order to not get sued.
    – Valorum
    Mar 18, 2015 at 18:50
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    I prefer this 'answer' as it covers a more general "rule of thumb". We have the opportunity to provide some broader answers which can apply to more than one use-case. @Richard's answer is aimed at this one particular case only. Given that the title of this question is "How to handle fan-fiction answers?" we should try to come up with a more generic consensus.
    – Möoz
    Mar 18, 2015 at 21:49
  • @Mooz - I thought mine rather did. Let the community decide but moderators reserve the right to delete if there's too much flak.
    – Valorum
    Mar 18, 2015 at 21:52
  • @Richard I know it does, but it's a bit more aimed at the OP's requested answer in question. I just wish it had been left out of the OP. Chat is probably better for such specific requests, meta should be kept for gaining community consensus on more broader cases...
    – Möoz
    Mar 18, 2015 at 21:55
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    Star Wars "Legends" (previously-officially-released material that has been declared "not a part of current universe continuity") is emphatically and definitely 100% not at all anything like fan fiction. I mean, talk about apples and Ferraris.
    – Martha
    Feb 26, 2016 at 18:41

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