Should we allow "joke answers" that don't actually answer the question as intended?

Question

The question What if a bullet hit Wonder Woman? is about Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe. All of the answers specifically address this with evidence from the DCEU movies involving her, except for one answer.

That answer consists of a parody comic, set in the comics universe. While I'll admit that it is funny, it's also unofficial, has nothing to do with the DCEU Wonder Woman (and in fact was written before her first appearance in the DCEU), and doesn't really match with what the question is asking for. And what happens if the answer is accepted? Then it doesn't really help anybody who is seriously wondering the answer.

To me, this is similar to asking "In The Dark Knight Rises, why did Commissioner Gordon send in all the police officers into the sewers?" and an answer pointing to the How it Should Have Ended parody that shows it was because the drugs the hospital put him on was affecting his judgement. Yes, it's funny, but it doesn't actually answer the question.

Fun is a great part of this site, but I'm wondering if a parody answer like this wouldn't be better relegated to the comments or chat. Should we allow "joke answers" on this site if they don't actually answer the question as intended?

Answer 1

It depends on the actual answer. If the answer does adress the question in a reasonable way, then a little humour is not a problem. But when it's just a pure joke, it has really nothing to do on the site, let alone the answer section.

While the topic of Movies & TV might be "funnier" than, say, chemistry, that doesn't change the fact that we're a serious site for discussing films and while the occasional funny comment might be acceptable if used moderately, this has never really been the case for answers. (In fact this "funnier" site topic might also make us a little more prone to answers like this, or the detrimental upvotes thereon.)

The specific answer you cite is an example that is clearly not intended as a serious answer to the question, which is unfortunately something the ton of people that voted on it haven't realized (or cared about?). But it has since been corrected by deleting that answer. The fact that it's a Hot Network Question on the one hand easily leads to this kind of answer together with its votes, but on the other hand should also prompt us to show ourselves from our best side, which we hopefully do a little more now.

Answer 2

For full disclosure I'm one of the miscreants that up-voted that answer (I can't see the answer since it has been deleted to verify but I'm certain I know the one you're referencing).

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I agree with your point that it clearly was an answer for fun, and not intended to be a valid answer to the question posed. As such I think that it was rightfully deleted. That being said I don't think we need to rush to stamp out these answers immediately for two primary reasons.

1. I don't think this is a big problem where we're regularly getting inundated with silly joke answers that are drowning out real answers.
2. I don't see the harm in letting people laugh at something silly for a period before the post is cleaned up.

If this was a common occurrence then I'd be more hostile towards this behavior. Since it seems to be an occasional lark, I believe that a few days of smiles are worth more than aggressive sanitation. In my mind transient fun has value, even though it is transient. By allowing some room before deletion the fun can be shared without encouraging historical precedent that can be abused.

In summary, yes I agree these answers should be deleted, but I don't think we need to expedite deletion. My arbitrary deletion delay would be 2 - 5 days, but I'm willing to be overruled.