Did you ever feel like quitting your hobby of answering questions on Answers?

I have to agree with you, it is very depressing at times, and I've felt like giving up on a number of occasions.

There are too many clones who ask questions for their alter ego to answer. You research an answer, spend time giving a good reply to have the clone get awarded a best answer for an inane reply.

You answer a 16 part question to have it deleted or worse still, the asker thanks you in the additional information but doesn't award a best answer, it goes to a vote and the voting trolls vote using their multiple accounts for a stupid answer or no best answer.

Yes, it gets you down from time to time BUT THEN, you receive some nice comment from an asker that has awarded you a best answer and you realise that not everything is bad. You realise at times that YOU ARE making a difference to someone and then you realise that it is all worthwhile.

Keep at it - take it on the chin - you enjoy answering. Also you have over 1000 best answers - therefore you have been appreciated by someone over 1000 times already! Enough said, don't let it get you down!

Not only do I feel like quitting, I did quit for some time. I agree with everything J.J. said. I also get frustrated with those who are too lazy to check a dictionary for themselves, the unbelievably poor writing ability demonstrated, and the appalling ignorance that is a result of having others do your work for you so you never learn anything. If one gives "dictionary.com" or "check your textbook" as an answer, one is likely to be reported as violating the rules. Then, of course, we have the questioners who rudely demand answers and/or the nature of the answers acceptable to them or attack answerers with subsequent "additional information" if they don't like the response. It seems that some people mark answers negatively either because they answer, themselves, or just for the fun of it. I'm also upset by incorrect answers given to apparently sincere questioners by self-proclaimed experts. (I can only hope it's a good lesson for the ones too lazy to do any work.) And wouldn't it be nice if questioners could post their questions in the appropriate forum?

This could be such a valuable resource, and is for some (if they can figure out which answers are completely accurate), but the high level of laziness, abuse, and stupidity is often more than I can tolerate (even after I've ignored questions that obviously fit in one of those categories).

Like you, I've seen perfectly acceptable questions deleted, and wasted time answering them. I assume that an abuser reported it as violating the rules. It's so easy to get a new user ID that I suspect no one is really ever banned for misbehavior or ignored when reporting an abuse. I've decided, based on nothing whatsoever, that a computer automatically deletes a question when it is reported, at least until a human reviews it. (And it may be that human review happens only when the questioner disagrees formally.)

On behalf of those few who legitimately use the forum for help, I thank you for all your work.

Yeah it happens

what does causal encounters mean