I occasionally see questions which have been answered in the comments, but the poster has not responded to requests to post an answer, or only has a partial answer.
For example:
Is it okay to post their answer (with credit and CW) as was done here?
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5$\begingroup$ I would try to notify the user first to give them the opportunity to answer the post and get the reputation. If they don't respond in a few days then answer it. Hehe. What now? $\endgroup$– ruckusDec 6, 2014 at 16:33
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1$\begingroup$ @VinceScalia huh? $\endgroup$– gandalf3 ModDec 6, 2014 at 18:17
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5$\begingroup$ I was just messing around because the answer was in a comment. Joke on nature of question. $\endgroup$– ruckusDec 6, 2014 at 18:18
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3 Answers
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I would try to notify the user first to give them the opportunity to answer the post and get the reputation. If they don't respond in a few days then answer it.
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$\begingroup$ How do we notify a user? I don't know of any way to PM a user on StackExchange. $\endgroup$ Jul 30, 2015 at 14:01
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1$\begingroup$ @Mentalist @ ping them in the commets. You can also look in chat $\endgroup$ Jul 30, 2015 at 23:18
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Perhaps somewhere inbetween the existing answers.
If the post is older and hasn't seen activity in a while (e.g. a day or two), then leave a comment to see if the user still wants to write their own answer before answering yourself.
If the post is new or has activity, then go ahead and answer :)
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The user already had the opportunity to answer the question when he posted the comment, but decided for some reason not to do so. I don't get the point of 'locking' a question by posting a comment.
When the comment was too short or incomplete as an answer, it would motivate other users to write a better answer. This would help to improve the answer rate currently (1.4 of 2.5 required to leave beta). Therefore I would vote
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1$\begingroup$ I don't think those stats are strict requirements per se, more like guidelines to let us know how we are doing. It's not necessarily true that users who comment have an opportunity to answer. I sometimes don't have time to do an in-depth answer right away, and instead leave a short comment trying to point the OP in the right direction, intending to come back later and write a proper answer. Sometimes another user writes an answer more or less using the same techniques I was going to use before I come back and I feel kinda cheated, though it's not really their fault (they might not have even $\endgroup$– gandalf3 ModNov 25, 2014 at 7:22
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$\begingroup$ read my comment). They also probably helped the OP by providing an answer sooner. Maybe this is just silly and we all ought to answer anyway, and similar answers are okay (to the point of being nearly identical in terms of techniques used)? $\endgroup$– gandalf3 ModNov 25, 2014 at 7:23
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$\begingroup$ @gandalf3 your answers are mostly outstanding, even if someone else answers first by extending on a comment, you add more references and background information so that your answer is voted to the top. blender.stackexchange.com/questions/19198/… e.g. had no hint that you're intending to provide an answer (like: will answer later). I thought that at least a link should be provided. $\endgroup$– stackerNov 25, 2014 at 7:28
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$\begingroup$ I literally had 0 time when that question popped up, but I decided to hastily type out a quick comment before going. I honestly thought someone else would answer by the time I was back, and I would also feel very strange trying to "reserve" an answer.. It doesn't seem fair or polite to other users either.. $\endgroup$– gandalf3 ModNov 25, 2014 at 7:35
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$\begingroup$ I'm perhaps biased by the behaviour on stackoverflow, a well asked beginner question is likely to get up to 5 answers in a few minutes, after that it is burned and gets no more attention. Therefore I don't agree with the 'few days' in the accepted post. (IMHO one hour should be enough). $\endgroup$– stackerNov 25, 2014 at 7:39
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$\begingroup$ Things don't move quite so quickly here as on SO. We have fewer users and they are not around all of the time. That said, multiple days does seem a bit extreme, I have been waiting 24 hours in such cases. BTW, I think this only really applies to duplicate answers. In case you are thinking of your recent answer on the screencast keys question, I think that's perfectly fine. $\endgroup$– gandalf3 ModNov 25, 2014 at 7:42