@amWhy That was my reason to close it, but I don't really know what the consensus on closing as dupe vs closing for lacking context is.
It seems that closing for lack of context indicates to the questioner that the question could be reopened if they provided some context. On the other hand, if it is a dupe, then it (should be) closed forever, since the answer already exists.
@XanderHenderson In my opinion, if a question is so terrible to be unsalvageable, it should be closed with the goal of deletion, not duplicate marking. However, if the asker could potentially provide more context, it is likely that it can become a non-duplicate.
Because either the asker provides his/her own work and thus answerers can either build upon it or point out errors.
@Did @amWhy @AlexFrancisco @XanderHenderson: This bad answer does not justify the claimed 'rapid convergence' nor why the tested solution is the only one...
@amWhy Yeah, I know how you are talking about. What annoys me the most are 1) their tendency to post comments as answers, and 2) a tendency to vote to close only those PSQs they won't answer themself.
3) Answering duplicates. But, there's nothing diamond moderators can do about it. No written rules are broken. Remember that we had to twiddle our thumbs with Sonnhard also. Peer pressure is likely to be met with pity upvotes.
So the outlook is kinda grim. We need serious amounts of peer pressure, and I'm not sure that we have that?
@JyrkiLahtonen Thanks for chiming in. I'm annoyed by the same behavior from them, as you are. And I agree with your last sentence/question. I'm still mulling over ways to deal with this without triggering a backlash of pity votes for this user.
...not holding any allusions there is anything I can do, on my own. It's my perception (or suspicion), that this user has been operating underneath a lot of folks radar/noses... which is why I think making the matter slightly more of an issue, more visible, and explicit will help others to pay more attention, even if only slightly more attention. Yes, peer pressure, if in "serious amounts" is what's needed; how to get that or raise awareness among other users is currently my question.
@MikeMiller indeed. I also think that the various users, such as the one I've referred to earlier, need to also feel some pain, or consequences, before they're motivated to change: ideally that will come from peer pressure.
@JyrkiLahtonen I know there is little (perhaps nothing) that mods can do to deal with said user, nor are their any written rules that they are breaking. Initially, I posted here and in the mod's office chat, for input on whether a meta post with links might help raise awareness of this user's behavior; quid pointed out that such a post might backfire. I think there are users who would be taken more seriously than I, if such a post was ever written.