@jpmc26 this was discussed fairly extensively in meta between Rubio, North, Deusovi, and myself. See here and a ton of text beyond that.

er not meta XD

TSL

as far as popularity - check this comment by @PiIsNot3 - I think it sums up the whole popularity thing fairly well.

Because PSE and the SE network (for the most part - Code Golf being a notable exception) do allow content merely because it is popular or well-liked. They allow content that fits with the model of 1. A single verifiable answer 2. within the intended scope (I admit that this is somewhat redundant)