Glossary
What is a best answer?
The one reply on a question that the asker or a moderator marks as the reply that actually solved it.
In more detail
A best answer turns a thread from "someone asked" into "this is settled". Other tools call it an accepted answer or a solution. Whatever the name, it is a signal for the next reader, not a prize for the writer.
Only one reply holds the mark at a time. If a clearer reply arrives a week later, the mark can move to it, and the first reply goes back to being an ordinary reply. That keeps the mark honest: it points at the best available answer today, not the first one that showed up.
The mark matters most for people who were not there. A reader who lands on a thread with twenty replies has to judge every one of them. A reader who lands on a thread with a marked answer can read one reply, check the date, and move on.
Example
Cohort 4 questionsYes, until the end of week two. Email the program lead with your join date and we refund the unused weeks, prorated.
Marked by the asker. Five other replies stay visible below it.
Good practice
Small habits that make the difference.
Mark it while the context is fresh
Ask members to mark within a day or two. A week later, nobody remembers which reply fixed it.
Pick the complete answer, not the first
The fastest reply is often a guess. The best answer is the one a stranger could act on without reading the rest.
Say why when a moderator marks it
If the asker has gone quiet and a moderator marks the answer, add a short reply explaining the choice so it does not look arbitrary.
Revisit answers when rules change
A best answer about a policy or price goes stale. Move the mark or add an updated reply when the facts change.
How Dium handles it
In Dium, the person who started a question Wave, or a moderator, marks the best answer. The Wave switches to Solved, the answerer gets a notification, and the mark counts toward their trust score.
Related terms
Knowledge base
A searchable collection of answers a group has already worked out, kept so people can look them up instead of asking again.
Read definitionLive Q&A
Live Q&A is a session where an audience asks questions in real time and a host or panel answers them on the spot.
Read definitionModeration ladder
A moderation ladder is a set of steps, from a light nudge to a ban, that moderators climb only as far as a problem needs.
Read definition