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General: If nobody responds to a bounty, why do you still lose the rep?

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    I discovered this after asking a question on differential Galois theory:
    http://mathoverflow.net/questions/15165/why-do-we-need-admissible-isomorphisms-for-differential-galois-theory

    on which I placed a 50-point bounty. Not that I'm complaining about a rather small loss of reputation at a time when I don't have to worry about my numerical reputation correlating with my chances of getting into graduate school or anything, but it seemed funny.
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    If you get to keep the points by not accepting an answer, what is the incentive to accept an answer?

    Morally, of course, you are obligated to accept a correct answer (and I'm sure you Akhil, would do so) but in a big system like MO eventually someone would yield to temptation. By removing the points regardless, that temptation is eliminated.
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    I assume Akhil is referring to the fact that if nobody answers it with an answer that has a positive score, the points are totally gone. No one gets the credit.
    • CommentAuthorCSiegel
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2010
     
    Well, the issue Akhil is bringing up isn't that if he doesn't accept an answer, he loses the points. It's that if no one even posts an answer (as in that question) you lose them, which means you burned through some rep and didn't get anything in return.
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    One of the (lesser) reasons I have for being active on MO currently is in the anticipation of using bounties for questions that stump me and are important for my work and that might otherwise go unanswered (due to my own lack of time, expertise, etc., which are larger issues than would otherwise be normal since my current project concerns an area to which I am and will probably remain a novice). So while it is not a big deal, I agree that the prospect of losing rep for unanswered bounties is suboptimal.
    • CommentAuthorLK
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2010
     
    I think the current system is fine (and I did have one question with unclaimed bounty). Questions with bounty are displayed more prominently for 7 days, which obviously benefits the author - more views, likely more upvotes, better chance of getting an answer. It's natural for a benefit to come with a price tag. Note that the cost is incurred when the bounty is posted, not when it's awarded. Even the amounts are not the same: the awarded amount is greater.
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    If no answer is accepted, does the system allow you to start another bounty on the same question?
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    No, it does not. I remember reading this either in the FAQ or one of the help pages. Your ability to put a new bounty up is forever gone iirc.

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    Yeah, the bounty rules are kinda weird. Not only can you never put a bounty on the same question, you can't even accept an answer. If you have rep on meta.SE, please upvote Robert Cartaino's suggested changes to the bounty behavior.

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    IMO it makes sense. You're basically "paying" to grab people's attention. This is a good thing because if you're only docked reputation when you accept an answer, the "featured" list would likely become an overgrown open problem garden.
    • CommentAuthorHarry Gindi
    • CommentTimeMar 9th 2010 edited
     

    Right now, the featured list is somewhat hidden.

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