Should I delete an answer when a better one is provided by someone else?

Question

I recently wrote an answer to a question, that, while not wrong, didn't provide the full picture. My answer got a few upvotes and nobody seemed to disagree with it.

Then someone else posted a more correct answer, in light of which I no longer considered my answer adequate.

Editing my answer would be pointless, since it more or less would end up repeating what the other person said. But I also didn't feel comfortable keeping my answer up, especially given that it had more upvotes than the better one (at that point), so I decided to delete it.

I know this is rather specific, but what would be considered the correct approach here?

Answer 1

I agree with @user3856370 and also think it's generally fine to keep the answer posted.

If you think another answer contains more useful/detailed information, you could add a link to the other answer to ensure that people reading answers ordered by votes don't miss important information contained in complementary answers.

Having posted an answer that people have already upvoted several times means that it is generally useful, so it makes sense to keep the answer around. And adding a link to other useful answers helps your readers decide what answer they find most useful.

If you think your answer is incorrect and not salvageable without repeating content already contained in another answer, then it might make sense to remove it, but from what you said, it doesn't sound like that was the case.

Answer 2

As long as your answer doesn't contain something which is wrong or misleading I see no problem in keeping it posted. It may approach the question in a slightly different way that some people might find more appealing. It may contain particular example sentences which are of use, etc. Besides which there is no requirement for an answer to fully address every point (even if that might be desirable).

The more contributions we have, that contain quality material, the better. I think you can rest assured that if people have a problem with your answer they will politely let you know.

Also, some of the people here have a real talent for making it look easy. We can't all aspire to their high standards, but it shouldn't stop us trying. Please keep posting :-)