This question was spured by this answer but it applies in general. Is it approriate to answer a question with just "Go ask someone else" with no other context or attempt to provide guidance?
My thought is an answer that just says ask someone/somewhere else is not appropriate at all for Stack exchange. We exist to provide answers to questions and help people. We should not be sending people elsewhere for help that is on topic.
Is it acceptable here to answer a question with “Go ask someone else?”
No, because you should be voting to close instead. If all you can say is "we can't answer this question" then that's about as clear a sign as you can get that either:
In the former you downvote and vote to close. In the latter case you just downvote. To be clear, neither scenario automatically means that you should be downvoting the question.
Note that this only applies to answers that say "ask [person]" and nothing else. The only time this type of answer would be appropriate is for simple questions like "Is it okay to ask my manager for X?". But even in those cases, while "Yes, ask your manager" is a valid answer, I'd consider it too short and easy. You'd expect the answer to provide a sample script of how to start that conversation or to give reasons why the question is appropriate.
"Ask your manager" may be rather succinct, but in some cases it is perfectly appropriate and correct.
As with all answers, if we don't like the answer we can downvote. If we like it we can upvote. Or you could even add more text to make the answer better.
There's no need to quibble over appropriateness.
I think the answer to many questions boils down to "Ask the person who can answer this." Sometimes it's company policy questions. Sometimes it's interpersonal workplace situations. Sometimes it's career development stuff.
I'll agree that it's best practice to provide more explanation and context in an answer to that effect than I did in the answer above.
However, I think it is perfectly acceptable to answer, "Ask your Manager/Boss/Co-Worker/HR/Lawyer, and here's why."
We often get questions of the form "X has happened: this seems strange! What do I do?"
Answers tend to come in one of three flavours:
The OP is hoping for an answer in category 1, and indeed that's a useful contribution to the site. Thing is, that answer may not exist, and so Category 2 is often good advice and might be the 'right' answer. Category 3 is pure speculation and should probably be downvoted.
A Vote to Close is right for cases where there is little to go on and the only plausible answers are opinion, but in other circumstances, I feel it is excessive, as it essentially endorses the category 2 answer - whether or not there is a genuine category 1 answer 'out there' which the OP would accept or which the community would prefer to an 'ask someone else' answer.
There are of course better and worse ways of writing an 'ask someone else' answer.
I think there are some situations when that is an appropriate response. In particular, I think it is an appropriate answer when doing so means elevating the problem so someone else can make a decision. For example, consider the situation where you and a colleague disagree on how to fix a bug in your widget. You are both set on your solutions and won't change your minds. How do you move forward? Ask your boss. Now I'd expect there to be some explanation to go along with it, but the general advice to consult your superior is appropriate.
However, in many cases "Ask your boss/HR/lawyer" is the correct answer because there is no generic answer and we at the Workplace can't know all the details needed to properly answer. This is correct but not a good answer and is an indication of a bad question that should be closed instead. (Only answer well-asked questions) I think that the linked question falls in this category. The OP is asking how to fulfill the company policy defining self-assessment. The OP's manager, who knows the company and its policies, is the best person to give direction here.
