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I found this question which already has an accepted answer there. While it's true that my answer doesn't directly answer what's asked in the title, it's answering part of the title that could be the pattern of similar questions:

"What is the icon for ___ in flutter?"

Moreover, what prevented the asker from searching the icon in the Flutter webpage is because

The webpage is really laggy, can't CTRL + F properly too.

I pointed out that we can search for icons in the Material Symbols and Icons page from Google Fonts (as the readers would find out that searching in this webpage is less laggy and has a better search system).

I also added that if the expected icon is not available in the Flutter icons collection, you may be able to find it in the material_symbols_icons package.

My answer then received 2 downvotes and 2 delete votes, plus a comment saying that it doesn't answer the question.

Is there anything wrong with this?

Please note that this is not an LMGTFY answer. The asker specifically mentioned about the trouble searching for icons in the Flutter docs page (as I quoted above), so I offered a solution to use the search page from Google Fonts page which has better searching experience. Since the Google Fonts page also includes icons that are natively not available in the Flutter icons list, as a responsibility I have to include the details to use the external package that has those icons.

Another important note: Whether the answer is addressing the question or not is part of the discussion itself. This meta question including its title was raised as it is, any subjectivity coming as a response to it may be discussed along, as it's what the tag is for.

The original answer at the time this meta post was posted was:

You can search for icons in the Material Symbols and Icons page from Google Fonts.

If you find an icon that is available on that page but not available in the Icons class, you can use the material_symbols_icons package and use the icon like this:

Icon(Symbols.add_task)

Questions that are mistakenly thought as similar by the community:

The discussion on What should a minimal answer contain? addresses how a minimal answer should be made and what is the bare minimum to "clear the downvotable bar". The discussion has not mentioned about an answer that is meant to be a more general answer and whether a deletion for it is the right action.

The discussion on Do I solve user's problem or answer the question? addresses which one of the two approach of answering is more useful and preferred by the community, but has not mentioned yet whether a more general answer is worth a deletion or should stay as a contribution to the site.

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    The answer does sort of act as a 'Let me google that for you' type of answer, but it's more specific to the question asked and, in my opinion, is acceptable as an answer... pending the next issue: I wish it would have at minimum answered the question, by providing the values needed for the icons requested rather than providing the value for some other icon and thus requiring the user to look to another answer or follow the link to get the actual answer.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 2 at 22:54
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    In some tags people are very delete-happy. I don't understand why they're so eager to destroy other people's contributions. If it's wrong, downvote and move on.
    – Cris Luengo
    Commented Feb 2 at 23:49
  • 2
    @CrisLuengo This wasn't a case of a wrong answer. It was a case of an answer that didn't address the specific question that OP asked at all. Maybe that will help you understand.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 3 at 20:39
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    @TylerH "not addressing the question" is still a subjective matter and should be part of the discussion. The argument that the answer partially answers the (original) question can still stand. Until then, I don't think it should be included in the title. The tag change should stand, though.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 3 at 22:51
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    @TylerH If you think it doesn’t answer the question, it means you think the answer is wrong (“not helpful”) — downvote and move on.
    – Cris Luengo
    Commented Feb 4 at 0:08
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    @CrisLuengo I did.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:16
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    @DhafinRayhan You admit in your question here that the answer does not answer the question. How is it subjective? It's also critical to the situation at hand; if it had answered the question, it never would have been deleted in the first place.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:16
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    @TylerH "doesn't directly answer" is different with "doesn't answer". The how to answer page mentioned "What is the question asking for? Make sure your answer provides that – or at least a viable alternative. Your answer can say “don’t do that,” but it should also say “try this instead.”". "Don't do that" + "try this instead" is not directly answering the question, but it's allowed. My suggestion for using the alternative page falls into this "try this instead" category.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:24
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    @DhafinRayhan the question didn't ask how to find icons. It demonstrated a failure of the op to do so, as required "research" due to the current iteration of the ask wizard pointlessly requiring "research" even on questions that don't need it.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:56
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    @KevinB As mentioned by Karl Knechtel, these kinds of "more general answer" do in fact answer the question. That's for the general case. But in this very case, it's even stronger with the research being included in the question body in which solving the failure itself will lead the asker into the right direction.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:46
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    As a baseline, all answers should at minimum answer the question, not point the user somewhere else where they can find the answer.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:52
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    At the end of the day all you're arguing for is the equivalent of "Here's how you google properly" being a valid answer because someone said they failed to find it on google. or "Here's how you ctrl+f on documentation" because they failed to find something in documentation. It's nonsensical. That's not to say all general answers shouldn't be allowed, but the one you're advocating for is absurd.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 17:02
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    @KevinB That's a very rough comparison, and this is why it's important to understand the case itself. This "searching for icons in Flutter" case if very narrow, and giving the asker a way to search in the alternative webpage is in fact answering the question, in the way that the asker already knows what to search for (and even know the names of the icon), while the existing obstacle is just the search page. Hence giving the alternative search page is filling out this missing part, which answers the specific question, plus broadening the answer to also address any similar questions.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 17:10
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    Does this answer your question? What should a minimal answer contain?
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 18:34
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    @TylerH The first question addresses on how a minimal answer should be made to survive the "downvote bar", not mentioning about how it should be for not being a delete-worthy. The second one discussed the community-preferred way of answering from the two given approaches in the question. Both have not mentioned yet whether a more general answer is worth a deletion or should stay as a contribution to the site.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 18:50

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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In general there is IMO nothing wrong with writing answers like this one.

I pointed out that we can search for icons in the Material Symbols and Icons page from Google Fonts (as the readers would find out that searching in this webpage is less laggy and have better search system).

I'm not familiar with Flutter, and I'm not sure what programming language the OP is using it with (JavaScript?) or the extent to which that's relevant to solving the problem.

It seems like you are trying to explain that the webpage can be used to figure out names that can be used in Flutter - for example, if you see Check on the webpage, that tells you to use Icons.check to get the corresponding symbol in Flutter; and if that doesn't work, to try looking up that name in Symbols instead and use something like Icon(Symbols.add_task).

I agree with you that explaining how to search for the icons and then use them is much more useful than simply giving results for two specific cases. The problem is that, as written, your answer doesn't really explain how to use the icons - only how to do a search. It isn't clear what to do after finding, say, an "Add Task" icon in the listing - how that corresponds to add_task in the code. One could possibly intuit that, but it's better to explain directly that a) the site lists the name that is needed in the code; b) mechanically how to create the necessary Flutter code from that name.

I also agree with Kevin B's assessment that the answer should include the originally-requested icons as concrete examples - especially since they can apparently be used "directly", when other icons might require additional work.

Here's how I would write the answer, based on my understanding of what you are claiming, and a bit of personal investigation of the page:

Google Fonts maintains a Material Symbols and Icons page that lists icons that can be created in Flutter, which I more convenient and responsive than the official Flutter API listing. Clicking the button for an icon on this page will open an information panel that gives a symbolic name for the icon (and a Unicode code point - possibly in the private-use area - for the corresponding character).

Some of these icons, such as the desired white-on-green checkmark and red X, are available directly in Icons with the corresponding name: thus, Icons.check and Icons.close respectively. Failing that, install the material_symbols_icons package, look the name up in Symbols, and create an Icon from that result.

For example, the "Add Task" icon:

"Add Task" icon consisting of an encircled check mark with a plus sign in the lower right

has the symbolic name add_task; it's not available in Icons, but can be created like Icon(Symbols.add_task).

I've cast the last needed vote to undelete, and I hope you'll consider some of these changes (but feel free to write according to your own style).

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    After the edits I think your new version is even better than what I proposed. The screen captures from the UI also seem quite effective. Bravo!
    – Karl Knechtel
    Commented Feb 3 at 12:25
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    "In general there is IMO nothing wrong with writing answers like this one." This is incorrect--answers must always attempt to address the question that is asked. Not doing so is 100% always wrong.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 3 at 20:46
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    @TylerH My argument is that, in general, these kinds of "more general answer" do in fact answer the question. Certainly they may be improved by including a specific example matching the specific details of the question. But often, the "specific details of the question" are not really relevant and the question would be improved by not hyper-focusing. That sort of thing is at the root of people asking and defending clearly duplicate how-to questions that differ in some trivial detail of the input specification.
    – Karl Knechtel
    Commented Feb 3 at 20:56
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    @DhafinRayhan And any reader later looking for a solution to their similar problem is free to downvote an incomplete/partial and (in their opinion) unhelpful answer. I am inclined to agree with Tyler in that answers should strive to completely address the questions/issues/problems proposed by question authors. After that you are free to point out and address the more general case if you feel it better helps future readers.
    – Drew Reese
    Commented Feb 4 at 3:55
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    @DrewReese That shouldn't stop the answer from being contributed to the site. While downvoting is a valid action since it suggests personal opinions on the helpfulness of the answer, deleting the answer doesn't sound right. In the deleted answer help page, one of the reasons for deletion is when the answer is "not even a partial answer to the actual question". Furthermore, in the how to answer page when talking about partial answer it mentioned "then you can contribute the results".
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 4 at 4:13
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    @DrewReese The part where "others may disagree on the quality" is already addressed by Karl Knechtel in this answer, which is the absence of answering the specific question. This results in downvotes. The other matter is the close votes. There are no "reframing" and "different question" in this case, the "part of the question" being answered is the one I quoted in this meta post. The answer is a direct response to that part.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 4 at 4:27
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    @DhafinRayhan If it's not already inherently obvious, the tour page addresses the concept, and the Help Center pages How to Answer ("What is the question asking for? Make sure your answer provides that") and Deleted Answers ("not even a partial answer to the actual question") address it more directly.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:21
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    @TylerH The quoted sentence from the how to answer page continues with " – or at least a viable alternative". Furthermore, "Any answer that fully addresses at least part of the question is helpful" as I've already mentioned, the alternative webpage link is addressing part of the question which is the issue with the webpage link OP included in the question.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:49
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    @TylerH Continuing the quote, "and can get the asker going in the right direction", surely the alternative webpage link can get the asker into the right direction, as it's explained in the question that the original webpage link is the obstacle that is stopping the OP from getting into the right direction.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:50
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    @DhafinRayhan Yes, "and". Not "or".
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:04
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    @DhafinRayhan The part where it didn't answer the question OP asked, which is, for I think at least the third time, "what icons do other people use for the tick and cross mark in Flutter".
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:09
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    @DhafinRayhan someone stating "I googled something and didn't find it" wouldn't be a strong argument for showing someone how to google properly being the entirety of an answer, why is this case different?
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 17:00
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    @DhafinRayhan if the answer you produced included steps that solved the problem we wouldn't be having this discussion, it would have never been deleted.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 17:21
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    Brevity must at minimum answer the question. not just explain why their research method was flawed.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 17:29
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    @DhafinRayhan the people reaching that question will be looking for one or both of two icons that they don't need to use that search for.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 17:54
-5

You should only post an answer if your answer addresses the question that was asked. In this case, the asker wanted to know what others used for two specific shapes/icons in Flutter, and your answer did not attempt to provide a suggestion for either of them.

Thus, your answer was appropriately deleted, since at the time it did not answer the question (the content should have been a comment under the question, another answer, or perhaps an edit to an existing suggestion)

I'm happy to see your edits to the answer now include an attempt at answering the question posted by the OP, and have retracted my downvote. Please make sure your future answers always address the direct question that is asked! It's OK if other answers have been provided, but each answer must stand on its own, not just be supplemental to other answers.

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    If you understand the question well, the main problem OP did not find the icon is due to the not-so-good experience in searching for icons in the Flutter docs. Thus, giving a link to a page where you can search better is in fact answering the question partially. The how to answer help page clearly mentioned this twice, "Any answer that fully addresses at least part of the question is helpful and can get the asker going in the right direction" and "So long as you fully answer at least a part of the original question, then you can contribute".
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 3 at 21:44
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    @DhafinRayhan I do understand the question well. The question was "what do other developers use for these two specific icons in Flutter". Your answer did not address that request at all. Your answer provided information that was a useful addendum, perhaps, but not enough to stand as its own answer. Thus, your answer was appropriately deleted.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:23
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    My answer is a direct response to the part of the question that I quoted in the post. See this post about partial answer that seems to be agreed upon. My answer has successfully addressed the issue with searching for icons in the Flutter docs. The rest, it's fine if the OP would response "true, but I still need this and that" as pointed out in the second point of that meta post. The possible existence of this interaction doesn't make my answer should not stand.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:35
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    @DhafinRayhan is now, clearly this answer is addressing the former version of the answer, that your question is literally asking about.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:37
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    @KevinB Can you elaborate? The discussion have been all about the version 1 of my answer.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:40
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    an answer on another meta from 2012 is hardly indicative of policy here.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:43
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    @KevinB Thanks for clarifying, I agree with that. However, the part where it says "true, but I still need this and that" still stand with the how to answer page, in the part where it says "get the asker going in the right direction". "going in the right direction" indicates that the answer is not complete yet hence the need for the asker to response "still need this and that", and "the right direction" is what indicated by the asker by saying "true".
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 15:58
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    @DhafinRayhan What they tried is not what they asked. What they asked is what must be answered in any answer. As I and others have said here, there's no issue with providing additional information to help OP even further along in their efforts. But additional information needs to be additional. You yourself acknowledged this explicitly in the question here and implicitly when you edited your answer to answer the question being asked, so I really don't understand why you're still trying to argue otherwise.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:04
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    @TylerH The fact that the asker explicitly mentioned about the trouble only makes my answer in a stronger position. In fact, without that my "general answer" is still addressing the issue with getting the icon that OP wanted, and getting them to the right direction. My edit to the answer does not necessarily implies anything, the action was taken as the new edited answer is objectively explaining better. From the how to answer page: "Brevity is acceptable, but fuller explanations are better.". The first one was brevity, the edited one has full explanations.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:14
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    @DhafinRayhan the edited one has an answer to the actual question. I'm going to stop replying here since you already acknowledged explicitly and implicitly that you were wrong here, and I can't tell any purpose for the continued insistence otherwise.
    – TylerH
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:15
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    @TylerH The edited one has an answer to the full question, while the original one has an answer to part of the question. Both which are valid according to the site guidance and do not fill the requirements for delete-worthy answer. I'm not sure where you get the conclusion about who's wrong here, since I've dropped all the arguments to your accusations along the discussion.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:21
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    @DhafinRayhan That's the nice thing about SO, everyone is free to form their own opinions about the usefulness of contributions of other members. Just be happy that the Meta-effect got your answer more visibility, and with enough prodding got you to at least answer the question posed by the OP. Congratulations, some people agreed with you, take your W and move on. Maybe your next answer will more completely address the specific concerns of the author. Cheers and best of luck to you.
    – Drew Reese
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:24
  • @DrewReese Well said. The discussion in this meta post had already strengthened my insight about the reason an answer got downvoted, which primarily because people don't find the answer useful (had already known this, but getting the extensive explanations especially discussed on this very case, is nice). The next thing is whether the answer deserve a deletion, which seems still to be argued among the contributors of this meta post. Although the majority seems to agree with what Karl Knechtel said, there are still some nuances to this conclusion.
    – Dhafin Rayhan
    Commented Feb 5 at 16:37

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