The Zombie Stack Exchanges That Just Won't Die
While the this SE is seeing much activity, I have noted a significant amount of questions with high activity, and many good answers, yet lacking a selected best answer.
I wonder if this is due to the complexity of many of the questions, and the asker's reluctance to accept one perspective as the "final word" so to speak – or if it is due to the fact that many of the digital preservation practicioners here may be new to the SE format, and do not realize that they are actually oblid as the asker to select the best answer. Otherwise this SE becomes a pile of unanswered questions – not an invaluable knowledge base.
So – the question (and the purpose of this question is partially to simply call attention to the problem) is: What constitutes a best answer?
Ben Fino-Radin
Have a look at this blog post — OK, Now Define “Answered”. The "accepted answer" feature does serve the purposes you are attributing to it, although it's not uncommon for users to conflate these unrelated issues:
'Accepted' is not answered —\ The site isn't filled with unanswered questions if the author does not tick one of them off. A question issidered "answered" when it receives an answer with at least one up-vote… at least as far as the 'unanswered' tab goes.
'Accepted' is not best —\ The author doesn't determine the "best answer" by ticking it off. The best answer is determined by the community vote.
'Accepted' is only thanks —\ The "accepted answer" is simply the answer the author found most helpful to them. This is a simple social convention we use to close the loop between the person asking and the person answering. Accepting an answer is not meant to be a definitive and final statement indicating that the question has now been answered.
Personally, I really dislike the "accepted answer" feature precisely because of the misunderstandings you've raised. First, despite the community voting/vetting of the answers, one user pushes an answer to the top — pushed by the user least likely equipped to recognize the best answer in the first place. That's what the community vote is supposed to be for.
Second, when an answer is accepted, it gives every indication that the issue has been resolved and no further input is needed. The lifecycle of a question and its answers are supposed to go well beyond helping the original author. Answers can (and should) continually be improved. But when the author selects the best answer (sic) or the correct answer (sic), it tells everyone who comes after "thanks, your help is no longer needed here — I've moved on." That's not what it is supposed to do, but that's the reality of how it is perceived. "Why should I add an answer? One has already been accepted."
So, to answer your question — an 'accepted answer' is nothing more than the original author checking in and picking which answer best helped them personally; nothing more.