Is it "ethical" to ask upvote the answer if the author of the question pretty satisfied?

Question

We do answer questions for free, however we do spend our time to make high quality answers and build them aesthetically attractive.

The only things we get back for our efforts are virtual bounties - i.e. scores and badges. If they are unimportant let's eliminate them. However, they ARE important, by them we and others know who answer the question and how the answer is valid and reliable (I hope).

Sometimes, the OPs with reputation of 1 point just don't realise these facts and allow to themselves just to comment: "Thanks! I spent hours to find the answer" and not upvote or accept any answer at all.

So, the question is - is it ethical for us to ask the OP to upvote or accept the answer if the OP is satisfied and commented about that?

Let's see an example -

I spent 30 minutes for searching data and building the answer, so probably, IF, the OP found the answer useful (by commenting), can I ask to upvote or... as Scott said don't be a moron worrying about ratings, points, badges etc. (Scott, I changed your sentence a little bit for the amplification purposes :))

Answer 1

If I answer a question and someone says thanks or something to make me believe it worked for them I'll comment along the lines.

"Hey glad it helped. If you could mark it the correct answer it helps the site stay organized."

Actually what I did was say "...it will help us get out of beta" but that wouldn't work any longer

Answer 2

I think it is fair enough, done nicely. Admittedly, I do not do it on my own answers, but rather on others. Say - you have given an answer the OP expresses is dead on (but only then), I usually write something like:

Hi there - if @nnn answered your question please upvote and tick the box next to it to indicate that this solved the problem. This is good for everyone as it shows at a glance that the problem has a solution.

It IS good for the community that questions are marked as accepted.

I have had some questions where the OP simply disappeared after my answer, and admittedly that pisses me off. If you are a novice, and cannot contribute to the site in other ways, then the "accept" is is a pretty simple thing. But point it out nicely. It is a gentle way to teach newbies how this works.

I am the only owner of the badge Tenacious and I do not see that as a good thing.

Answer 3

One should never provide answers expecting a return. (same for loaning money to family :) ) I answer questions for selfish reason... answering improves my work and my abilities to explain sometimes complex matters in easily understood terms. It's exercise for my logic and communication skills. I've never answered anything with the votes being the motivation.

Now, I realize it's pretty easy to look at my rep and badges and call "BS!" on that, but truth be told I've never worried about any votes or badges too much. (Just don't ask about Winter Hats. :) ) If anything regarding votes concerns me, it may be that I prefer explanations for down votes merely so I can know where I'm incorrect or lacking. But explanation are pretty rare.

I have pages of answers with no accepted marks and I suspect any votes were from others, not the original user. In beta, we got a lot of drive-by users who seemingly never returned to the site.

I think ti's okay to ask for an up vote or accept vote. Many new users aren't aware of how things work. I sure wasn't when I first found an SE site. And it wasn't until someone commented to "accept the answer" that I realize I needed to do that.