There's no written rules for answering your own question, but there are times when it makes sense. A better idea is to try (when possible) to propose your response as an answer if you think it is the answer. Then the Asker or Moderator can mark it if they
agree with you. That way at least you know one person agrees with your opinion.
I'll often just propose something as an answer (rather than marking it), and then if the Asker or another Moderator hasn't responded in a week, I'll Mark it as the Answer. (This thread is an example of that. I marked two answers here after waiting a week.)
That said, if you're the Asker, nobody knows better than you if you answered your own question. So in that case, it might make sense to mark your own Answer. However, if you're constantly going around answering your own questions (or setting up dummy accounts
to do this), then that's when you get reported.
I hope this helps!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (
Blog,
Twitter,
Wiki)
