Are there any guidelines for answering with your own software?

Question

Somebody asked a question which seems to be solved with a software I authored¹. Is there anything special I have to consider when posting an answer about this that goes beyond the general SE standards? With other words: Is there anything I need to consider apart from:

• Clearly disclosing that I am the software’s author.
• Writing in a neutral tone.

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¹ The specific answer can be found here.

Answer 1

This site doesn't have a specific policy about answering a question with your own software.¹ Follow the general Stack Exchange policy and guidelines on self-promotion (whose current wording evolved partly based on discussions about Stack Overflow). The important thing about mentioning your own software is that you must clearly and honestly disclose your affiliation, and in particular do not misrepresent yourself as a satisfied customer if you aren't a customer. You don't need to include a large-font disclaimer with warnings, just saying “the Frobinator 3000 (which I work on)” or words to this effect is enough. There was a proposal to require more visible disclosure on this site but it never gained any traction.

Be honest, disclose any limitation that's relevant to the asker's use case, and don't refrain from mentioning a cheaper price tier or a competing product if it might be more appropriate for the asker's use case.

Whenever answering on this site, whether you're mentioning your own product or not, do follow the answer guidelines. In particular, your answer should explain how the product meets the requirements in the question. A generic blurb about the product is never an appropriate answer. This requirement tends to weed out spammy answers regardless of disclosure because inappropriate recommendations tend to show up when you have to match the recommendation with the requirements.

See also Clarification of level of personal involvement in a software project for cases of indirect involvement in a product.

Your answer is a fine example of following this site's rules and guidelines, thank you. I made my meta answer here more detailed than what you need so that it's more broadly applicable.

¹ _{At least, it didn't evolve one during its beta phase. I may have missed a later change, but if there was one it's being sorely unadvertised.}