Is the "Add Another Answer" button really required?

Question

Under which circumstances does a user answer two different answers on the same post?

When I think about it, I believe I've already edited some old answers of mine to add more solutions (that I've learned along the way since the time of writing the original answer) so I really can't see why this button is needed.

Edit: I would also assume that it's forbidden to answer more than one answer on the same post because for example, the way to gain a badge for let's say "Linux", requires you to answer a certain number of answers which are marked with that tag, so it seems to me like a way to fool the system to get your badge quicker.

Answer 1

You might need to post multiple answers because you have reached the maximum answer size and still have more to say as evidenced in this Q&A

I have posted a question with two different answers to make a simple ballot here on Meta.

But those are exceptions and not the rule, at least for ServerFault.

I think as moderator we even have the ability to merge multiple answers to prevent people from trying to rig the system in the manner you envision. (Although I mostly use that on new users who had not yet seen the edit button under their first answer.)

But also remember that the same code base is used across all StackExchange sites and that for other sites the ability to post multiple unrelated answers might make much sense than it does here on ServerFault.

Answer 2

First: Does it bother you? If you don't need it, don't use it.

Second: If you want to describe multiple ways to solve a particular problem, doing this in multiple answers is perfectly valid. Just because you are fine with doing this in one answer doesn't mean others wouldn't be justified in using multiple answers, even if it would be just to get separate votes (and reputation points) for both answers.

Regarding your edit: I wouldn't consider this "fooling" the system. If you provide multiple valuable answers, then that's just fine. Also, if you end up writing filler or crap answers, you won't gain upvotes and thus, your answers don't contribute to getting a tag badge anyway.