I think there is a risk in referring to the "author" of a specific answer: on a number of answers, multiple people have contributed in various ways to the current state of the answer, and in some cases, that answer may be edited after the question or answer that references it is posted. In most cases, it's likely only a risk of misattribution.

For example, someone might ask a question like "Are there other games for which a matrix like the one in Dave's answer here can be created?" (Ignore the potential off-topic-ness of the question for the purpose of the example, if you could ...) While it's nice to have a personal reference to the answer, in fact it wasn't I who put the matrix there, and thus the credit is misplaced. (It was a very helpful addition, however, so thanks!)

I would think that references to game experts are certainly appropriate, although perhaps more valuable if there is an appropriate citation ... if someone asks a question about how to play K-10 offsuit in Texas Hold 'Em, an answer that says "Chris Ferguson prefers to ..." is more valuable if it includes a link to a page or a video or something that actually shows his opinion, as well as some explanation of it.

I think there is a risk in referring to the "author" of a specific answer: on a number of answers, multiple people have contributed in various ways to the current state of the answer, and in some cases, that answer may be edited after the question or answer that references it is posted. In most cases, it's likely only a risk of misattribution.

For example, someone might ask a question like "Are there other games for which a matrix like the one in Dave's answer here can be created?" (Ignore the potential off-topic-ness of the question for the purpose of the example, if you could ...) While it's nice to have a personal reference to the answer, in fact it wasn't I who put the matrix there, and thus the credit is misplaced. (It was a very helpful addition, however, so thanks!)

I would think that references to game experts are certainly appropriate, although perhaps more valuable if there is an appropriate citation ... if someone asks a question about how to play K-10 offsuit in Texas Hold 'Em, an answer that says "Chris Ferguson prefers to ..." is more valuable if it includes a link to a page or a video or something that actually shows his opinion, as well as some explanation of it.

If someone asks what is essentially a follow-up question to one (or more) already on the site, I'm not sure that it makes sense to direct a user off-site to get the background the OP wants to provide. Good answers to that question should have not only links to external sites where appropriate, but also background and explanation to support their use, so it seems to me that we would want people to link to other good answers and questions. (This is especially true if the new question is the result of someone commenting "You should probably ask this in a separate question!")

I would think that references to game experts are certainly appropriate, although perhaps more valuable if there is an appropriate citation ... if someone asks a question about how to play K-10 offsuit in Texas Hold 'Em, an answer that says "Chris Ferguson prefers to ..." is more valuable if it includes a link to a page or a video or something that actually shows his opinion, as well as some explanation of it.

I think there is a risk in referring to the "author" of a specific answer: on a number of answers, multiple people have contributed in various ways to the current state of the answer, and in some cases, that answer may be edited after the question or answer that references it is posted. In most cases, it's likely only a risk of misattribution.

For example, someone might ask a question like "Are there other games for which a matrix like the one in Dave's answer here can be created?" (Ignore the potential off-topic-ness of the question for the purpose of the example, if you could ...) While it's nice to have a personal reference to the answer, in fact it wasn't I who put the matrix there, and thus the credit is misplaced. (It was a very helpful addition, however, so thanks!)

I would think that references to game experts are certainly appropriate, although perhaps more valuable if there is an appropriate citation ... if someone asks a question about how to play K-10 offsuit in Texas Hold 'Em, an answer that says "Chris Ferguson prefers to ..." is more valuable if it includes a link to a page or a video or something that actually shows his opinion, as well as some explanation of it.