21
votes
I have selected an answer, but my requirements have changed
Ask a new (follow-up) question, including a link to the previous one if it provides useful context. The new question should still make sense on its own, of course.
As a general rule, it is better to ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
15
votes
Accepted
Comment of OP fundamental to question
Adding a comment seems inappropriate, as the comment does not add anything significant.
A comment inviting the author to include information in the question body can be helpful. If the suggested ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
12
votes
Accepted
Editing other people's answers
I'm curious as to why someone would get out of their way for such an inconsequential change...
This was a pretty terrible edit. Feel free to roll it back.
...do people get points when they edit ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
10
votes
Accepted
ban from suggesting edits
From Why can people edit my posts? How does editing work? in the help:
If a user without edit privileges proposes an edit that does not comply with the guidelines above, it is ordinarily rejected ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
9
votes
Accepted
why is my question closed as unclear what you're asking?
The displayed close reason reflects a simple majority of the five community close votes cast.
The question isn't at all unclear to me, so that is not the reason I chose personally when voting. As I ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
9
votes
Why do people get credited for editing questions?
Try not to be annoyed. It helps no one, and complaining about someone trying to help you comes across as whiney.
FYI, I just edited several of your questions to correct grammatical inconsistencies. ...
- 68.5k
9
votes
Why do people get credited for editing questions?
Since I assume you're complaining about my edits to your recent question, here's an explanation:
Edit 1:
Your question was about getting the max from two tables. I misread your code a bit, and ...
- 36.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Should syntax errors / script errors be corrected via edits?
My view is that making an edit while respecting the intent of the original author is preferable.
It produces the best and quickest outcome, with the minimum amount of noise and effort required from ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Could the editing limit if changing code syntax be reduced from 6 characters
Until a user has earned the Edit Questions And Answers privilege, suggested edits need to be at least six characters, and preferably many more than that. This may seem like an unfair restriction, but ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
8
votes
Accepted
How to add conclusive information to a question - after it has been answered?
The question author adding a "conclusion" is a bit of an odd thing that does not naturally fit in Q & A format.
Nevertheless, on the odd occasion the question author strongly feels this sort of ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
8
votes
Comment of OP fundamental to question
If the questioner has added further information in a comment, it is already in his words, with his phrasing. Paste it into the question proper. Some sensitive edits to correct typos, say, or to help ...
- 24.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to change my question title?
Yes. In fact, we would encourage you to edit your title to more accurately reflect the real question and the answer you received. Just be sure that the title, question, and answer make sense together.
...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Undo accepted edit back to pending, not full revert
Rolling back the edit would seem to me a perfectly fair course of action in this situation. You are not required/expected to be able to immediately validate someone's update which was approved without ...
- 22.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Tag synonyms and edits
The general SQL Server tag is useful for people looking to answer questions about SQL Server in general.
The specific version tag is useful for:
answerers, so they know what features and syntax may ...
Aaron BertrandStaff
- 178k
7
votes
Accepted
Adding tags based on my answer
No.
Tags are used to categorize questions so that subject area experts can locate them easily. Adding a tag that describes the answer does not assist in this purpose.
From the Stack Exchange FAQ:
Why ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
6
votes
Is it OK to change my question title?
You can edit your own question as you like if you think it's an improvement.
If the edit deviates from the original question so much it basically becomes a completely different question (and maybe ...
- 15.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Link to chat discussion gives 404 after undeleting the room
It looks like the room was automatically judged "not worth retaining" by the system:
Rooms will exist indefinitely, so long as there is at least one person actively talking in the room. A ...
- 38.7k
5
votes
Should syntax errors / script errors be corrected via edits?
See also answers on the CAPS COPS question. TL;DR: making things better is generally OK; just making things different, not so much. Be sensitive to the intent of the question and whether layout, ...
- 24.1k
5
votes
Accepted
how to undo edits someone else did on my own posts?
When you check what's directly under the bottom of your post, there are two links like edited 2 hours ago and the 'card' of the editor. If you click the former, you will get to the revision history ...
- 30.1k
5
votes
Link to chat discussion gives 404 after undeleting the room
I tried to capture most of that content in a community wiki answer to the question, and I'm not sure the chat adds that much in this case.
On reflection, you're right: That chat doesn't add much ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
4
votes
Accepted
Clarification on suggested edits that basically just remove "Thanks!"
Findings
I've been noticing the same. In many cases the reason for the change was "Improve spelling", "improve grammar", and other minimal invasive edits.
Analysing
On further examination it turned ...
- 16.2k
4
votes
Clarification on suggested edits that basically just remove "Thanks!"
If those are the only problems in the post and there is nothing else that needs fixing there there should be no problems with the edit. If there are other changes that need to be made to the post then ...
- 970
4
votes
how to undo edits someone else did on my own posts?
Besides dezso's answer, which covers how you can see the history of the edits of a question and how to rollback, there is one more point:
In my opinion he should not have access to edit my answer. ...
- 95.5k
4
votes
Accepted
many users edit question at the same time
Seems to be the same request as:
Lock a post for editing, or at least display a warning on Meta.SE
I agree this is annoying, and have no idea why it hasn't been progressed.
P.S. Apologies for ...
Paul WhiteMod
- 78.6k
4
votes
Accepted
What's an appropriate edit to an old post containing links to old documentation?
An edit should really only be approved if it materially improves the original post.
For this specific instance, and since MySQL 5.7 is still supported and available for download, the edit is ...
- 68.5k
3
votes
Clarification on suggested edits that basically just remove "Thanks!"
An improvement is an improvement. I'm not sure of the problem. Myself, I'm a real stickler for code formatting and DDL. Sometimes I'll fix really minor things like " that pad a PostgreSQL query plan ...
- 59.5k
2
votes
Accepted
Can i edit on-hold or closed questions with different subject to reopen?
If it's still basically the same or closely related question, by all means edit it to improve it.
If it has been closed, and you edit it, it goes in a review queue and will be reopened if it's ...
- 38.7k
2
votes
Can i edit on-hold or closed questions with different subject to reopen?
If you have a new question, simply ask it by clicking the "Ask Question" button at the top right of any page on the site.
Editing a question should only be used to refine the question or to add ...
- 68.5k
1
vote
Adding tags based on my answer
I'm going to respectfully disagree with Paul here and say "Yes" in this instance (I think).
Tags are there to help Googlers find the question, so the question could be rephrased as "Would adding ...
- 38.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible