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I was editing an answer and wanted to say "we can also write this if [author name] agrees" but noticed that the author name was written nowhere on the post edit page interface. I had to open a new tab in the previous page to find the author's name. Eventually I just wrote "the author" which is easier, but I still think it may be nice extra info to provide while editing a question/answer.

When there are revisions, you can open the dropdown, and the author of the first revision is the original author indeed, but otherwise the author name is not displayed at all. It could simply be written at the top before Question title for a question or after "Answer by" for answers. Or it could be shown at the bottom-right along the avatar as on the main view of a question + answers.

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    It's a sensible courtesy, but I'll probably just keep referring to "the OP" (= original poster), which I believe is a commonly used term.
    – JonathanZ
    Commented Mar 4 at 17:24
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    User names can change at any time. It is better to link directly to the post (question or answer) or comment (in addition to using the (current) user name). Otherwise, there is a risk of user reference rot.
    – This_is_NOT_a_forum
    Commented Mar 4 at 21:21
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    seems like a poor use-case. generally, posts should not have meta commentary or be used for meta discussion.
    – starball
    Commented Mar 5 at 1:29
  • @starball I think the OP (ha!) is talking about the edit commentary, in which it a little meta commentary can be useful. Still, "OP" or "the author" suffices.
    – Joachim
    Commented Mar 5 at 9:18
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    @Joachim you mean the edit summary?
    – starball
    Commented Mar 5 at 9:40
  • @starball Yes. Point well made :)
    – Joachim
    Commented Mar 5 at 10:18
  • In what kind of edit would it make sense to refer to the author of the answer you're editing?
    – zcoop98
    Commented Mar 5 at 21:28

1 Answer 1

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I see no need for this enhancement. I find it very easy and unambiguous to always refer to the author of a question as the asker.

Some people refer to a question’s asker as its “OP” but I think that is a term only in general use for a subset of the users of our many sites who have very diverse backgrounds.

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  • This isn't about seeing the author of the question as the asker, though. It's about seeing the author of the post you're editing as an editor.
    – VLAZ
    Commented Mar 5 at 5:33
  • @VLAZ if we're focusing on content, then I think who the asker is should be irrelevant.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Mar 5 at 6:39
  • If we're focusing on content, then we wouldn't even have the post author listen under the post. Now we do and also we don't under circumstances that should not be relevant for hiding the information. Why insist on the inconsistency?
    – VLAZ
    Commented Mar 5 at 6:46
  • @VLAZ I think our focused Q&A format focuses on what's in the body of a question and its answers. I think that everything else like comments, title, tags, user card, etc have a value, function and purpose but are peripheral to the primary focus of our Q&As.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Mar 5 at 6:52

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