24

So, I just got through a discussion on the following post: Why does a string lose its value?

Ultimately, the original poster selected my answer as 'correct', but I have to assume that it is because of the discussion in the comments leading the poster to the correct answer.

So now I have an answer, that I've updated to say that it is irrelevant, marked as the correct answer (and hence cannot be deleted); however, that answer will not lead anyone with a similar problem to the correct result.

I marked my answer with a comment directing people to read the discussions.

Is there anything else to be done in this case?

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  • 60
    Why not just make your answer correct?
    – Robert Harvey
    Commented May 22, 2014 at 21:15
  • 4
    That was my first thought, but I thought I'd come over here and find out what the community thought about he practice. Also, to be honest, I'm not sure whether any of the discussion has led to the root cause to the posters problem.
    – Steve Mitcham
    Commented May 22, 2014 at 22:10
  • 10
    If the answer was found in comments and no one posts the answer then by all means fix yours up. No reason to make people read through the comments and put it all together.
    – codeMagic
    Commented May 22, 2014 at 22:12
  • 1
    Is there another answer that really is right? I've been in a situation where my answer was correct and accepted but quickly became out of date; I didn't want to update my answer to be correct as there was another answer that was already correct and I didn't want to plagiarize (or even appear to do so). Perhaps there needs to be a way to voluntarily give up the checkmark.
    – mu is too short
    Commented May 23, 2014 at 22:53
  • Rewrite and acknowledge.
    – Peter Wone
    Commented May 24, 2014 at 1:26
  • 1
    @mu in those circumstances I would add a note saying why the answer is obsolete and reference the other answer as the correct one.
    – AD7six
    Commented May 25, 2014 at 18:53
  • @AD7six I think I did something similar. I also community wiki'd it because I didn't feel justified in keeping the original rep or the annoyance of the downvotes for being out of date.
    – mu is too short
    Commented May 25, 2014 at 19:13
  • 1
    You can also turn it into a community wiki answer, if you have used information by others.
    – artless noise
    Commented May 26, 2014 at 2:08

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
47

Update the answer

If the written answer is incorrect it does not serve a purpose to future readers. The OP may be satisfied with the solution in the comments but future readers won't find it useful or appropriate, long term that'll probably result in down-votes.

Therefore: update it to be correct.

It doesn't really matter if it is then significantly different to the original answer, or even if it contradicts the original answer, what matters is whether it is then an accurate and useful answer.

And update the question

By no means mandatory but: don't stop there. As is evident by originally providing an answer which didn't address the actual problem - the question wasn't clear. If the OP doesn't clarify the question, as recommended elsewhere, also update the question:

If you took the time to understand a problem and wrote a good, clear answer to it, take an extra minute and fix the question too!

In this way your efforts crafting a clear answer to an unclear problem don't go to waste.

6
  • I do actually have a problem with authors substantially editing their answer after-the-fact rather than posting a replacement answer, because then everybody who's voted on that post has been treated fraudulently. However, it does seem like the lesser of all evils in this specific scenario.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Jun 8, 2014 at 13:24
  • I'd still suggest that then the OP is being defrauded, as it makes it look like they accepted something that they did not. It's as if the author is saying "hey, trust me, this is right ;)" — he may be sure, but there's a reason in the first place that we don't let authors force their answers to be accepted. Again, though, in this particular case it seems okay.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Jun 8, 2014 at 13:35
  • What debate? We seem to be generally agreeing. The only thing we seem to dispute is that you are fixating on this one particular example question, whereas the discussion should in fact be a general one.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Jun 8, 2014 at 13:37
  • I'd still suggest that then the OP is being defrauded <- that sounds like definite disagreement
    – AD7six
    Commented Jun 8, 2014 at 13:38
  • in this particular case it seems okay <- this doesn't
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Jun 8, 2014 at 13:38
  • This is a general answer, not only for one particular example - that's the point of disagreement we have. It would be the exception, not the rule, to not correct an answer to be correct. Existing voters aren't exactly defrauded by an incorrect answer being changed to be correct - if it were upvoted, it was probably in the belief the the answer was accurate; if it were downvoted clearly the answer was recognised as deficient (possibly for a different reason). However: The example in the question didn't have any votes though, so it's not a factor.
    – AD7six
    Commented Jun 10, 2014 at 8:03
-14

If the answer is wrong and you know it, you can remove it. Once someone sees a correct answer marked, I don't think they will go and read the comments section.

Otherwise, if you think the answer is relevant in some cases, like in the case of the question which you answered, just edit the original answer adding a note that this above solution only works in so and so scenario. That will help people identify whether to go with this solution or not.

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  • 33
    Note that accepted answers can't be removed.
    – Bart
    Commented May 23, 2014 at 7:01

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