tea.mathoverflow.net - Discussion Feed (Revise a question)

Scott Morrison comments on "Revise a question" (1163)

Scott Morrison — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:06:55 -0800

Yes -- please be careful about revising "ill-posed" questions. In particular, if you already have more than 1 or 2 downvotes, I'd strongly encourage trying a new question. People simply won't look at a revised but already downvoted question.

Of course, if you repost a slight variation of a downvoted question, or especially a closed question, you're walking a narrow ledge --- you may annoy people who perceive that you haven't really fixed the problem.

So, when reposting a variation:

1) LINK TO THE ORIGINAL POST (sorry to shout) --- this is courtesy, acknowledging that something was wrong before, and ensuring that people don't later think "oh, this is just a spammy repeat of that question I downvoted yesterday".
2) Actually fix the question! --- You might consider asking the comments in your previous question, or here, if you're worried that the next iteration will have a problem too.
3) Make a virtue of failure --- it may be that the previous mistake can be seen as indication that something interesting is going on, or that one needs to be careful about something. If this is the case, explain this to everyone!

Alberto GarciaRaboso comments on "Revise a question" (1162)

Alberto GarciaRaboso — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:53:13 -0800

I guess it depends on two things: how ill-posed your question was, and what answers you got. If it is a matter of a relatively minor edit and/or there weren't any (real) answers, I'd say go for a); in that case, I would keep the title and add a bit of an explanation to the body of the question. Otherwise, create a new question and provide a link to the old one when giving your motivation to look at it; in particular, explain why the old one was ill-posed.

What do other people think?

Hans Stricker comments on "Revise a question" (1161)

Hans Stricker — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:40:24 -0800

Hello,
in case I asked a question and find out, that it was ill posed: should I a) edit it or b) let it be closed and ask it anew, creating a new question?
In case of a): Should I give it a new/revised title? (e.g. "Old question (revised)")
In case of b): Which title should I give it? (e.g. "Old question (revised)")
Best regards
HP Stricker