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I suggested an edit that corrected a bug (a missing pointer dereference). It was overwhelmingly rejected because "is incorrect or an attempt to reply to or comment on the existing post"

Since the edit was correct (minutes later the author fixed the bug), I assumed that it was "an attempt to reply to or comment on the existing post". So, I thought, next time, when I see a minor bug in an answer, I have to make a comment.

Then I went to the SO help pages to learn about when should a user edit a post and when should a user comment (or not):

When should I edit posts? [...] To correct minor mistakes

When shouldn't I comment? [...] Suggesting corrections that don't fundamentally change the meaning of the post; instead, make or suggest an edit;

I was confused. So I went to MetaSO to read some posts about rejected edits.

After that, my confusion increased. It seems that reviewers do not follow clear guidelines. Some people argue that suggested edits that change code have to be rejected, specially in questions, but others disagree.

After this long preamble (sorry), here is my question: in case of a minor bug in an answer, what is the action to be taken: edit or comment?

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4
  • Do you think you can get any better conclusion than the thousands before you?
    – John Dvorak
    Commented Dec 14, 2013 at 23:58
  • I hope we can get a clear guideline in this case (editing code in an answer).
    – chus
    Commented Dec 15, 2013 at 0:06
  • Hi, off topic but can I ask for a favor? Can you please try upvote a comment that was not made on your own question? Just pick a random comment, e.g. from here and see if you can upvote. I try to verify if comment upvote is granted on 15 or 50 rep points. Thanks!
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 20:26
  • I can upvote with 36 rep points
    – chus
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 20:31

1 Answer 1

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When should I edit posts? [...] To correct minor mistakes

When shouldn't I comment? [...] Suggesting corrections that don't fundamentally change the meaning of the post; instead, make or suggest an edit;

(emphasis mine)

Please do not make an edit that changes the code's result. That should be done in a comment.

The "corrections" in When shouldn't I comment? and "minor mistakes" in When should I edit posts? refer to corrections like im to I'm, etc.

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