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I just edited a typo in this question of mine which was rightfully closed as a duplicate. When I did, I saw that I could edit the automatically inserted text, possibly removing it. I didn't try to do so, but, should I be allowed to edit that text?

I'm going to post another question to test this.

EDIT: Yes, I was able to delete the automatically added text which linked my duplicate question to the "real" question... isn't that... not good? I guess you'd have to be pretty stupid to delete that text from your own question, but...

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  • This meta-question refers to the fact (i.e., the bug) that, when a question is closed as a duplicate, the information about the question(s) that the new question duplicates is added to the question as ordinary text, which can be edited (or deleted) by low-rep users. But this was fixed years ago; that duplication information is now added as meta-data, which nobody can touch. Therefore, this should be tagged [status-completed].
    – G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica'
    Commented May 21, 2016 at 3:32

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Yes, you can (ability, not necessarily permission) edit those out. There's not much concern over people having this power, since there's no way the OP could remove the big fat "Closed as..." message below.

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  • Thanks, I just tested that and sure enough I was able to... Should I be?
    – The Unhandled Exception
    Commented May 18, 2010 at 13:23
  • @Josh Yup, you are given that ability, but expected not to abuse it :)
    – Sampson Mod
    Commented May 18, 2010 at 13:25
  • OK, good point about not being able to remove he "Closed As" message. This is probably fine as is then. Thanks!
    – The Unhandled Exception
    Commented May 18, 2010 at 13:25
  • (Will accept in 5 minutes...)
    – The Unhandled Exception
    Commented May 18, 2010 at 13:25
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This has been brought up before, and editing out the duplicate link is generally considered editing abuse. If you see someone doing this, or notice that they have, you should flag for moderator attention.

This doesn't mean that it can't be done by accident, but if flagged, the moderators will generally reinstate the link, and warn the user not to do it again. Additionally, as Jonathan noted, the "closed as" message cannot be removed, so any possible posters will still know.

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