10

Possible Duplicate:
How to overcome “Edits must be at least 6 characters”?

I noticed a typo in URL posted in an answer. I know the correct URL, so I decided to correct it. I got this:

Oops! Your edit couldn't be submitted because:

Edits must be at least 6 characters; is there something else to improve in this post?

There is nothing more to improve in that answer. There was only single letter to be fixed.

Is there a good reason for this limitation or is it a bug? In my opinion, fixing a typo is a common event and is very valuable (especially in a URL).

Improve this question
5

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
2

Just leave a comment with the corrected link and wait until somebody else fixes it.

Improve this answer
1
4

I think this is an edge case that doesn't really need a complicated solution.

You can always leave a comment for the poster asking them to correct their typo. You can also flag the post for a moderator, although that's probably overkill. A comment should suffice.

Improve this answer
4

There is nothing more to improve in that answer.

I'm not sure I believe that. No answer is so perfect that there is nothing else to improve.

Perhaps something could be formatted better, or a sentence rearranged to make it clearer? I'm sure you can find something to improve if you try a little harder :)

If you really cannot find anything else to improve, just leave a comment. Either the post owner or someone else can then fix it some time later.

Improve this answer
6
  • 4
    Why? Example question: "What is IP of google public DNS?" example answer: "It is 8.8.8.8". There is nothing more to add. Sometimes answer is just that short and it's complete.
    – Michał Šrajer
    Commented Sep 20, 2011 at 19:10
  • 1
    @MichałŠrajer: You could for example add a link to the google public DNS documentation. I think that would be an improvement.
    – hammar
    Commented Sep 20, 2011 at 19:18
  • I Agree. You managed to improve my example answer. :-) However, I still believe, that there can be a perfect answer with just one serious typo in URL.
    – Michał Šrajer
    Commented Sep 20, 2011 at 19:23
  • 4
    While it might be true that no answer is so perfect that there is nothing else to improve, it certainly seems possible that an answer can be too good for a particular individual to improve. It's certainly possible I could be far too ignorant to improve the technical content, and perhaps my skills in the written form of the English language are inferior to that of the original answerer to improve the clarity. That doesn't have to mean I can't fix a typo.
    – Michael McGowan
    Commented Sep 20, 2011 at 19:27
  • @MichaelMcGowan: Fair point. I think in that case, you could just add a comment if it's something important like a broken link, or just leave it otherwise.
    – hammar
    Commented Sep 20, 2011 at 19:32
  • 3
    So many times I've seen edit suggestions that left out monstrous formatting errors, awful titles, etc etc etc...
    – user1228
    Commented Sep 20, 2011 at 19:52
0

The workaround could be to add some extra change and then do one more edit to remove that unneeded extra change. However, this is inconvenient and (more importantly) messy.

We don't want mess in SO, right?

If one does not have edit priv it becomes even more messy, because peers will have to review one extra revision.

Leaving comment seems to be best workaround, but it's silly. If I know the fix, I should be able to fix it without other peers extra effort.

Improve this answer
1
  • That's considerably more complicated (not to mention that you have to wait for your first edit to be approved before you can suggest another one) than just flagging the answer for a moderator or leaving a comment asking the poster to correct their typo.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Commented Sep 20, 2011 at 19:21

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .