If I have a closed question with no answers or comments, can I edit the question enough that I make it an entirely different and better question?
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1Related, (maybe dupe?), but from the opposite perspective Rolling back a completely changed question– cocomacCommented Jul 26, 2022 at 6:12
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Another related discussion: Author's edit right in on-hold question vs invalidating existing answers.– Shadow WizardCommented Jul 26, 2022 at 7:29
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2"still on-topic" > If your original question was already on-topic, why even consider editing it to something entirely different instead of just fixing the other issues with it, such as narrowing it down or adding the lacking details?– Tinkeringbell ModCommented Jul 26, 2022 at 7:36
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1Gues it beter then to ask a new question with all that improovements, since it will be then a more or les diferent question then the original.– convertCommented Jul 26, 2022 at 8:58
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Related (for a different situation): Exit strategies for "chameleon questions"– This_is_NOT_a_forumCommented Jul 30, 2022 at 19:20
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1 Answer
No you shouldn't. You can try to fix the question, but the fundamentals of the question should be the same.
People voted for the question you asked already, and editing it to something different is confusing
answered Jul 26, 2022 at 0:57
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3Plus, if you don't want your original question to stick around, you can delete it. If it's closed and has no answers or comments, the community's probably not losing any meaningful content from you deleting it.– V2BlastCommented Jul 26, 2022 at 2:17
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2I feel like the best advice to give here is "think very hard before you post" but I never quite worked out how to fit it into the answer. Also deletions count against question bans too Commented Jul 26, 2022 at 2:29
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2@V2Blast however in case question has negative score that would have impact towards a question ban on the site, so better fix it by editing than deleting. Commented Jul 26, 2022 at 6:46
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1Assuming its salvagable - and even if it was it would be a question on the same topic, not a rewrite. I'm not sure if lots of downvotes or deletes would be worse Commented Jul 26, 2022 at 6:59
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2@ShadowTheKidWizard: Definitely better to edit it into shape than delete it entirely... but as JG says, sometimes it's not salvageable.– V2BlastCommented Jul 26, 2022 at 14:29
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I have mixed feelings about this. Sure, it's bad to edit a question into a totally different one, if that invalidates existing answers. But if the question literally has no answers, I don't see the harm. If the edit invalidates comments, they can be flagged as No Longer Needed. IMHO, it's better to recycle an otherwise unsalvageable question than to delete it and increase your risk of a question ban. I don't know the stats, but we often get question-banned users on meta SO & meta Physics who've fixed their old fixable questions, but they're still banned because of their unfixable ones.– PM 2RingCommented Jul 27, 2022 at 19:28