Timeline for What do I do with a question that has become irrelevant?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
7 events
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| Mar 14, 2016 at 13:58 | comment | added | Parthian Shot | @MadHatter I suppose accepting it while explicitly noting that the accepted answer was untested would probably be the most pragmatic, reasonable response given the options and assuming leaving a question open forever is not an acceptable solution. | |
| Mar 14, 2016 at 13:38 | comment | added | MadHatter | @ParthianShot I agree that it seems odd, but I'll look at this from another angle: what do you think should happen? Should we close the question? Should the OP delete it? It cannot be answered in its current form, and I, for one, don't want it hanging around for ever. Of the tools we have available to us, accepting an interim answer makes most sense to me; I'm perfectly happy to be told we should do something else, but not that it should be left open as-is on the offchance the problem returns. | |
| Mar 14, 2016 at 13:31 | comment | added | Parthian Shot | @MadHatter Sort of by definition, acceptance implied the answer is acceptable. Another person may decide not to answer based on the fallacious (but perfectly justified) assumption that the other answer solved the problem. "in its current form it cannot be answered" Exactly. So accepting an answer makes no sense; it would be the Q&A equivalent of an argument from ignorance. | |
| Mar 14, 2016 at 9:29 | comment | added | MadHatter | @modiX I agree with your caution, but it's axiomatic in sysadmin that it is very difficult to fix a problem you're not having. If this problem doesn't recur, the question will remain open forever because in its current form it cannot be answered (or, more likely, it'll get closed, for the same reason). You may not be aware that an acceptance isn't forever; the OP can come back as-and-when the problem recurs, un-accept the current answer, and update the question at that time. | |
| Mar 14, 2016 at 9:22 | comment | added | Martin Braun | I don't like the idea to accept an answer that is not proven to solve the problem. If the question owner will become inactive and people report the solution is not working you end up with an answer that misleads people, because it stays on the top. In my opinion the right way is to answer the question itself and try to explain what happened, even when it was magic, then it was magic. | |
| Mar 9, 2016 at 8:19 | history | edited | MadHatter | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 138 characters in body
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| Mar 1, 2016 at 7:16 | history | answered | MadHatter | CC BY-SA 3.0 |