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I've already asked a question which has received some attention (comments and an answer) initial question

I have another question which while related to my initial question has a different focus. The initial question is about MySQL's cpu consumption on an Ec2-micro instance,this new question is about loading times of the WordPress site based on the MySQL installation

What do I do?Do I just edit the first question to include it or start an entirely different question?

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    Stack Exchange also has a Wordpress site, so consider whether your second question might be more appropriate here or over there, depending mainly on whether you see this as a server issue or a Wordpress specific issue. Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 23:29

2 Answers 2

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The previous question and answer set looks fairly complete. If that response acceptably answers the question you had there, you should mark it as the correct/accepted answer, then ask a new question.

It's a good idea to reference the old question, and note how the two are different.

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    That second one is important. We frequently get flags on such elaboration questions citing them as duplicates of the original.
    – sysadmin1138 Mod
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 17:11
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Once you have defined the scope of a question, it is incredibly poor form to change that scope. It makes the existing answers look non-sensical or incomplete, and almost always makes it impossible to provide a single canonical answer that addresses all of the points provided.

Just ask a new question. They're free!

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    +1 I've seen good answers to an original question get downvoted because they are no longer a good fit for an edited version of the question. That's not fair on anybody. Commented Aug 5, 2012 at 1:10
  • @JohnGardeniers I've been burned by that before too. Happens a lot on SE sites with heavy question editing by high-rep users.
    – smcg
    Commented Aug 6, 2012 at 21:37
  • @smcg, editing that changes the question's meaning is generally done by the posters themselves, not high rep members. Commented Aug 8, 2012 at 13:29
  • @JohnGardeniers actually it does happen on RPG.SE a fair amount. I've complained about it and was just told to deal with it.
    – smcg
    Commented Aug 8, 2012 at 14:22
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    Good to see SF isn't the only site dominated by cranky curmudgeons. <grin>
    – womble Mod
    Commented Aug 8, 2012 at 21:07

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