Should I bring old questions / answers up to par or let them lie?

Question

I do a lot of thread excavating and often find myself examining questions and answers from years ago (okay, just two years ago, but rapidly coming up on three!). I'm frequently appalled at the grammar, spelling and/or lack of coherent thought in them. Should I edit them for clarity? Should I leave them alone?

My two main concerns are:

1. Old questions and answers are not really "old" on the internet. Someone is just as likely to stumble upon them the day they were posted as they are ten years from now. If the content is atrocious, it can give a negative impression.
2. I'll be bumping old questions to the top of the queue occasionally which may be irritating.
   • If the community user can do it on a random seed, then perhaps a few old questions a day can be tolerated if the bump is with a better purpose?

Answer 1

We have editor badges for a reason. Improving content, even old content, is smiled upon. Just keep it quiet, do a few at a time to keep from bumping things off the front page, and don't be surprised if a few end up getting closed out from under you once in a while.