So if editing an article a few months later frowned upon?

Question

OK- I have been wondering why the heck a few month old articles that have been answered suddenly appear in the Recently asked questions! One time I answered an article that I already answered(just re read the question and ignored the answers-- skimming fail)

And got embarrassed because somebody else commented on my question and I thought he resurrect and old question- when in fact it was me.

OK- An unfortunate sequence of events. It taught me to double check if a RECENT question is actually recent!?!

So i have been keeping an eye out and I noticed some members.. Answer a question.. then every month do a minor edit(one letter) each month( I assume this boosts points!?) Fine- but it puts it in the Recent Asked Question!

BUT ITS NOT. Its annoying me. I read the damn question over and over and don't understand why its recent if nobody commented or posted an answered on a question that was answered 3 months ago!

In terms of programming I would call this a bug-- but who I am to say right?

Any thoughts?!

--Edit

OK- so now a question popped up that is answered.. and some new person answered it- putting it in the recent activity list again. So I understand edits should be put into recent- like for eg... ME- i am editing this post- that is still unanswered. Good- bump it.

I just don't understand why an answered post ... 2 months later can still be answered... and bumped.

Answer 1

An edit to your own question won't give you any points, but what it will do is bring the question to the top of the home page again. The home page isn't just for recent questions, but for recently active questions (a subtle, but important, difference). On a site like ours where there is relatively low traffic the question will remain there for a fairly long time.

This is perfectly normal and acceptable. If you have a question that needs more attention, editing it is the first step (adding a bounty is the second).

Another reason why a question might get bumped is if there are no up-voted answers. In this case the Community user bumps the question for you. In this case it would be sensible to check the existing answers and if they are good up-vote at least one of them. This will stop the automatic bumping. If there are no answers then add your own - there's the Revival and Necromancer badges to go for!

It is up to you as the answerer to double check the date - I've been caught out a few times myself.

However, what isn't acceptable is the continued editing of the post on a regular basis. If you notice this please flag the question for moderator attention and we'll investigate.

Answer 2

Like ChrisF says, the front page is recently active questions, not recently asked. But there is a recently asked page, just go to the "questions" tab, and below that, select the "newest" tab.

I judge edits by their intention, quality, and quantity. If the intention is just to bump the question back to the top of the page, it better be with added details that give us a better chance to help. But if the intention is just to cleanup and organize the site better, I'm all for it as long as we don't have so many edits that new questions are lost in the flood. I think 10 or so cleanup edits per day is a good self limit. When it comes to quality, new answers are always welcome, new spam isn't. And the more follow-ups from a past question, the better.

Just for reference, answers and edits will bump the activity on a question, but votes and comments won't. So if you want things to stay under the radar, just leave a comment.

Answer 3

It's quite possible the answer from two months ago is not the best possible answer. It may be out of date, it may be wrong, it may be missing a key detail. I may have stumbled across the exact same question, followed the steps and found a better answer. It makes sense for the system to allow changes to even the oldest questions, if not for the original asker, then for all those that follow.

So why would it make sense for the question to get bumped on the active tab? Well consider the system doesn't know if that new answer is, in fact, better than the existing answers. It relies on the community to check that update and upvote, downvote and edit it into shape. Since the active tab is the homepage for most users, this gets the question back in front of the community. This in turn leads to more refinement of the question and answers.

The goal is always to have the best possible Q&As to help both the asker and those that come later.