Edit a Question or Answer

How (and why) to edit a question or answer

Joel Bradley avatar
Written by Joel Bradley
Updated over a week ago

Applies to: All Stack Overflow for Teams

Overview

Stack Overflow for Teams promotes a collaborative, open flow of information. To that end, it allows users to edit their own questions and answers (posts) as well as those of other users. Editing is important for keeping questions and answers clear, relevant, and up-to-date.

Edit a Question or Answer

To edit a question or answer, click Edit near the bottom of the post.

Post editing privileges

Depending on the version of Stack Overflow for Teams you're using and its settings, there may be reputation requirements for who can edit posts directly or make edit suggestions. Stack Overflow for Teams Free, Basic, and Business allow all users to edit any post. Stack Overflow for Teams Enterprise may enforce reputation requirements for post editing. Until you meet or exceed the reputation threshold set by your Teams Enterprise site's administrator, you'll be unable to edit posts. Find your plan.

Regardless of Stack Overflow for Teams version or reputation level, you can always edit your own posts. If you see someone else's question or answer that needs improvement, you are welcome (and encouraged) to suggest an edit if allowed by your site.

Reasons to edit a post

Edits should be substantial, leaving the post better as a result. Common reasons for making edits include:

  • Fixing grammar and spelling mistakes.

  • Clarifying the meaning of the post (without changing that meaning).

  • Ensuring the post includes all relevant information by including additional information found only in its comments.

  • Correcting minor mistakes or adding updates as the post ages.

  • Adding related resources or hyperlinks.

Edited Posts

After a user edits a post, Stack Overflow for Teams shows the latest editor along with the original author. Editing a question also refreshes the post, bumping it to the top of the homepage.

Stack Overflow for Teams retains edits to questions and answers in a revision history (or timeline). Anyone can view the revisions to a post. To see the latest edits, click the edited… link at the bottom of the post (for example: edited 5 days ago). To see all edits made to a post, click its timeline button to the left of the post.

The post Timeline page shows the date of each edit, who performed it, and a comment describing the edit. Click Show vote summaries to show user voting history along with the post edits; click Hide vote summaries to hide voting history.

To see the actual edits performed, expand any edit row by clicking its gray triangle button. The detailed edit view shows deleted text with red highlights, and added text with green highlights.

Review process for proposed edits (Teams Enterprise only)

Any Stack Overflow for Teams Enterprise user can propose edits, but the site will not apply all edits immediately. Instead, edits by users with a reputation below the site's post editing reputation required threshold (500 by default) are considered edit suggestions and go into a review queue. There a review process allows other users to approve the edits with two accept votes, or reject the edits with two reject votes. Site admins, moderators, and users with reputation above the post editing reputation required threshold can edit posts immediately without going through the review process.

If a Stack Overflow for Teams Enterprise user proposes an edit that does not meet the guidelines, other users can take several actions during the review process. Users with the appropriate privileges can:

  • Approve Confirm that the edit enhances the post.

  • Improve Edit Make further improvements to the post.

  • Reject and Edit Replace an ineffective edit with more substantial changes.

  • Reject Dismiss the edit if it fails to improve the post.

  • Delete Remove the post and the suggested edit if both are considered of inadequate quality.

If a post suffers from a low-quality edit, other users can usually rectify the mistake. Those with sufficient reputation have the option to "roll back" the edit, restoring the post to a previous point in its edit history and removing the errant edit.

NOTE: Users suggesting edits that are consistently rejected may face a temporary ban from suggesting further edits for a period of seven days.


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