I researched a topic and posted an answer to a question, then conducted additional research and decided that the initial version contains factual inaccuracies and should be substantially rewritten with only parts of it staying the same. However, by that time I got an upvote, would it be fair to let it stay with the rewritten answer, or should I delete it and post de novo?
1 Answer
I wouldn't really worry about the 'undeserved' upvotes. I've probably written a dozen or so answers where I misinterpreted the question at first, and had to rewrite them to make sure they fully address the question. Some of those definitely have gotten upvotes before the major edit - because the content itself made sense, or because of reputation or mod badges, no way to tell ... Users are free to undo their upvote if for some reason they like the first version but dislike the current one.
It's different from radically editing questions when there are already existing answers, which then become invalidated / out of place, because they only answer the initial version of the question. A radical edit to an answer may invalidate comments, but those comments are meant to be temporary and second-class citizens anyway ...
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1Agree. If the user who upvote wants to follow up and change their vote after edit, the can follow the post, and get notified on edits. (I think?)user152859– user1528592024-09-14 06:46:19 +00:00Commented Sep 14, 2024 at 6:46