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On this question in meta there seems to be a consensus that outdated answers to old posts should be updated.

I came across this question on the site and believe the regulations have changed and therefore the answers are outdated.

My question is: for those of us who don't have the rep points to edit the answers and/or don't feel confident that we can accurately update the answer, is there any way to bring it to the attention of the forum so someone can fix it?

Should I just re-ask the question and reference the old question and hope someone will either fix the other post or close it and refer to the new post?

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    $\begingroup$ Fwiw, I'm pretty sure that the regulations have not changed re: cell phone data in flight. Both regulations cited still exist. 91.22(c) is new, but doesn't change the transmit/receive side of things, which still comes from the FCC's 47 CFR §22.925. :) $\endgroup$
    – egid
    Sep 6, 2015 at 19:33
  • $\begingroup$ @egid I guess what changed is that the FCC now allows calls through pico cells installed in the aircraft and the FAA leaves it up to airlines to decide what it will allow. This all deals with passengers on commercial flights and since I doubt most GA aircraft are going to have pico cells installed then nothing has apparently changed in respect to the referenced question. So you are correct. I was mistaken. $\endgroup$
    – TomMcW
    Sep 7, 2015 at 21:25
  • $\begingroup$ @TomMcW The FCC has said that it considers that regulation outdated and began discussions to remove it, but that hasn't happened yet, as far as I know. Also, I hadn't heard of the FCC allowing picocells on airplanes in the U.S. I know they're allowed in Europe, but I hadn't heard of that in the U.S. Do you have a link for that? $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Sep 10, 2015 at 19:53
  • $\begingroup$ @reirab The FCC set aside two bands for it. I'm not sure if anyone anyone is actively using it yet in the us. I'll dig through my browser history later and see if i can find where i read what. Like I mentioned in my last comment, all of what I've found is coming from non-aviation sources and the journalists are really bad about not giving specifics and saying misleading things. I think what's holding up the change is that people don't want to have to listen to others yak away in the seat next to them. Seems like that ought to be left for the airlines to decide $\endgroup$
    – TomMcW
    Sep 10, 2015 at 20:15
  • $\begingroup$ @reirab I do know for sure that my friend was able to send me a text from a southwest flight at least 30 mins before it landed, but i don't know if he just managed to get lucky and hit a cell tower or what. That's what originally made me think something had changed. I sent him a text i expected him to get when they landed and was surprised to get a reply $\endgroup$
    – TomMcW
    Sep 10, 2015 at 20:19
  • $\begingroup$ @TomMcW I'm almost completely certain that Southwest doesn't have them. He could have sent it via their Wi-Fi or through the normal cell network, though. A text message is easier to get through, as it only has to have a very brief connection with a tower, not a sustained one. Even sustained calls via ground towers are possible, just illegal and unreliable. Several passengers and crew on United 93 did that, for example. $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Sep 10, 2015 at 20:32
  • $\begingroup$ @TomMcW The bands the FCC did set aside a couple of bands for testing picocell systems, but I don't think they've officially allowed their production use, yet. IIRC, DoT has issued a statement that they may consider banning voice calls if the FCC starts allowing cellular usage. Both Southwest and Delta have also stated that they intend for those to remain banned on their aircraft should the FCC rule be lifted, per resounding customer feedback. They ban all voice calls, including VoIP calls through their Wi-Fi. $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Sep 10, 2015 at 20:35
  • $\begingroup$ @reirab how does the wifi work? Is it by satellite? $\endgroup$
    – TomMcW
    Sep 10, 2015 at 21:13
  • $\begingroup$ @TomMcW IIRC, the systems Southwest and Delta use are land-based, though some airlines do have satellite-based ones to allow it to keep working over water. $\endgroup$
    – reirab
    Sep 11, 2015 at 1:46

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I'd suggest commenting on the original answer(s) that you think x is now true rather than y. That'll alert the OP to the comment, and hopefully prompt a new answer. Provide as much information as you can to help them understand why you think the answer is outdated.

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Any user has the ability to suggest an edit. This has exactly the same interface as editing the question, but it means your edit is reviewed before it takes effect. People with more rep on the site can check your edit, and the original answerer gets a notification that an edit was suggested on his post: he has a veto and can immediately accept or reject the edit, taking it out of the review system completely.

If you don't know what the edit should be, you can comment on the answer as egid suggested, and hope for the answerer or another user to add more information.

Alternatively, you can bounty the existing question, giving up some of your rep to encourage users to revisit it. The bounty can be awarded on new or existing answers, meaning that someone who previously answered it can edit their answer and be eligible. One of the standard bounty reasons (you can enter one when adding the bounty) is that the existing answers are out-of-date and need updating.

One last option, if you don't know and you don't have the rep for a bounty, or if you're just not sure whether the answers need to be updated, is simply to come into [chat] and complain that the answer is out of date. Enough knowledgeable and high-rep users hang around chat that either one of them will update the outdated answer or one will bounty the question as described above.

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