In this question, J. Hougaard edited this this answer. The answer was incorrect and the edit made it correct.
J. Hougaard then posted a very good answer that detailed the previous edited one.
My question:
Should we correct answers or simply downvote/comment them and create a correct answer ?
@J. Hougaard, if you read this, nothing personal! I just want to know if this is something usually done here. I'm coming from Stack Overflow, where we don't.
The Help Center says:
Some common reasons to edit are:
- to fix grammatical or spelling mistakes
- to clarify the meaning of a post without changing it
- to correct minor mistakes or add addendums / updates as the post ages
- to add related resources or hyperlinks
Tiny, trivial edits are discouraged - try to make the post significantly better when you edit, correcting all problems that you observe.
Secondary radar may have been an unintentional description. I can see how one can make this mistake, since secondary radars rely on transponders.
And since the edit corrects just the one word, IMO it falls under minor mistakes.
Now, personally, when I make such edits, I add a reference. It may be trivial information to some, but certainly not to many, especially that the question mentions radar and the post has now hit the HNQ. A comparison between the different components that are confusing the asker would make for a better answer.
Regarding your title question, Should we edit answers to make them correct? Only if the edit does not deviate from the user's intention, i.e., I would be against a complete rewrite, here leaving a comment as to why the post is incorrect is better (again, ideally with references). Simply commenting "you're wrong because I'm right" is unconstructive and should be deleted.
