Timeline for Are there certain circumstances where one should close an old question as the duplicate of a new one?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| Oct 4, 2015 at 18:24 | comment | added | terdon | @MichaelMartin-Smucker first of all, if it's a popular question, it will already have the good answers so that's not really relevant. That said, yes, if your old question is better but went unnoticed and a new one, despite being a worse question, got the good answers, then of course the old should be closed in favor of the new. The rep is just to have fun, it's not the site's objective and if you'd rather gain rep than improve the experience of future users, this might not be the site for you. Yes, question can be merged, but that takes a mod and is not always simple to do. | |
| Oct 3, 2015 at 23:19 | comment | added | Michael Martin-Smucker | You might not be losing existing reputation, but if it's a popular question, you're losing lots of potential future reputation if your question is closed (while the person who didn't bother to use the site search is now gaining that reputation). If the questions truly are duplicates, isn't it more appropriate the close the newer question and merge the answers into the older question? | |
| Oct 2, 2015 at 20:14 | comment | added | terdon | @MichaelMartin-Smucker you should be. When you ask a question here, you don't "own" the question and it is not only for your benefit. Posts on the SE network aim to be a useful repository of information for the next person who has that question as well. Having your question closed is no attack on you, it causes you no harm, no reputation is lost, no nothing. The only reason questions are closed is to keep the site clean and organized. So, if your question is closed in favor of a newer one with better answers, the only change is that you now have better answers. Why should it bother you? | |
| Oct 2, 2015 at 20:10 | comment | added | Michael Martin-Smucker | It seems a bit strange that quality of answers determines which question deserves to stay open. If I took the time to ask a clear, thoughtful question and it gets closed in favor of a lower quality version (that was asked 4 years later, by someone who apparently doesn't take the time to search before posting), just because they happened to get a better answer, I can't say I'd be happy about that. | |
| Sep 30, 2015 at 16:31 | vote | accept | CommunityBot | ||
| Sep 30, 2015 at 10:34 | history | answered | terdon | CC BY-SA 3.0 |