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Originally Posted by Ken Vogt
In any case, I am a persistent and serial violator of the rule against revisionism. I do try to indicate when something has been edited, and why, but I often make long intricate posts that I later discover are wholly wrong: is such cases, to save people's time, I will replace the post with an apology.
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It is probably a better self-correction practice to leave the incorrect information in place but supply a warning or caveat where you point to the correct information. I understand that leaving incorrect information in a post is undesirable especially when it's not challenged or corrected by subsequent posters or until later pages in a long thread. I have self-corrected without comment in the first couple of minutes after a post (sometimes I submit
then proof) but after that
very short period of time, I think the post should stand.
Something like:
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The freezing point of water is 32C.
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That could be edited to:
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The freezing point of water is 32C.
Edit: Whoops! The freezing point for water is actually 0C. The value I quoted was degrees Fahrenheit. Sorry for the confusion.
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Or, if someone else catches it:
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The freezing point of water is 32C.
Edit: Whoops! The freezing point for water is actually 0C. The value I quoted was degrees Fahrenheit. Thanks to Ken Vogt who catches my mistake here.
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For a more complicated correction which involves more than one data point and especially when subsequent posts are made in the thread, it may be more clear to provide a simple caveat like:
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Edit: My solution for this equation is wrong. The correct solution can be found [here].
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You should also give credit if another user corrects your mistake.
It's also a good practice to correct the information with a new post in the thread to inform those users who may already be following the thread, especially if a significant amount of time elapses before the error is noticed. The problem with simply deleting your error is that it can cast undue doubt or an incorrect impression on a subsequent post in the thread by another user who is pointing out your error or somehow building on your post.
I think this practice will actually help increase a user's credibility (or at least it does in my mind) because it demonstrates the fact that the user takes seriously the information they provide.