5

I just posted I doubt whether this IS to be believed, or … HAS to be believed on main, because the original 'is to be endorsed' vs. 'has to be endorsed' was closed while I was composing my answer.

I'd intended to make both my question and answer CW. I've done that on the answer, but I can't see how to do this on the question.

Is it in fact possible to mark Questions as CW? If not, why not? And should we ask for it to be changed?

8
  • I've made your question community wiki :)
    – Matt
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:17
  • @Matt: ty. But is that something I could have done myself, or does it require your "special powers" as a mod? If the latter, can I assume you wouldn't mind if I flagged any future questions I might ask here on ELL as "requires moderator attention", with a request to make them CW?
    – FumbleFingers
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:20
  • Fumble, you could have embedded your assumptions into the original question, then asked for a mod to reopen it, and then posted your answer. (Actually, that's still a possibility.) Remember, the orignal question was not closed; it was merely "put on hold." :^) All I was after was some clarification – put that in there and we'll be good to go.
    – J.R. Mod
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:22
  • @FumbleFingers: I converted it to CW via the mod menu - I can't find a reference to mark my own questions as CW without using that, so I don't know. I'm certainly happy to convert any question to CW at the authors request if that's something they're interested in.
    – Matt
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:23
  • @FumbleFingers: Although if you need to ask a mod to do something, it's usually easier to flag the question than to post on meta :)
    – Matt
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:24
  • 1
    @J.R. In this case, since we can't be clear about what exactly the OP wants, I'd hesitate to edit. When comments make it clear that the OP wants a certain thing, I definitely agree with taking this route; it's always great when questions are edited and reopened! But there was so much confusion regarding this particular question, on all sides, that I'd hesitate to change dramatically it when we can't be sure of the OP's intent.
    – WendiKidd
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:28
  • In the case of the specific user, it's unfortunate that sometimes his/her example contexts are a bit "alien/opaque/obscure" to native English speakers. I don't know if this is a cultural thing, but it would be a shame if good questions (and some of them are really good) got passed over just because the OP wasn't able to use phrasing / example contexts familiar to native speakers. Perhaps that issue in itself deserves a meta question: should we (and how much) edit to improve "familiarity/accessibility" for other users here?
    – FumbleFingers
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:53
  • 3
    @FumbleFingers - Just my personal philosophy, but I say, if a question needs serious work, edit boldly – particularly if you believe you've unlocked the puzzle. If it makes you feel better, leave a comment along the lines of: "If I've misinterpreted your question, feel free to rollback the edit." When I've seen this done on ELL, more often than not, the O.P. responds with a hearty and relieved note of thanks.
    – J.R. Mod
    Oct 2, 2013 at 0:13

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

Any user can make their own answer Community Wiki, but only moderators can (directly) do this for questions. You have two options to make your question CW, the first of which is the more sensical route (I only post the second to make the answer complete, plus I find it amusing.)

  1. As you said in comments above, you may indeed flag the post for moderator attention and ask that it be marked as CW.

  2. To do it yourself, you can take advantage of the fact that any post, when it reaches more than 10 edits in the revision history, is automatically converted to community wiki. So in theory, to do this yourself you can wait until the 5 minute grace period on edits are up, then edit your question. Then wait another 5 minutes, then edit again.... And keep doing this until the 10-edit threshold is reached and the CW conversion happens automatically.

...obviously #2 is silly, but you asked if normal users can do this, and well... You can! But just go ahead and flag it for moderator attention; we'll mark it CW for you, no problem.

(As an aside, I'll note that I don't see any reason for you to have to mark such questions as CW if you don't want to. When a question is CW all its answers also become CW, which means you won't gain any rep for the question or the answer. Since you're putting effort into both, I don't see why you shouldn't get credit for it. But if you do want to make it CW, you're always welcome to ask and we'll do it for you!)

4
  • haha I'd upvote this twice if I could! (once because it answers my question, and again because I also find it amusing). But I see a cloud above my silver lining - even if I did interpret and rephrase the original question correctly (and apparently the OP says I did), that doesn't mean I think I've posted the best (or even, correct) answer. I don't want anyone else to be put off answering just because there's no rep to be gained.
    – FumbleFingers
    Oct 1, 2013 at 23:39
  • I believe the actual rule is: ten edits by the original owner, or five edits by different users.
    – user230
    Oct 2, 2013 at 1:24
  • @snailboat Ah, I wasn't aware! Well still, for FF to be able to do it himself it would take 10 edits :) Flagging is much less time-consuming! ;)
    – WendiKidd
    Oct 2, 2013 at 1:59
  • @FumbleFingers I think I misread your comment the first time I read it, so let me respond properly now: if you've changed your mind and would like the question un-CWed, I can do that too!
    – WendiKidd
    Oct 2, 2013 at 2:00

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .