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This scenario has most likely happened before and in other games, but recently League of Legends released season 4, which changed much of the game. A question was asked about the new season 4, and it was marked as a duplicate to a previous question that was asked during season 3. Unfortunately, the game designers have chosen to make our previously correct answer now incorrect! What do we do in these scenarios?

Apologies for the formatting I couldn't think of a clearer way

  • Ask a new question and specifically mention the season/version in the question (The attempted approach in the questions above).
    • Pro: We have historical accuracy across seasons/versions. Specific season in search. No need to alter the past.
    • Con: ugh clutter. abandoned questions. search results may return somewhat duplicates
  • Edit the selected answer on the original question to correct the information for the current season/version
    • Pro: A single question that is valid across versions/seasons. A single answer that is kept up to date.
    • Con: Loss of some historical data. Assumption that the original question was meant to be timeless(NOT referring to a given point in time). Not as important, but the original answerer will be getting credit for an answer maintained by the community
  • Create a new correct answer and edit the current answer to specify the point in time that the answer was accurate (eg *Note this answer applies to season 3)
    • Pro: A single question that is valid across versions/seasons. Clean answers that are historically accurate.
    • Con: Unless the question asker is still around, the accepted answer will still point to the non-current innaccurate answer. New answers may have to garner significant upvotes to get the 2nd spot. Many people visiting the site will look at the accepted answer only, which may be incorrect. Potential for the top two answers to be complete opposite information (one says you can drop tiers in ranked the other says you cant).

I'm sure there are more possible solutions but these were the main ones brought up in chat. Also, this isn't referring to information such as item or character stats as history may not be as important.

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    In this particular situation, I feel close as dupe and re-answer or update the answer on the old question is right. I don't see a way someone is going to legally play the older updates of League of Legends, so the old information is no longer correct and should be updated as such.
    – LLF
    Jan 17, 2014 at 18:54
  • On top of that, League will continue to recieve updates. So updating the answer will reduce clutter and be easier to maintain.
    – LLF
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:01
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    YOU RUINED IT. You jerk.
    – LessPop_MoreFizz
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:06
  • @Kendra What If the question refers to a specific point in time? Eg How did rank system work in season 3? Would we edit the question and remove season 3 then edit the answer to be relevant for season 4?
    – Brian
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:16
  • Then it is historical trivia and does not help solve a relevant problem.
    – LLF
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:19
  • And not only would that example not solve a problem, it won't help future readers, only confuse them.
    – LLF
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:20
  • @Kendra it did help solve a relevant problem at a given point in time. And I don't see how it would confuse anyone as it is clear in stating the time period, I think what is more confusing is having the same question with multiple conflicting answers
    – Brian
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:22
  • You're looking at it like web users don't overlook things like time. Along with that, while it was relevant then, its not now. That is why editing an answer is a good idea, or if you know your answer will become outdated, community is viable, as stated in the answer below.
    – LLF
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:24
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    I see I misunderstood your example. In that case, no question edit is needed, but answers should be made at some point to say, "Hey this changed. Now its this."
    – LLF
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:27
  • @Sterno I'm glad you mention it. I'm on mobile, and hadn't noticed my misclick. I almost flagged your comment below when trying to up vote.
    – LLF
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:44

1 Answer 1

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The correct solution is roughly this:

  • Edit the existing question only if necessary (i.e. the question was phrased in terms of obsolete mechanics).
  • If you have a new, more accurate answer than the existing ones, post it. Try not to say things like "all the other answers are out of date", because yours might eventually be the same. Try something more along the lines of "As of version 3.6.4b (released January 2014), you need to blah."
  • If you don't have an updated, high-quality answer, place a bounty on the existing question to attract one.
  • If someone else has already made an updated answer, consider placing a bounty under the "existing answer is exemplary" reason to attract votes, and float it towards the top.

Also, in the case of answers which are likely to go out of date again quickly, consider either closing the question altogether, as it may not be a good fit for our format, or making your answer Community Wiki, to encourage others to keep it up to date.

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  • I agree with alot of this, but what happens if the asker of the question no longer visits the site? The accepted answer (aka the one most visitors will assume is right) will be incorrect
    – Brian
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:25
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    I would also say that you should consider updating existing answers, as long as the changes aren't too drastic. If, for example, it's just a change in stats (for instance, Magic Missile now does 50 damage instead of 30), don't add a new answer - just edit it. If the mechanic has changed entirely, politely suggest (in comments) that the original answerer update their answer.
    – MBraedley
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:28
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    @Brian Yep. Happens a lot. Accepted doesn't mean right, just means the answer worked for the asker.
    – Billy Mailman
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:29
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    @Brian we can't do anything about that. The accepted answer is what helped the asker, and doesn't always correspond to the correct answer.
    – MBraedley
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:29
  • Unfortunately many visitors of gamingSE may not know that the accepted answer(with the big green checkmark next to it) means that it helped the asker but may not be correct
    – Brian
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:31
  • @MBraedley (first comment) Oh, probably. I really should have been more verbose about the fact that minor changes don't require all this, or that minor changes to the question to make it more general are good, etc. But, I'm on a mobile browser, so I kept the answer a bit short.
    – Billy Mailman
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:33
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    Another option to attract extra upvotes when the currently accepted answer is wrong and winning by a large margin is to swing by chat and let the users there know. They will probably toss out some upvotes and downvotes to help things get in a better state, and unlike a bounty, it doesn't require you to sacrifice your reputation points to make it happen.
    – Sterno
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:36
  • And yet another option is pinging the answerer in the answer's comments to let them know that their answer is now out-of-date. If they're still active and knowledgeable about the change, they might fix it themselves.
    – Sterno
    Jan 17, 2014 at 19:39

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