I posted a question which turned out to be a bug in the platform I was using. What should my next course of action be? I think it should still be discoverable for other people who have the same issue, so I do not want to delete it.

Do I answer my own question and update the answer when the bug is fixed, or leave a comment, or edit the question, or close it or what?

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    If you have a link to an issue tracker or something like that add it to your answer so users can track it themselves. If you know what version(s) it's broken for, add "this bug affects version 1.5*", and when you know it's fixed add "fixed in version 1.5.4". This way if someone encounters this bug in the future, they'll know immediately whether they're affected and how to resolve it (i.e. upgrade.) – Dave Zych Oct 26 '15 at 15:23
  • What's the worst that can happen, if you leave it as is? That said, I like Dave's comment above me - best bet is to point users to the issue tracker. Then you probably can let things run their course. Eventually, if this platform bug gets resolved I"m guessing the post can be gracefully closed with some custom msg "Platform bug with XYZ has been resolved, so this is obsolete" or something to that effect – Coffee Oct 26 '15 at 15:25
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    If the answer is "the platform has a bug" that's still helpful information to other users. – intcreator Oct 27 '15 at 0:49
  • In that case you should feel very lucky not to get a load of down votes. – f470071 Oct 27 '15 at 9:35
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    Not only an answer like the one Dave is suggesting can very useful to other users, but on some platforms, it can be very useful to you since the more people star (or track) a bug on an official bug tracker, the more it becomes a priority to fix by the people responsible for maintaining that platform. – Stephan Branczyk Oct 27 '15 at 9:44
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    Why would you delete it? If you found the answer to the question, answer it. This is obvious. – Lightness Races BY-SA 3.0 Oct 27 '15 at 12:22
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    Been there: stackoverflow.com/a/12414582/241291. Done that: stackoverflow.com/a/6720046/241291. Still alive. – cobaltduck Oct 27 '15 at 19:00
  • @LightnessRacesinOrbit I considered deleting it because it would presumably be fixed soon and impossible to run into again–but you're right, doesn't make sense to delete it yet. – adamdport Nov 6 '15 at 18:13
  1. Answer the question indicating the issue and any possible workaround(if you have one).
  2. Alert the proper authorities to fix the bug

  3. Once the bug is fixed, you can update the answer to let folks know that it has been fixed in version x.y.z if there's a possibility of older versions still being used. If there's for some reason no chance of it being an issue for someone after it's fixed then delete it if you want or just leave it be.

On my awesome internet connection, the post finally loaded for me after I finished this answer. It seems you've done 1 and 2. So, go have a coffee until it is fixed.

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    Can I join? Approved ! – Coffee Oct 26 '15 at 15:28
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    Could be a long coffee. – Lightness Races BY-SA 3.0 Oct 27 '15 at 12:22
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    +1, but I'd also add another sub-point: If the vendor and/or "proper authorities" have a public bug tracker then raise the issue there and link to it from your answer so that others can follow progress. (@adamdport has already done this in their answer to the linked question.) – LukeH Oct 27 '15 at 12:30
  • @LukeH good point. Feel free to edit :P – codeMagic Oct 27 '15 at 12:52
  • What I would add here: Make sure to mention the full version of the software you are using since bugs can be much more version-depending than other problems. – luator Oct 27 '15 at 13:13
  • Also, add relevant details to your question if you haven't already: i.e. I'm having problem x on platform y – dave Oct 28 '15 at 2:19
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    Been there @LightnessRacesinOrbit... – CaptJak Oct 28 '15 at 2:30

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