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I found a bug in a code golf submission but do not yet have commenting privilege. Is there a polite way for me to let the user know about this bug? The site offers me to "suggest an edit" but I'm not sure wether doing so would be against the rules/etiquette/good manners.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes, a suggested edit like that will be rejected. 50 rep isn't really that much (5 answer upvotes). \$\endgroup\$
    – Erik the Outgolfer
    May 30, 2018 at 20:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ By a "bug" do you mean that the answer is invalid? Did you have flag privilege? \$\endgroup\$
    – DELETE_ME
    May 31, 2018 at 3:04
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes the answer is invalid (I'm really very new to this) and there is no option to flag the answer for me. \$\endgroup\$
    – bubens
    May 31, 2018 at 4:32

4 Answers 4

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Post on meta

Although meta is for discussions about the main site, so far nobody (as far as I know) has done it, because they all have comment privileges. They should be on-topic. (downvote if you disagree)

Good thing is, unlike other meta sites it only takes 1 reputation to post on PPCG Meta (instead of 5).

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Although commenting is the best way, if you can't there are the following options:

(note: I'm posting multiple answers to let people vote on it)

Flag for moderator attention (needs 15 reputations)

Unlike on other sites, on PPCG moderators accept (in my experience) invalid-answer flags (because answers can be tested without much difficulty. You should also provide invalid test cases). They should leave a comment if they think that's the best way.

However... we only have 5 moderators. Only use this if you can't comment or comments won't help (for example when OP has left the site and is unlikely to fix the answer)

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    \$\begingroup\$ Thank you for taking your time and your answers. It seems to come down to getting the reputation needed. I guess I understand the theory behind the reputation system but it makes an unwelcoming impression on a newbie like me. And it leads to the situation where I found an invalid solution and can't do nothing about it. Too bad. \$\endgroup\$
    – bubens
    May 31, 2018 at 19:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ @bubens (1) That's SE limitation, wecan't do anything(2) to prevent spam in comment. \$\endgroup\$
    – DELETE_ME
    Jun 1, 2018 at 1:30
  • \$\begingroup\$ I know it's a SE thing and why they do it. Still... \$\endgroup\$
    – bubens
    Jun 1, 2018 at 5:30
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Raise the issue in chat (needs 20 reputations on any site)

Not really a good idea. There are no guarantee that it will be handled.

Can be used if the user who posted the invalid answer is pingable in chat, otherwise, there is a large chance of somebody see your message and comment on the post.

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Suggest an edit

We have a policy of rejecting edits to code, which is a good one. However, by doing this, you will draw the attention of at least 1 user with 2000 or more reputation, via the Suggested Edits review queue. Appropriately describe the problem with the answer in the edit summary, and the user(s) who review it should:

  • Reject the edit,
  • Navigate to the answer,
  • Post a comment informing the answerer that there is a bug

A good "cookie-cutter" comment for this is

[As pointed out](link to suggested edit review) by [{user}](link to user id), this answer has a bug. Specifically: {problem given by you in the edit summary}. I'm leaving this comment as {user} does not have the reputation to do so.

For example:

As pointed out by bubens, this answer has a bug. Specifically, Python does not use System.out.println so this doesn't work. I'm leaving this comment as bubens does not have the reputation to do so.

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