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I believe that there is agreement that bugs in the code posted in questions should never be corrected by editing by anyone except the OP (and that even edits by the OP should be rejected if fixing the bug changes the question into another question, rendering existing answers invalid).

But what about bugs in answers? My procedure so far is not to edit, but point out what I believe is a bug in a comment and leave it up to the author to correct, or ignore.

But I've noticed that answers are being edited to fix bugs, and that those edits are apporived by > 3000 rep. users.

What is correct protocol?

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    I am not sure if we have ever discussed this before, but I am with you. I prefer to comment about problems with code. The trend on SO in the review queue has been to reject these as invalid edits. – mpdonadio♦ Apr 28 '14 at 13:33
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    I agree with rejecting edits, unless it's something really obvious (like a missing semicolon or something) – Clive♦ Apr 28 '14 at 14:27
  • @Clive the suggested edit OP declined and I accepted (immediately before he asked) was mistaken closing brackets, as far as I remember. And I think we both have perfectly valid reasons to vote the way we voted. – Mołot Apr 30 '14 at 8:30
  • Missing brackets would definitely be ok to make edits for IMO @Mołot. If we're just talking about a character or two that will prevent a syntax error, it's all good as far as I'm concerned (I'd certainly make that edit, and expect someone to make it on a post that I'd made that I'd made that sort of mistake on) – Clive♦ Apr 30 '14 at 8:32
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See appropriate help center page. It says that one of the valid reasons of editing is:

  • To correct minor mistakes or add updates as the post ages

So if mistake in answer's code is minor, and from the meaning of the answer it is clear it's only a minor mistake, and edit only makes code work as described, then edit is OK. That's why I approved this suggestion - User who answered certainly didn't meant to post a broken code, and editor only fixed closing brackets.

Personally I prefer comment first, to make sure, but I accept such edits, especially if they are clearly described.

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