Does Fluther know that answers are being composed before the questions are still being edited?

When your question is being taken for editing, it is not available for answering.

If you are referring to when you originally are configuring the question, it is not available for answering until you finalize it.

maybe. maybe not.

@Marina , while I was editing my previous question I saw 2 people’s uernames ”....composing an answer”, that is what prompted my question.

Yes, during the short period when the question is still editable, answers can be posted. And yes, it would be possible for the asker to edit the question in a way that would make those answers nonsensical.

@Harp the answers they are composing is not visible to me, FYI, just the fact that they are. ”...is crafting a response”. But my question while it is being edited is visible to them. I am asking if it is a glitch and if they know about it?

Right. I think the powers that be are well aware of this. I would suggest that if you’re making a change that substantially alters the question and see that answers are already being crafted, that you leave the original text as is and add your edit to the end of your details section, prefaced by the word “Edit:”, then perhaps even add a comment after those first answers are posted explaining that you changed the sense of the question. It would keep them from looking like idiots and help future readers understand what happened.

@Harp it sounds a bit too complicated. Thanks.

@flo Yeah. I think the editing feature was really intended for correcting typos or adding information, not for radically altering a question.