It was recommended that I post this question here to solicit feedback from the community....

Many times a thread will be started with a specific question [if wer are so lucky that the initial posting is specific and provides the necessary information].

During the replies a number of conditions may occur:

1) Information not directly related to the original question is posted (either by the original poster or by someone else)

2) Information that does not conform to accepted "best practices" may be posted which, while meeting the the OP's requirement is "not how it should be done"

3) Information which is downright incorrect is posted (this is probably the rarest of the situations under consideration.

The question is:

"Given one of the three cases above have already occured on a thread, how should members reply?
Going into details that are not germaine to the OP's question can easily be distracting or overwhelming, but what about the impact on the thousands of people who will search CodeGuru over the coming years and find this "less than ideal" information???

Where is the "Best Value" obtained in both adressing the OP's current needs and the benefit of the community at large over an extended period of time???

Looking forward to hearing peoples thoughts....

[mine should be pretty obvious from my posting habits, so I intend to be a "silent observer" for a while...