Should I delete my question despite a legitimate answer and comments?
Before writing this I read posts here about deleting and improving questions ("Should I delete my question?" etc.). I didn't get answers to some of my concerns so I still feel the need to post this. I apologize if I missed obvious answers.
Yesterday I posted my first SE question. It was an E.SE question.
The first response by @DanBron begins "Extremely well-posed question".
Other folk then left comments. It was clear they were confused. I replied and edited the question twice in direct response.
The last response at the time I write this is by @David. It ends "... Why not just delete it before it is closed.".
I'm almost ready to delete my question and to try writing a new question to replace the old one. But I'd like to read posts by others affirming or rejecting that I should delete it and write another because:
Deleting my first attempt has downsides. In the SE's I usually frequent it's generally considered rude to just delete a question that has sincere responses, especially one that includes a legitimate answer.
If my writing style really is too long format and/or confusing for most E.SE folk then maybe I'd best not waste my time and yours trying to post a question at E.SE again. I hope to have a better handle on that based on any responses I get to this post.
Fwiw, here's a list of actions I can imagine taking:
Revert to original. @DanBron commented that the original was "Extremely well-posed" (and got an upvote, not from me of course). Perhaps my edits ruined an initially good question. Which suggests just reverting it. But then several comments won't make sense to readers.
Leave as is. Do not further edit the question. Maybe don't respond to further comments either. Definitely ask @DanBron to cancel his plan to bounty it. But then, presuming it's as bad as @David says and I now fear, not deleting soon would presumably be fairly inconsiderate towards anyone who reads it, or worse, responds to it, and ultra inconsiderate if I know it's eventually going to be deleted.
Cut out the Why I'm asking section. I thought it might be helpful to explain what prompted me to ask my question. I personally appreciate such detail in an SE question. But it looks like that was a bust, presumably because it includes computer code (that I thought was simple enough). I could just cut this all out. But then several comments won't make sense to readers.
Cut out the What I've found section. In my original question I allowed that I might not be right about the meaning of the English word "itemize". But it looks like I was right about what the English word "itemize" means. (Perhaps @David's misunderstanding about this just reflects how bad my question has ended up.) I could cut out all mention of "itemize". But then several comments won't make sense to readers.
Cut out the What, precisely, I'm asking section. My goal is picking a single English word, or having a small list of candidates (i.e. "which word(s)?" is my real question). However, I know some SE's are OK with what I'll call incidental questions and that's what this section was about. I could cut the incidental questions out. But then @ruakh's answer, which I appreciated, won't make sense to readers.
Delete the whole question and try again. I generally try to start something like an SE question or answer by investing time into a well researched and written initial post and follow that with improvements in response to feedback (whether good natured or trollish). But @David's comment implies that deleting an entire question is considered OK even if there are (arguably) useful comments and a legitimate answer.
Delete the whole question and don't try again. Perhaps my long and complex writing style is entirely inappropriate for E.SE questions. If you've read this far, thank you, and let me know!
