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What is the way to add a tag in an answer, possibly regarding a tool, approach, or such, but something the original asker did not envision, without editing the asked question?

I'm presuming the answer to the other question about "should" is "yes" for the following reasons:

  • There can be multiple valuable and relevant answers to the same question that approach via different paths where the different approach would have a different flag.
  • The asker can't and usually won't know all the relevant tags for the relevant approaches unless they already know the answer to the question they are asking, or edit the question after the fact.
  • Part of the value proposition of CV and SE in general is not the separation of questions and answers, but their interactions. It is often not about one question and one answer. There are great questions and answers where there are 10 highly useful (and highly voted) answers to the same question.
  • Google already goes to the answer that is relevant, so they are getting a value out of the relationship between question, answer, and keywords. Why not build a system that does not require an off-site google search to find something internal.
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    $\begingroup$ Are you asking if there is a way (your last sentence)? Then the answer is no. Or are you asking why there is no way (your title)? Then the answer is that that's just how SE works and this is unlikely to change. Or are you asking what to do instead? Then see meta.stats.stackexchange.com/questions/1525 and also meta.stats.stackexchange.com/questions/3000 and also meta.stats.stackexchange.com/questions/2618. $\endgroup$ – amoeba Oct 4 '16 at 13:54
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    $\begingroup$ After your edit I am even more confused about what you are asking. What is the way to add a tag in an answer [...] without editing the asked question? -- there is no such way, period. $\endgroup$ – amoeba Oct 4 '16 at 15:47
  • $\begingroup$ Sometimes it would be nice to be able to tag an answer, but you can't. In some situations it may be reasonable to add a tag to the question, but I suggest a degree of reflection and restraint (especially if it changes the original intent of the question) in applying it (e.g. adding the tag may suggest that the scope of the question is more restricted than it really is. That would be a concern). Aside from the consideration of author intent, I think the main consideration is whether it's likely to help others find a good solution to their problem. $\endgroup$ – Glen_b Oct 4 '16 at 21:30
  • $\begingroup$ I try to "channel the intent of the author" and if I have even a small doubt, then I do not (not not not) edit the work of another person. I would rather add 10 comments than one edit that changes the original question in a lossy way. $\endgroup$ – EngrStudent Oct 4 '16 at 23:23
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It's impossible right now, but you can at least mention a tag in an answer: [tag:X] (becomes ). I think this cover the points you raised, but has no bearing on the engine inner workings, i.e. it won't show in the tag page itself, it's only a embellished link as far as I know.

It's useful in meta, but in the main not so much, because tags are volatile, and except the most popular ones, are highly susceptible to edits and even deletions.

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