<p>When I get stuck on a problem, I post it on SE to see if anyone can help me with it.  But, I continue to work on it on my own after I post it.  The sheer act of posting helps me clarify my thoughts.  Then, I'll often get comments on the question that help me clarify things further.  Post-posting, I end up with ideas about how to much better word things.  I think this is particularly true for me because I find myself needing to ask fairly complicated question in an area in which I am not familiar with conventional terminology.</p>

<p>The FAQ also says to update your question frequently with your own progress.  I think this is a good idea, as ideally my "progress" will help people better understand the question, and maybe give people ideas on how to answer, or at least contribute to the general body of knowledge on what <em>doesn't</em> work.</p>

<p>However, I do not know how to best go about the updating.  I don't want to continually change the wording of a problem.  Sometimes I'll realize I could ask for a more general case, make more clear parameters, etc. and I'll want to add that clarity... but it's at the cost of confusing people who may have already attempted to start answering.  As for "progress reports" -- I don't want to question to get overly long.  I feel bad creating inconsistency by posting an update, then deleting it and replacing it with a different update altogether a few hours later -- but less bad than I'd feel with them both taking up space in the question.</p>

<p>So.... my question to you is:  how do you balance improving your question and adding progress statements with keeping it consistent and manageable?  </p>
