[DEV question] Why cant we change Alpha application answers?

[Wolfie]

Your web browser is not going to have any important OS level and hardware level details. That's why they have to ask on the applications.

[Shougun]

Your web browser is not going to have any important OS level and hardware level details. That's why they have to ask on the applications.

I meant unless I forgot they use a web app to check all the computer data. You can intercept that data if you really wanted and knew how. But most wont, and even if you intercepted the data you wont know if you changed it to something SE wanted or not.

Answer: Because if you later decide that different answers would have been more favorable, it's not fair to other people who answered the questions honestly?

But which is more favorable? You dont know - changing your app doesnt make it known if you have a better chance or not.

[Alhanelem]

But which is more favorable? You dont know - changing your app doesnt make it known if you have a better chance or not.[/QUOTE]

That's right, but it also doesn't stop people from thinking different answers would have been better. There's no point in changing your app after the fact because you don't know that your answers are what kept you from getting in or got you in. Most likely they simply took a broad sample of those that were close to what they wanted, and randomly selected from those. It's not like having the "optimal" app would have guaranteed your acceptance.

No webapp can check your OS and hardware details. You need ActiveX or Java for that, in order to run the checks locally on the client. Web browsers haven't been able to access or send those kinds of details for decades.

what website today *doesn't* use one of these things on its pages? JavaScript alone can do it, not just Java program.

[Shougun]

That's right, but it also doesn't stop people from thinking different answers would have been better. There's no point in changing your app after the fact because you don't know that your answers are what kept you from getting in or got you in. Most likely they simply took a broad sample of those that were close to what they wanted, and randomly selected from those. It's not like having the "optimal" app would have guaranteed your acceptance.

But there is plenty of reason to update. You change your computer you dont have that old system anymore - you are lying now on your application to SE.

If se wanted your system specs for a test and you dont have them anymore that is bad on SE. It is better they let you update. You can try to 'lie' but you could have lied in the first place, and no one knows what the winning combination is - so attempting to lie is a waste of time.

Updating your app is more honest then not.