If an OP asks a question, and a clarification is made by the OP in the comments, whether it be a comment on the question or on an answer, should an answer be posted which answers the question based on the information in the comment if that comment is not reflected in the question post?
Should someone take the liberty of putting it into the question before/after answering the question?
The main point of comments is to improve the posts they're on. If the OP makes a comment that clarifies something in a question post but doesn't deign to also update the post, then it makes a great deal of sense for any editor to edit the post accordingly, especially if that editor also wants to answer the question.
If someone wants to post an answer without first making the indicated edit to the question post (e.g. because the answerer doesn't yet have editing privileges), then the answer must address the question, as currently expressed. I would suggest that, as long as what the comment would add is consistent with the current text of the question (that is, it comes to clarify/specify rather than to alter), it would be best to take the comment into account, too, when answering. That way, the answer is most likely to be useful to the OP, and it will also remain relevant if and when someone makes the edit suggested in the comment.
