A Discussion on the Ability to Edit your Posts...

[Unimatic1140]

I'm planning on starting to write code to implement a new feature that will enable everyone to be able to edit or delete your own posts after they have been posted.

I have received a few emails recently from a few members who are worried that an edit feature might cause problems. Here is an excerpt of one email although the other emails all had similar concerns:

My concern is about editable posts. I worry that people who are arguing, or deliberately picking a fight might put up a post, and in a few minutes edit or delete the post. I have seen this happen at websites that do allow editable/deletable posts, and it can lead to a lot of arguing and pain, so would you please think deeply about this?

My personal opinion on this is if a member continually does this who would pay that person any mind anyway? So before I move forward I'm open to hear others opinions.

I do plan on having a time limit to edit/delete posts, I was thinking between two and four hours which should be plenty of time to re-read and catch typos. At first I was going to leave it open forever, but then it dawned on me that if someone leaves the site impulsively because of whatever reason they might go and try to delete every post they made recently and I want to prevent that.

So on that note, discuss...

 

[toggleswitch]

I'd love to be able to re proof-read my *COUGH* "creations".

At least the content will make me look like an @$$ rather than spelling, typos, dyslexia, incoherent and otherwise random thoughts etc.

Here's one for ya:
Remember the offsite yet online chat we had via another member? I LOVED the "IGNORE MEMBER" feature. Once engaged you simply didn't see that person's writings.

HINT HINT HINT HINT

Please check you private email inbox. TYVM!

 

[toggleswitch]

oh the ability to remove links and photos after the fact can be a life-saver too!

I am REALLY careful not do attach the wrong things!

 

[mixfinder]

Spill Chuck

I am a horrible proof reader until the post hits a thread. Then I cower in humiliation at all the typos. Spell check is great. Trying to stop angry posts by not having a delete isn't going to solve the issue of disputes. They simply flare from time to time and seem to be the cost of doing business on a public site.

 

[DADoES]

 
A time limit may work, but there could still be "incidents." There are always incidents.

Perhaps if there's a way to program the editing function to allow additions to (below) the original text, but not change the original text. That doesn't help with typos, but does allow adding follow-up thoughts or clarifications, and deals with the "arguments" concerns. That also would prevent deletion of a post during the editing period, which can make a thread nonsensical if there have already been replies. I recall a forum that would delete the entire thread if the starting post was deleted, which would be OK as it doesn't leave replies hanging after an OP disappears.

 

[sudsmaster]

Some web forums that allow editing also attach a little advisory at the end of the edited message, like "Sudsmaster edited this post two times, the last time on 4/21/2010 at 01:00 pm". I'm not sure how difficult that code would be to create, but I think Robert could do it. It would at least let people know that the post has changed, for whatever reason.

And besides, we're not really supposed to engage in heated debates here anyway. It's more of a feel-good share the joy kind of site.

 

[panthera]

My 2 Eurocents

For what their worth...
I think Robert's suggestion that we be able to edit or delete a post within a fairly short time-frame after posting is a good idea.
Some websites and blogs permit members to <S>strike through text</S> while not removing it nor yet deleting it.

I have posted some comments through the years which I later apologized for. Other comments were so poorly spelled, I was embarrassed to not have paid closer attention.

One strong argument for editing and deleting posts would be when we are discussing technical topics or vintage machinery and someone has made a mistake in a "how-to". That would be worth correcting.

 

[toggleswitch]

I still say flush (DO NOT SAVE OR ARCHIVE) the "rooms" that are not the Imperial or Deluxe... UNLESS FLAGGED BY THE WEBMASTER.

Say

cooking threads
reference threads
holiday threads.

and other worthwhile ones may be saved.

etc.

 

[jmirawm]

Editing posts

Although I do not post very often, it would be nice to edit. For some strange reason after I post and then reread the post it doesn't even make sense to me. <p> I think a good question would be: IF a hateful person posts a post to stir up trouble, then deletes or edits it, will the world end ?

 

[sudsmaster]

Will the world end?

Nope.

In other forums I've used, generally the participants in a debate are pretty astute as to when someone has backtracked and changed a contentious point in a previous post. So people do get called on it when they try to cover something up, but at the same time it's useful for corrections and helping to diffuse controversy when someone edits a post to make it more accurate and less subject to incorrect interpretation.

And some people will be contentious no matter what. We all know who they are after a short time on board.

 

[yogitunes]

Spelling errors....were all human.....and it's part of the humor....for those of us who catch it, we understand, we all do it, we know where your coming from, so if you goof on a few words, so what, isn't that part of your charm, hell, I type so fast the keyboard/computer can't keep up, and then I post before it finishes and then realize either my mistakes or the puter didn't add all the letters.....so yeah, an edit after we post for a time limit would not be a bad thing...actually I miss my last computer where I talked and it typed, you can get spoiled with this!

 

[rp2813]

I do like the edit capability. I just used it on another site today. It's a good thing for the occasional typo or brain-dead statement that we'd like to be able to correct.

I wouldn't worry about the more heated discussions. Those are eventually going to happen--or they are supposed to anyway--in the "Dirty Laundry" (or "Hamper" as I like to call it) forum, which is basically going to be AYOR with members having to take some extra steps and pay a small fee to gain access to it, right? You get what you pay for, warts and all (no pun intended).

Ralph

 

[goatfarmer]

editing

I belong to several groups where editing of post's is allowed. Most everytime, there is an addendum added, which says "edited by....." and the time and date. Something along those lines should work.

 

[mayfan69]

In favour

I'm in favour in being able to edit. There are times when i haven't proof read properly and the opportunity to go back and fix spelling mistakes etc would be great.

I've also realised i made the mistake once of stating how much i paid for a machine, not thinking someone would do a search on the internet for that model here in Oz and now she thinks she's going to get the same price for it!

Cheers
Leon

 

[turquoisedude]

I vote YES

I often make silly spelling and grammar errors that I wish I could go back and fix, so I would really appreciate a feature such as this!
I try to take a positive view and think that people who wanted to use this feature to play 'revisionist historian' would be few and far between...

 

[mattl]

I guess there might me a particular st of problems here, on the other forums I frequent, mainly AVSforum. and some SAT forums there are no limits on editing a post, but it does specify that the post was edited after a certain amount of time. If you edit it right after posting all the other sites I go to do not note that the post has been edited. Once it's been posted for 30 minutes or more if you edit it it does indicated it has been edited.

I think the 2-4 hour time limit is way to short. If I post something I may not go back to that thread until the next day, and then I might see some stupid typo I did, so I would suggest 24-36 hours.

Apparently some are worried about someone getting pissy and then editing out their comments. It might be annoying but so what? If after a certain period of time, perhaps here 2-4 hours someone deletes their entire post a menage pops up in it's place that the original poster has though better of their actions/comments and removed the posting. We don't need babysitters for the most part.

 

[58limited]

I use the edit function all the time on other forums, sometimes for typos, most often to correct technical descriptions or instructions. I'm for having that here with no time limits. Or, put the time limit on posts in the dirty laundry section. If some one gets out of line in the other forums, peer pressure can correct it or Robert can delete their post.

 

[volvoguy87]

Editing.

I would love the ability to fix spelling and grammatical errors I sometimes catch after the fact. I think the time limit would be a practical way to prevent people from rewriting history and the notation of a post's being edited by its author would be a fair way to publicly document changes.

Good idea Robert,
Dave

 

[jetcone]

editting

typos would be a godsend, even thoohg I never make them mysef!