Please disable editing of post

[crich70]

Originally Posted by orlok

In fact, thinking about this some more, I'd like to extend the feature to be able to edit other people's posts.

Think of the fun that would be

Oh Orlok you are evil.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

and sometimes some of us have been in an altered state of mind whilst posting and going back later and seeing what we have written has caused some remorse. I know when I was recovering from knee surgery and highly medicated I came out with some real zingers

Aww, but those types of posts are my very favorites. I now want to rewrite Billy's lyrics..."I'm in an altered state of mind".

I don't have any issue with the Edit button being there, and I use it constantly to fix errors in my posts. Sometimes I add an EDIT addition too, to clarify, unless I have to clarify because of a response to my post further on (in which case I'd just do so in-thread).

I agree that major edits such as the examples can cause problems, but their presence is very rare. In conversations of a more "debating" type nature, Harry's suggestion can be a good one. I'm just not sure that disposal or limitation of editing is a necessary technical alteration against the minimal presence of those problems.

However, perhaps a minor alteration to Guidelines briefly suggesting responsible use of the EDIT function would help.

To add to this, and I don't think non-Mods have access to this feature, if someone edits a post we Mods can click on the "Last edited by" bit and see what the changes were (it looks a bit like the wiki article History comparisons, if you've ever used them). Now to give you an idea of the scale of this problem, I've only just discovered this feature. But it's certainly something we can make use of if the EDIT function is ever used for, let's say, disruptive reasons. As is often the case, the Report Post button becomes a convenient course of action there.

Right now I'm going to look see if the Guidelines already say something about editing your own posts, and blush with embarrassment at my Moderator deficiencies if they do.

Cheers,
Marc

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by crich70

Oh Orlok you are evil.

Moderators can, which is why I got into this business in the first place. [alters orlok's posts so that they say he owes me money...]

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by orlok

In fact, thinking about this some more, I'd like to extend the feature to be able to edit other people's posts.

Think of the devilry if that were possible

Originally Posted by Nyssa

You make an exciting point! Excellent!

Noooooooooo!

[Halo]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Halo do you have an example of a post that has prompted this request....
There is a "reason for edit" box that sometimes gets filled in.

I sure do. Here's the one that made me frustrated enough to start this thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=141312

Another one that was frustrating was this one: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=133102. In that case the original poster added an attachment in a subsequent post, but came back and deleted it. I wasted a lot of time reading the thread just to find that the point being discussed wasn't there. It was particularly annoying because I share the views the original poster raised and have the skills to help implement the changes.

There have been many more over the years but I don't remember the locations.

I will concede that disabling editing altogether might not be a good idea. But is it necessary to be able to edit posts made last week or older? Really? I can edit my posts from years ago, for Pete's sake. Maybe having the edit button work for only a reasonable time, say 30 minutes to an hour, after posting would be a better solution.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Moderators can, which is why I got into this business in the first place. [alters orlok's posts so that they say he owes me money...]

At least you'll always leave a trail behind!

Originally Posted by Halo

I will concede that disabling editing altogether might not be a good idea. But is it necessary to be able to edit posts made last week or older? Really? I can edit my posts from years ago, for Pete's sake. Maybe having the edit button work for only a reasonable time, say 30 minutes to an hour, after posting would be a better solution.

The problem is, would you "punish" the majority because of the stupidness/vindictiveness/anythingness of the few?

[odiakkoh]

Was there really anything in that thread that would've been so important you couldn't have just made a new thread yourself if you were having a similar issue? I unno, I got the gist of the conversation from everyone's replies but if you didn't, I'm not sure what you really lost out of that.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Moderators can, which is why I got into this business in the first place. [alters orlok's posts so that they say he owes me money...]

EDIT: @montsnmags just sent me confirmation that I paid him back in full .

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Halo

Maybe having the edit button work for only a reasonable time, say 30 minutes to an hour, after posting would be a better solution.

That would still mess with the way our reading polls work.

[Freeshadow]

As for typos - check my sig.
Sometimes I need to use it for thinkos (like adding a "swallowed" word or a forgotten link)
misuse of edits in changing a posts content is indeed at least rude as Neil has pointed out.

[Prestidigitweeze]

In this very forum, someone once accused me repeatedly of being dishonest because I always edit my posts (for style as well as typos). The more I tried to explain it had nothing to do with covering anything up, or with backpedaling or changing my opinion, the more he seemed to revel in insisting that I was a lying sack of buttock lint.

Just as I'd have hoped this total stranger would give me the benefit of the doubt, so I'm willing to think the best of anyone who deletes the text of their post on Mobileread.

If I'm no longer privy to the content of the OP, then I must assume someone had good reason to delete it. And if someone rewords their post, I'll assume it was either for readability or tact, both of which are, in my incredibly humble opinion, noble causes.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by orlok

EDIT: @montsnmags just sent me confirmation that I paid him too much and he owes me some back .

[EowynCarter]

I will concede that disabling editing altogether might not be a good idea. But is it necessary to be able to edit posts made last week or older? Really? I can edit my posts from years ago, for Pete's sake. Maybe having the edit button work for only a reasonable time, say 30 minutes to an hour, after posting would be a better solution.

I found myself fixing typos quitte often when re-reading a post of mine. Sometimes a few days or weeks later. So yes we need it !

[orlok]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Hey! You just edited my original post! Hoist by my own petard

[DaleDe]

Editing even old posts is fundamental to our eBook uploads and various software author uploads where the user uses the first post to maintain the latest versions. This is an important feature of the site.

Dale