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Question for moderators: use of the "Edit" button

FloatingBones

FloatingBones

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 19, 2006
1,536
823
In a discussion, a user had posted a response to a message:

darngooddesign said:
We have different opinions on the matter and all we are going to do is go round and round trying to prove our biased points (my bias is pro-flash yours is against). Lets agree to disagree.
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The poster then used the "Edit" button and added 50 lines to the message 30 minutes later.

Is this a proper use of the "Edit" feature on MR? Thanks.
 
Yes, we must have strict new rules on when one can edit their post and how much hey edit.
 
We don't have an official policy on the matter, and I think that's probably a good thing.

Sometimes it is appropriate to edit and add 50 lines of text. For example, when a member chooses to quote a second person (perhaps a post they didn't see earlier, or that was posted while they were typing their post), or uses it as an alternative to posting consecutively, which is against the Forum Rules.

However, it is a problem if any member is choosing to edit their posts in a deceitful manner, such as to change the meaning (i.e. backtracking), or removing their posts entirely.

Generally, I think it's encouraged to list a reason for editing (e.g. "typo"), or to make it clear which text was added, e.g. typing "EDIT:" prior to the additional text.

If you feel a member is acting out of accordance with our Forum Rules, please bring it to our attention by using the report post button
report.gif
.
 
EricNau said:
We don't have an official policy on the matter, and I think that's probably a good thing.
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I'm fine with no official policy.

I was just asking the moderators if they thought it was in bad taste to do an "edit" and alter the meaning of the posting -- as this poster pretty clearly did in the thread.

The poster thought it was just fine to completely alter the meaning of the thread -- because nobody had replied to his message. That doesn't pass the smell test for me.

One interesting thing occurred to me: if a message were edited, it would be useful for the bulletin board software to keep the original message in its database and provide a link to the original at the bottom of the message: to see the original message, click this link.
 
In accordance with our Privacy Policy, we don't discuss specific cases publicly without permission from the original poster.

In instances such as these it's best to use the 'report post' function so that the entire team has the chance to review the post and determine the best course of action. :)
 
FloatingBones said:
One interesting thing occurred to me: if a message were edited, it would be useful for the bulletin board software to keep the original message in its database and provide a link to the original at the bottom of the message: to see the original message, click this link.
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There is, but it's only visible to the user himself and to us, moderators (and admins of course). I think the idea of edit button becomes a bit meaningless if everyone could see your edits.
 
slightly related: when a moderator edits a persons posts, would it be possible for them to show their changes, i.e. 'mod edit: text here'.

There are a lot of posts that have been edited by mods for one reason or another, and sometimes they remove things etc., but it's unclear what exactly. I know it's not super necessary.
 
Hellhammer said:
I think the idea of edit button becomes a bit meaningless if everyone could see your edits.
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In the case where a moderator edits a post for a rules violation, it makes sense to keep those edits hidden.

OTOH, for poster edits, it seems as if transparency would be the best policy. Since the purpose of edits is to fix unintentional typos and errors, providing a link to the original would provide a check if people are abusing the editing functionality.

I'd be interested in knowing why you think the opposite.
 
EvanLugh said:
slightly related: when a moderator edits a persons posts, would it be possible for them to show their changes, i.e. 'mod edit: text here'.

There are a lot of posts that have been edited by mods for one reason or another, and sometimes they remove things etc., but it's unclear what exactly. I know it's not super necessary.
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We only remove things if the words/sentences are a problem in regard to the rules, or if they're referring to a post that has been edited or deleted. Sometimes you might see "Insults", "Removed insult", "Removed response to deleted post", or even just "clean-up". So basically you can assume that what was removed was either a problem, or an innocent response that simply no longer makes sense in the edited context.

If something was removed from one of your own posts, you can send a contact to ask why (though you will probably have gotten a reminder message that explains it). We don't discuss specific moderation with anyone other than the member involved (unless we're given specific permission to do so), so you'll just have to guess why something was removed from someone else's post. :p
 
Hellhammer said:
There is, but it's only visible to the user himself and to us, moderators (and admins of course). I think the idea of edit button becomes a bit meaningless if everyone could see your edits.
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I know there are times when I want to retract what I said (maybe because of bad advice). For those times I really wish we could strikethrough.
Ex. Text

Also, it seems the forums are now auto combining posts if you double post. Had that happen just a few minutes ago on another thread. Was that a recent change?
 
FloatingBones said:
In the case where a moderator edits a post for a rules violation, it makes sense to keep those edits hidden.

OTOH, for poster edits, it seems as if transparency would be the best policy. Since the purpose of edits is to fix unintentional typos and errors, providing a link to the original would provide a check if people are abusing the editing functionality...
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We never edit for typos and errors, that's up to the post author to do or not. We only interfere with the content of a post if there's really a reason. The admins oversee our moderation actions, and I think any abuse would be seen and dealt with quickly.

But if you're even in doubt about why one of your own posts was edited, just send a contact. You're guaranteed an answer. :)
 
FloatingBones said:
In the case where a moderator edits a post for a rules violation, it makes sense to keep those edits hidden.

OTOH, for poster edits, it seems as if transparency would be the best policy. Since the purpose of edits is to fix unintentional typos and errors, providing a link to the original would provide a check if people are abusing the editing functionality.

I'd be interested in knowing why you think the opposite.
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I think letting people see the edits would leave room for hidden rule violations. For instance, you could hide insults in edits and make the other party see them. While the report still works, it's another extra step for us, and it's unlikely that we would spot it without a post report (if it's in the actual post, it's easier to spot). Also, I don't think it would be possible for us to permanently remove anything then (i.e. our edits would bee seen by others as well, even violations).

It might also leave space for unintended insults or rude posts. Even I sometimes make posts which after re-reading sound a bit too harsh and I end up editing them. The other party may still get upset because of the original post, which should never be the goal.

Overall, it might lead to discussion of edited parts. That can make the discussion very confusing and would require a lot more moderation. Besides, I don't really see what is the gain. Abusive use of the edit function is very rare and if you suspect that someone is abusing it, you can always report the post and we will deal with it.
 
I detect a change in the matrix

Messages used to get an "Edited by xxx" if a message is edited.

Messages now seem to only get that message if text is entered in the "reason for the edit" field.

Question for the mods: did this change just happen?
 
FloatingBones said:
Messages used to get an "Edited by xxx" if a message is edited.

Messages now seem to only get that message if text is entered in the "reason for the edit" field.

Question for the mods: did this change just happen?
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As a guess to what you're seeing, when you edit your own post soon after making the post, it won't have the "edited" bit attached to it unless you add a message about the edit. I don't know what the time limit is before it adds the edited portion. This is not new if it is what you're seeing.
 
angelwatt said:
As a guess to what you're seeing, when you edit your own post soon after making the post, it won't have the "edited" bit attached to it unless you add a message about the edit. I don't know what the time limit is before it adds the edited portion. This is not new if it is what you're seeing.
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It's 5 minutes as far as I know. I think it is very reasonable since usually people won't see the post within 5 minutes, and it's mostly typo fixes that you can do within that time.
 
FloatingBones said:
As opposed to editing a posting and deliberately altering its meaning.
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Are you not inclined to re-state something after you've detected that others have misread it? Have you never posted anything and re-read it later only to figure out that it doesn't make sense or what you wanted to convey was unclear; even to you as the author? Have you ever written something in haste and realized it was harsh so you went back to edit it? Did you find a typo on something you wrote moments later and figured it was prudent to edit?

You're implying people need to be policed to a point where they're no longer able to edit their posts after a certain time frame. I consider it in bad taste that you feel there is something wrong with editing a post 30 minutes later.
 
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