Should the time to edit posts be reduced?

[Ruskie]

An edit  can have the effect of   making following  posts  appear  to be  irrelevant.

I think the biggest problem with any edit, however and whenever it is done, is that if it is in a much earlier post it can be missed, as most people don't read back through the thread each time before they post new information!

Precisely.

It is recommended to read the entire thread before posting for the first time though ....

[Blue70]

I'm fine with the current limit. Some enquirers take a few days or longer to respond to information provided for them so I think there should be time given to edit posts. Either to correct mistakes or to add new discoveries or just enhance the post. When researching enquiries you don't know how many people are searching for the same information and what sort of information is going to be posted so responses can be rushed. Sometimes you can see that wrong or unhelpful information is being posted and there can be a rush to find the right information. You can be on a roll collecting relevant information and then need to step back and do an edit to present the information better. I always re-read threads so see nothing wrong with edits. I think you need to do re-reads regularly to get the big picture of the thread.


Blue   

[..claire..]

I totally understand and appreciate where Arthur is coming from here, but feel that an hour to amend or edit a post is not long enough.

There may be people using this site who have learning disabilities - who may need some time to alter their posts, I think a shorter editing time would be unfair to them.

I have altered my posts in the past, and have entered the word 'EDIT' in capitals in the hope people read it.

 

[jaybelnz]

I sincerely apologise that my remark caused people offence!  It was certainly not intended to be!

It was simply what I saw as a light hearted comment - because it was posted to a thread marked, please do not posts requests here.

Again, I am sorry, it's only my own literary skills and my sense of humour that were out of line.

Jeanne

[..claire..]

I think anybody that knows you on RC Jeanne would also know that you would never mean to cause any offence to anybody

[groom]

I think anybody that knows you on RC Jeanne would also know that you would never mean to cause any offence to anybody

Exactly! Misunderstandings happen and things don't always come out as you mean when written down. Perhaps that is why people go back and edit their posts. 

[arthurk]

OK, time for some replies. First of all:

I sincerely apologise that my remark caused people offence!

Apology accepted - and thank you for doing so in a fresh post rather than as an edit, otherwise I might have missed it 

There is a bit in the Frequently Asked Questions on the Help pages that explains that posts can only be edited for 24 hours:

http://www.rootschat.com/help/faqs.php#no_modify

Yes, I'd seen that, but I was wondering if it would help to suggest that if subsequent posts have been made, any editing should be limited to typos etc.

If members like Arthur are really concerned about serious editing making a nonsense of replies, could I suggest that they could always quote the original when they reply.

In the thread that prompted my initial message here, mine was the second response (so not separated by a whole load of scrolling) and I was replying to the whole of the message rather than only one bit, so quoting seemed unnecessary.

In this case, even quoting the whole message as it was at that time would have eventually looked silly because (a) the OP added the comment as an extra note on the end, and (b) it would then have appeared that I had selectively quoted the problem as originally posed and ignored the OP's resolution of it. (It still does look a bit like that, only without the quote.)

It may be hard to believe, but I do understand the wish to edit one's own posts. Quite often, I rush off a reply in the hope of being one of the first to answer a question, and then have to go back to deal with typos or something I've forgotten.

But this question seems to come down to finding the right balance between a poster's desire to edit, and other people's annoyance when it is done in a way which makes their posts look silly or unnecessary.

Arthur

[arthurk]

I'll post a fuller reply to some of the comments later, but in the meantime, could I invite you to re-read my original post at the beginning of this thread?

Just wondering if anyone actually did this? The fact that I was able to edit the original message in the way I have raises a few questions:

Would you have known about the changes I made if I hadn't referred to them in a later message?
Does it bother you that the message is now somewhat different from what I originally wrote?
If you responded to the original version, do the changes make you feel silly, or that you wasted your time?

I didn't set out here to deliberately mess around or play games with you, but when I started reading opposition to a 15 minute limit, it occurred to me that it would be interesting to see what would happen if I altered my position a bit, but only in the original post.

It has, I'm fully aware, made some of the posts here appear less relevant, and I apologise to those who are affected by that. But the same thing is happening frequently on the other boards, and it can be confusing and annoying there too.

Anyway, thank you all for listening.

Arthur

[ScouseBoy]

I'll post a fuller reply to some of the comments later, but in the meantime, could I invite you to re-read my original post at the beginning of this thread?

Just wondering if anyone actually did this? The fact that I was able to edit the original message in the way I have raises a few questions:

Would you have known about the changes I made if I hadn't referred to them in a later message?
Does it bother you that the message is now somewhat different from what I originally wrote?
If you responded to the original version, do the changes make you feel silly, or that you wasted your time?

I didn't set out here to deliberately mess around or play games with you, but when I started reading opposition to a 15 minute limit, it occurred to me that it would be interesting to see what would happen if I altered my position a bit, but only in the original post.

It has, I'm fully aware, made some of the posts here appear less relevant, and I apologise to those who are affected by that. But the same thing is happening frequently on the other boards, and it can be confusing and annoying there too.

Anyway, thank you all for listening.

Arthur

    Yes, I did  go back to read your original post.   You have made a strong case very eloquently and very effectively.  Well done

Edit to ADD.  You have convinced me