Just a reminder....

If there is something in your post that must be edited after 90 minutes have passed, you can contact the moderator/s for your forum and ask him/her to edit the post for you.

So, even with a time limit, it is still possible to have something edited if it is absolutely necessary.

The cons of unlimited edits is that it allows others to "change history" in a thread they've contributed to. So, for instance, if there's a whole discussion that turns into a heated debate or something where a member crosses the line into flaming, they can go back and edit it to make look like they didn't cross any line. It's very easy to abuse such functionality if left to an "indefinite" period of time. I know for 99% of members, that would never be an issue... but in my experience, that small 1% of members can really cause havoc if they want to by completely changing what they said in a post to make it look like they did nothing wrong.

So I'm happy to have it set for a period of time where it suits most people's needs to edit and organize, but my preference is that it is closer to the minutes category rather than the hours.

John

Good point Wittesea!

That's a good point, Granola Liberal.

That's another instance of where contacting a moderator for assistance will allow for the necessary changes. :)

KD

Doc John,

I am certainly aware of that happening. In the past, BT members have been pretty savvy about documenting those sorts of things and reporting them before they disappear, but that can also escalate to a ridiculous level in short order. I agree with you that this is a situation in favor of an edit limit. A limit probably helps people to think before they speak if they know they can't go back and change it.

On the other hand, sometimes someone might realize on their own that perhaps they could have said something in a little better or gentler way, to increase diplomacy or sensitivity. I'm not at all talking about things that were originally said with hostile or ill intent, but things one later realizes might, for example, be a trigger for somebody else that they hadn't thought about originally. If people realize there is a better way to say things on their own, it might circumvent potential problems if they can change it. I think the 90 minute window is probably generous enough here, unless of course someone made a post, ran out to run and errand or got a phone call, and then reread or reconsidered their post.

Another example is that we kept a recipe file on OBT for gluten free recipes, GF/CF recipes, etc. It was really hard to find and sift through many long posts to find recipes scattered among many different threads with chit chat weaved throughout. So, one of our members (a couple others helped) set about the painstaking task of creating an index of recipes, categorized by type, and linked directly to the exact post that held the recipe. This was continuously updated. We maintained a few different lists that way. The Gluten File (linked in my signature) used to be on BT1 as a series of posts within threads that I had made and linked altogether. While people continued to add comments and discussion to the bottom of the thread, I continously added hard data (links to new studies or articles) to the posts at the top, keeping the hard data up and together, with discussion following. It's a little hard to explain it. When BT crashed, I decided to make The Gluten File a website, so I guess...this is a lesser concern for me now that I've created my website. We are also kicking the idea around of someone creating a website for recipes.

And last but not least~ I'm personally very wordy. Sometimes I just don't realize how wordy I've been till I pass by my big long post days later while reading other responses. I sometimes go back and delete entire paragraphs just to spare other people the boredom of reading it, or because I realize...hey, I could say that a lot more directly in one sentence.

So, those are a couple benefits I see for an extended edit capability, but I realize there is a downside, and will work within whatever limits are set here.

Cara

I see if it is longer people can go back after other posts have come in and change in such a way that the original has an entirely different meaning.

In some cases that is not goog

I see if it is longer people can go back after other posts have come in and change in such a way that the original has an entirely different meaning.

In some cases that is not good

I've seen that happen, Thelma, and agree with you wholeheartedly. Many can sit around scratching their heads as it's confusing... the entire meaning can change and future readers don't understand the reponses.

Good point, and thank you.

KD

I like the indefinite editing time-
every few months I liked to go back and clean up { take out personal info or chit chat or ?}

Perhaps if a post was made in the heat of the moment and someone has a change of heart or cools off at a later date - self editing is a nice option to have.

If a "bad" post is found or needs to be reported -
It can be copied or quoted correct?
To "save" it in the unchanged version.

I think the option for posters to self edit should have a longer time frame.

I see that pictures....
 

added here as attachments--- there is a feature in user CP where
you can delete attachments. So it would be best to use pictures as attachments rather than linking to a site like Photobucket, if that concerns
anyone.

I am glad Wittesea posted that comment about contacting a moderator.
I will do that when the need arises.

The only times I have gone back after alot of time passing, have been
when I have made informational threads, and NEW information becomes
available to refute the previous. Sometimes links offered here "die" and
are closed. That happened to me with a really good site that gave
drug/vitamin interactions, once. If in a thread 30 posts on in a long post,
putting a correction so far down later, can be missed or not even noticed.
So if mods can help with that, cool!