Where is my "edit" button?
 

I am no longer seeing the edit button on my screen.

Yesterday I had PM failures, and now that button is gone.

Was it just removed?

I logged out, and came back, and still no edit button.

Any help is appreciated! :o

It just appeared when I posted! It was gone for a while...
the little movement icon must have been the culprit... that has changed!
Sorry...

Edit #2... the edit button does not show on Gluten board here. but it does show on FF.

I am having the same difficulty, and I usually have to edit each post about ten times to correct all my typos :D ... this is important! I can't edit my posts on PN either.

...ah, but yes... here I can!

Cara

looks like someone is
 

working on it... it is now gone from FF too.

You know it DOES have a movement feature...so maybe DocJohn is
fixing that. That is my guess!:p

You can edit any post you'd like within 15 minutes of making it. If that time needs to be set longer, that's fine, let me know what works for you.

Thanks,
John

Hi DocJohn,
How about 24 hours?

Mari
:)

oh, whew...
 

at my age these things spook me!

I am like jcc... I often think of stuff to add, fix spelling, or grammar,
within an 1 or so. Sometimes my typing is rather embarrassing! Esp in the morning :p

Anything like an hour is fine with me. Too long and it might lead to
"other" admin issues, I think.

An hour is good for those of us who sometimes have physically related typing issues too in terms of post edits - 15 minutes wouldn't be long enough for me on a bad day. Agreed re: not wanting it to lead to other admin issues.

Swift

so far we are safe mrsd....no spelling police!

today is fumble fingers friday. :D

I've gone ahead and set it for 90 minutes now, let's see how that works for most people.....

Oh :(.

90 minutes is a big improvement over 15, and might be enough to cover most of my typos, but I regularly update, add, correct posts beyond that...primarily for the purpose of organizing data.

My vote would be to have edit capability that is indefinite.

What are some of the pros and cons people see?

Cara

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!

Insofar as moderator edits go, does the software let moderators edit their own posts with no time limit? I'm talking about mods here, not DJ/KD. Otherwise they could conceivably do what people are trying to prevent if they're having a bad day if they're involved in a forum that they're modding.

After all, everyone's human.

I would be in favor of a more lengthy editing period, primarily for the reasons jccglutenfree initially mentioned, although I certainly understand how people might “abuse” this feature. Collecting, organizing, and presenting in a logical manner information that might be quite technical in nature can sometimes be a challenge and I have found myself needing to edit at times to correct spelling, links to technical data/research reports, etc. I generally find it best to type up these kinds of posts in a word processor first in order to get everything right, but then still sometimes find errors after posting and rereading.

I would vote for 24 hours, but will gladly live with what the consensus turns out to be. I really appreciate this site and all who work to support it! :)

Another problem with adding info to an old post is that if someone has read a post (yesterday or the day before) they may not know that new info has been added and miss valuable info.

ALso, why not compose your post first in a word document or on notepad then you can edit and fix spelling before you copy and paste it to a post. Then the time limit will be less of a problem.

mb

that is an excellent point!

Swift,

To answer your questions about Moderators ability to edit their own posts.

I can edit my previous posts ONLY in the forums where I am listed as a Moderator (because as a moderator, I can edit any posts from anyone in the forums I moderate).

Because I am not listed as a moderator of the chronic pain forum (as an example) I can not edit any of my posts that are in that forum.

If for some reason I wanted/needed to edit one of my old posts from the chronic pain forum, I would have to contact the moderator of that particular forum, or DocJ or KD, just like any other member.

I hope that helps answer your questions.

And please don't forget, that all of the moderators are held responsible for their actions just like every other member here. If a moderator abused their abilities I'm sure that KD and DocJ would take appropriate action.

Liz

This hits the nail right on the head- sometimes there's been an epidemic of people "changing history". They would attack others then go back in a few hours or days and edit out what they said and then act like they'd done nothing wrong, as in "moi"?! I don't think there should be an unlimited time to go back and edit posts either. I could see allowing people an hour or a few hours but I think 24 hrs. is too long. Now, as I've mentioned before, and like Jo55 said, I've gone back (on bt1) and deleted old posts of mine because of the same reason- getting rid of personal information- but I generally only deleted posts that were over 6 mos. old, basically because I wanted to be able to go back and see what I'd said in the past so I wouldn't repeat myself:D . The problems come when people do the "hit and run" thing- posting ugly things and attacking others and then going back a few hours/days and taking that part out so they can smell like a rose. I think Wittesea had a good suggestion- if you think something needs to be edited out of your post after the time period passes, contact the mod or administration.

History changes on the Internet.

If someone goes back to change their post, the software can make that clear
at the bottom of the post where it would say something like

Last edited by Mari : Today at 09:51 AM.


Mari

Please add me to the "unlimited edit time" list. I understand all the reasons for it, but geez talk about restrictive. I will constantly go back and edit/add new information to my original posts...this can be days or months later.

I'm happy to post a poll on the issue to get the overall community's reaction/decision, but in the meantime I've upped it to 2 days' editing time.

Most online discussion threads are more like conversations for most people rather than articles that others refer back to time and time again to read and digest. Unlike a conversation face-to-face, we have a lot more flexibility to change what we want to say here online. It's not that we wouldn't have a record of the fact someone changed something, it's that if somebody hasn't quoted the original, we don't know what's changed and if it was substantive or not.

The conversation turns from something that is understood by all that it is something "in the moment," to something completely different -- a conversation that can be edited, altered, and re-edited time and time again.

For example, it can really change a person's expectations of what they might find here if they go back to the original post to re-read it, seeing the thread going in a certain direction, and find the original post bears little resemblence to what they originally replied to. Making their replies looking potentially very different than their original intent. Making all people who reply to a thread where the original post has been significantly edited or altered to also want to edit/alter their replies to fit with the new post. It could possibly cause a domino, cascading and completely unintended effect.

My concerns are not hypothetical -- I've seen this feature abused in a wide variety of communities where it was intended only for positive, good uses. If it's worked here in the past, I assume that means it can also work here in the future and I would need no further convincing than the community's wish to have it so.

John

Thank you, I am one that if I go back and find a typo I like to
correct it. SO even if its days later, I like to fix it.

Things like that. Or if I put in something that needs to be
fixed I want to fix it were I put it not try to tell people why its
now wrong.

I work as a advocate through a non-profit agency for special
needs families in indiana and I like to help families. But at times
the information I give out changes.

Donna

Hi DocJohn,

I think a poll would be a fair thing to do.

Coming from one of the most active groups on this board [Celiac/Gluten Sensitivity], we are always posting new research. Yes, we do have our conversations around that, but not being able to edit our threads somewhat hinders us and how we function [quite effectively I might add] as a group. Of course I speak only for myself and not the group as a whole.

We use the board a repository for all the information we find. The very nature of our research/data gathering is not static, but very dynamic. It's a constant work in progress - much like painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Having that data "frozen" in time will not be an easy issue to deal with.

can I edit my vote?
 

Okay, kidding. But not totally. I voted for unlimited edits rather impulsively, having read the last page of this thread but not the first. Only after I went back and realized there was more to read, did I think more deeply about the issue, and think maybe unlimited time wasn't so good, for the reasons DocJohn outlined, which I'd never thought of.

I still would like a significant length of time to edit, but more importantly, to delete. I think there are many occasions I wish to edit my post only after I see how it looks and reads, but there are rare, and more important moments, when I want to take something down completely.

So I'd like that ability to remain indefinitely. If time for editing is limited, can time for deleting be forever?

LizaJane