Extend period for editing posts

[Lutrova]

I, personally, do not subscribe to the common approach to necroposting: I prefer it, because there should at any given time always be the fewest number of threads in existence about any particular topic, to ensure the information is concentrated where it can be found.

I wish I could go back and edit my initial post on some question with whatever the answer ended up being for just this reason. Or go back and add tags or something to it to help anyone looking for info down the road. But I think non-moderators have an hour window to edit posts. Is that something that could be expanded?

[GM_Guy]

Nothing wrong with just adding an additional post, moreso for the people who visit everyday and use the jump to new post button. An edit will go unnoticed by regulars.

[kishy]

As I'm doing some cleanup in the thread where some evidently-spam occurred, I figured I'd kick Lutrova's request/suggestion here out into a new thread here in Suggestions, as well as the provided counterpoint.

I'm in favour of an extension, but not indefinite; best practice would be no edits after additional replies unless the detail added is not meaningful to the discussion but does aid in how it appears/presents later (e.g. typos).

We shall wait and see the thoughts of the other frequently-active admins.

[sly]

I only ever edit the OP on threads like some of the stickies or my own threads but always put an additional post in the thread stating the change so even regulars will see the added info.

As for changing the initial edit time... it's currently at 20 minutes IIRC. I think that's plenty of time, and if someone really needs a change after that time (typo fixed, part numbers corrected, whatever) an admin or mod should be able to help with that. Asking in thread or PM will accomplish that and has been done in the past. I've personally helped with that on several occasions.

Remember, it never hurts to ask. Most of the time it's not a big deal. We have several admins and mods that can handle the task, typically within a few hours if not a day. It's very rare for us to not get to a request within 48 hours. And a quick re-ask usually solves that.

[IPreferDIY]

It looks like the editing is currently indefinite, and that seems to me to be potentially problematic. If I catch typos shortly after posting something, I will edit it without comment. The edit indicator without a comment seems sufficient for minor typos, though I will note that there is a very short time when an edit can be made without the indicator showing up. Where appropriate, I make the edit explicit or provide a reason. In one case, I noticed a typo after someone quoted me, and I corrected the quoted post with a note indicating the change (partly to see if anyone would notice and take issue with such a delayed edit). In terms of reducing clutter, I would prefer to edit a post rather than add a new one, but some kind of time limit and maybe a cut-off when a response has been posted seems appropriate, particulary when admin/mod assistance is also available.

[sly]

Edit time is 60 minutes. Admins and Mods have infinite for the areas they control. So there is a time cut-off. If you can edit posts you've made days before, that would indicate an issue.

[Mainemantom]

I think the 60 minutes to change a post is fine. I agree about asking one of the moderators to help with an issue. They have been very good in helping out. Any modifications or changes to the original post can be made with an additional posting if really needed. I have to remind myself that my posts do not have to perfect.

[IPreferDIY]

Edit time is 60 minutes. Admins and Mods have infinite for the areas they control. So there is a time cut-off. If you can edit posts you've made days before, that would indicate an issue.

You can see in the following post that I did an edit after more than 20 hours, and I still have the edit option available:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/forum/of...55#post1393355

[sly]

Then yeah... guess there's a bug in the matrix.