Time limit for editing posts

[Jon Peltier]

Does anyone else feel that the ten-minute time limit for editing a post is very restrictive? I can find errors in my own posts anytime between eleven minutes and days after making the post. I could make corrections in a follow-up post, but someone may stop at the incorrect post, feeling that they got their answer, and never see the correction several posts later.

The old forum did not impose a limit, and other forums also do not. I propose that this time limit be removed.

 

[Von Pookie]

It's set at five minutes, people complain. We raise it to ten minutes, people complain. There has to be a stopping point. Heck, we could even turn the ability to edit off completely and then we wouldn't have to worry about time limits at all!

The only reason the old forum didn't have a limit was because that particular thing was broken, and people did abuse it (OPs wiping out entire posts containing the original question with "thanks!" after it had been answered would be one biggie). Had it been working, there would have been a limit.

 

[Jon Peltier]

It's set at five minutes, people complain. We raise it to ten minutes, people complain. There has to be a stopping point.

The only reason the old forum didn't have a limit was because that particular thing was broken, and people did abuse it (OPs wiping out entire posts containing the original question with "thanks!" after it had been answered would be one biggie). Had it been working, there would have been a limit.

I'm trying not to "complain", but instead to present my opinion with my reasoning behind it, and below a couple suggestions to make it more workable. As someone who has posted over 2000 messages to the board, I am unlikely to abuse the feature. The purpose of the board is to help people, and I feel that this limit is also limiting my ability to help.

Perhaps you could pop up a message when the first message in a thread is beind edited, saying "Don't delete a post if it has been answered. Leave the question for the benefit of other users."

Perhaps you could have a sliding scale. <10 posts, no editing allowed. <100 posts, ten minutes. <500 posts, one day. >500 posts, unlimited. Or maybe give an MVP an unlimited editing capability. Something.

 

[starl]

The board does not have the ability to implement your suggestions.

 

[Jon Peltier]

Okay, I understand. Thanks.

 

[Greg Truby]

...We raise it to ten minutes, people complain...

Wut? 'oo me? 'ope you weren't lookin' my way when you said that. I ain't said a peep since y'all bumped it to 10 minutes. [Thank you BTW, in case I didn't say it.]

...Heck, we could even turn the ability to edit off completely and then we wouldn't have to worry about time limits at all!

That's just crazy talk. Better slow down on the egg nog there Kristy...

 

[Jon Peltier]

Wut? 'oo me? 'ope you weren't lookin' my way when you said that. I ain't said a peep since y'all bumped it to 10 minutes. [Thank you BTW, in case I didn't say it.]

Nope, she's talking to me. I wasn't really complaining, I liked the increased limit, but still, ten minutes is such a short time for debugging anything.

I should also point out that the new forum is much better in a lot of ways than the old one. There are a couple things I don't care for, but the ratio of what we got to what we had to give up is much better than in Excel 2007, wouldn't we all agree?

And Greg - did you buy the book? If I ever write a book, I'll give you a copy, so you won't have to suffer the dilemma of cost vs. benefit vs. spousal approval. I'd paste in a smiley, but I'm philosophically opposed (I think I can still say LOL).

 

[Greg Truby]

...And Greg - did you buy the book? If I ever write a book, I'll give you a copy, so you won't have to suffer the dilemma of cost vs. benefit vs. spousal approval. I'd paste in a smiley, but I'm philosophically opposed (I think I can still say LOL).

Today is payday, so I'm thinkin' I might go ahead and order it online today [I can't for the life of me understand how B&N and Borders bookstores (I have one of each on the drive home from the office) refuse to price-match their own websites!] I'm actually kinda chompin' at the bit to get my hands on it. If you, Tushar & Jafaar think it's good that's a humdinger of an endorsement!

As for not using smileys, I find them quite helpful. Mostly to take the edge off of a wisecrack and let folks know I'm funnin'. Perhaps the ratio of smiley helpfulness is in direct proportion to the poster's smartassedness?

 

[Jon Peltier]

Well, I'm a pretty big smartass, and I don't use smileys. (Hmmm, wonder if there's a lesson there.) The thing is, if anything someone says comes out strange, I usually assume smartassedness and not true evil intent. It's funnier that way. Unfortunately not everyone makes the same assumption.

 

[shades]

I lean toward Jon's suggestion, but perhaps a one-day editing window. Usually after a day, I seldom go back and revise. But many times a few minutes/hours after I post I will think, "Oh, wait. that should have been" because it is still fresh in my mind.