# A Small Suggestion or Request **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 15, 2019, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882 "2019-12-15T05:08:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/21 "2019-12-15T20:16:55Z")
Can the mods see the edit history of a post? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/22 "2019-12-15T20:23:47Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Can the mods see the edit history of a post? Yes. We can compare all edited versions. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/23 "2019-12-15T20:26:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m curious under what circumstance 15 minutes would be enough, but 5 minutes wouldn’t be. If you make a post, the thread reloads, and you see your post in the thread (with a mistake), then 5 minutes is enough. If you don’t notice it right away, then you’re probably going to close the thread, and not open it again until a good while later, probably more than 15 minutes, when you expect there might be more posts replying to yours. And when it is long enough that you expect there to be replies, that’s where you start getting the unintended consequences we’re trying to avoid. I often have connectivity issues on my train ride. Which, coincidentally, is a time I often like to post. So I run into problems with the 5 minute rule (that would be okay with 15 minutes) all the time. Mostly, that just means embarrassing swypos don’t get fixed. Occasionally, they are bad enough that I report the post and ask that it be fixed, but mostly I just live with posting a lot of embarrassing swypos. Autocorrect is not my friend. I post on two other boards. One has a much longer limit (I’m not sure how long, just that I’ve never run into it trying to fix a post.) and the other has no limit, and posters do sometimes delete everything they posted when they quit. I’ve almost never seen a problem with the longer edit window. One of those has lower volume and much slower typical response time. The other has very fast response time, but perhaps because everyone knows a post might change, the custom is to quote parts of prior posts that you are replying to. If I correct a post a day or two later, I will say why I corrected it, and often acknowledge the correction in a later post, too. Anyhow, I would definitely prefer a longer edit window. But I can live with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/24 "2019-12-15T20:28:51Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > But, I would really like to see the five minute time limit increased substantially because I recall several occasions where I made a serious mistake in a post and had a strong reason to repair that post but was unable to do so because of the five minute time limit restriction. I would seriously like to suggest that limit be increased to 15 minutes - possibly even 30 minutes. If I make a serious mistake in a post that I don’t think will be revisable within a five minute window, I just delete all of the text in the post and then start over with a new post. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/25 "2019-12-15T20:36:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Yes. We can compare all edited versions. Then you could just make it known that editing shenanigans will be considered _being a jerk_ if not outright trolling and widen the window. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/26 "2019-12-15T20:42:00Z")
For what it is worth, this board has the least editing time I’ve seen of a board which allows editing. Most are in the 10-15 min range, unlimited or none. The “editing shenanigans” rarely occur on the other boards I’ve used. I know for a long time there was no editing on the Dope, but it would probably be worth expanding the window and if it is abused a lot, then pull back to the 5 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/27 "2019-12-15T20:42:28Z")
Overall, I don’t think it much matters. Knowing that there’s a short time limit makes me read over my posts a couple of times before submitting. (And I _still_ usually find an error or two afterward.) You’re never going to get the post perfect, and the other posters understand that typos and unclear phrasings happen. On the other hand, we are in a period of performance issues. I barely post, but I’ve still gotten hit with the timeouts while trying to edit, so I can only imagine that others who are more active have it happen much more often. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/28 "2019-12-15T20:49:38Z")
I would also argue in favor of a 10 or 15 minute limit. Sometimes you are simply multitasking. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/29 "2019-12-15T20:50:27Z")
I would be happy with a timeout of seven minutes and 22 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/30 "2019-12-15T21:08:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I would be happy with a timeout of seven minutes and 22 seconds. That’s really asking too much. Seven minutes and nine seconds, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/31 "2019-12-15T21:16:26Z")
I think the five minute time limit should remain in effect for everyone except me. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/32 "2019-12-16T03:28:09Z")
I think the five minute time limit should remain in effect for everyone especially when dealing with a blank slate. My mistake is when I make a post, move on to the next tab with a different thread, THEN stop back and notice a mistake or a bad turn of phrase. With four minutes thirty seconds gone… so I’m teaching myself to type a post, proof it _before_ I submit, then read it over immediately (while thinking “Okay, how could my fellow Denizens Of The Pit misinterpret this?”). ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/33 "2019-12-16T04:53:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Yes. We can compare all edited versions. Does editing a post to remove a rule violation moot the rule violation? > [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > {…} I have experienced making mistakes in a post that I could have repaired myself if only I could have edited that post some time later. The alternative was - unfortunately - to receive a warning for something that I wanted to repair myself before it ever rose to the level of a problem requiring some moderator intervention. > > So, I thank you for your consideration and I hope you will consider this change could reduce problems for both the members and the mods. It is so easy to make a silly mistake that results in being given a warning from a mod but which could have been avoided if only people had some time to fix their own mistakes within an increased time limit instead of waiting for a moderator response. {…} What ‘silly mistake’ results in being given a warning from a mod? (The only thing I can think of is the claim that one didn’t realize that one was in the Pit. I have to wonder how many times one get to use that excuse before it’s clear that that’s being used as a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card?) CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/34 "2019-12-16T05:17:15Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Does editing a post to remove a rule violation moot the rule violation?What ‘silly mistake’ results in being given a warning from a mod? Just speaking for myself, if a poster removes an insult by editing after posting I will not issue a warning. However, if we were to get the sense that a poster is gaming the system by posting an insult and then editing it out to avoid a warning we could take action. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/35 "2019-12-16T11:56:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I wouldn’t say there’s an “adamantine devotion” to the rule. It’s more, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” When editing was permitted, 5 minutes was chosen, and no one has really offered a compelling reason that more is really necessary. Is there a compelling reason why the rule shouldn’t be changed? ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/36 "2019-12-16T12:51:56Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Is there a compelling reason why the rule shouldn’t be changed? Is there a compelling reason it should? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/37 "2019-12-16T14:30:20Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Is there a compelling reason why the rule shouldn’t be changed? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”😉 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/38 "2019-12-16T14:42:25Z")
Well, it’s broke for me. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/39 "2019-12-16T14:55:30Z")
Admittedly, my habits were formed on boards with long edit windows. But also, it might be relevant that I use a phone. Deleting a post and starting over is expensive. I probably don’t have time to copy it all into an email or something in the edit window, even, especially if connectivity is slow. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882/40 "2019-12-16T14:57:55Z")
Unlimited editing could, and probably would, lead to all kinds of Shenanigans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-suggestion-or-request/844882.md?page=3)