Can the mods see the edit history of a post?
Yes. We can compare all edited versions.
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.
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.
Then you could just make it known that editing shenanigans will be considered being a jerk if not outright trolling and widen the window.
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.
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.
I would also argue in favor of a 10 or 15 minute limit. Sometimes you are simply multitasking.
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…
I think the five minute time limit should remain in effect for everyone except me.
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?”).
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?
(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!
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.
Is there a compelling reason why the rule shouldn’t be changed?
Is there a compelling reason it should?
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Well, it’s broke for me.
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.
Unlimited editing could, and probably would, lead to all kinds of Shenanigans.