# Can we increase the edit period (temporarily) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 22, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308 "2020-05-22T19:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/21 "2020-05-25T14:37:14Z")
I would also like unlimited editing time but I understand that not allowing it is part of the nature of this board. I don’t know if having different editing options per sub-forum is possible because then perhaps you could allow broader editing privileges in Cafe Society, The Game Room, MPSIMS and Marketplace. The other sub-forums I think are more debatable. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/22 "2020-05-25T15:06:29Z")
I’ve been on boards without edit limits where, even without malice, edits rendered a thread nonsensical, due to the OP being edited to clarify something, and the first three pages of the thread then being about something completely different from what was in the OP. And in the board’s current state, editing is even more than a chore than usual, because it hangs on edits just as often as it hangs on posts (it seems to me that it might even be more often, though I haven’t kept statistics on that). I know that, for my own posts, while I would usually be inclined to fix errors like “there” instead of “their”, lately, I’m happy enough if the post gets through at all. The only ones I’m inclined to fix nowadays are the ones where the mistake changes the meaning, like “not”/“now”. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/23 "2020-05-25T19:15:04Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > If I realize after I post that my phone picked up a “now” when I meant “not” (an unfortunately common problem) and it completely changes the meaning, I might do that. You’ll have caught that when you preview your post. > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Some of these replies have a “It’s not a problem for _me_, so we don’t need to fix it” vibe to them. Let me add my voice to the “It’s a problem for me” camp. > > What is the nature of the mods’ resistance to a longer edit window? Is it burdensome for them somehow? Do they see the problem as a character weakness instead of a glitch with devices that have hair-trigger autocorrect? What is the reasoning? All of this addressed by using the available Preview Post feature. Back at you: What is the nature of the resistance to preview your posts prior to submitting? It’s a normal board feature designed to let you see how it will look formatted and that you missed a word or double pasted a cite. It will also let you know when you have been ninja’d. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Oh, they will fix formatting errors, such as messing up spoiler tags. But if you write the wrong word, you’re on your own. You’re on your own to preview and edit your posts. Didn’t preview your post and it lead to adverse moderator action? I’m sympathetic but that’s your fault. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/24 "2020-05-25T19:22:55Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > You’ll have caught that when you preview your post. > > All of this addressed by using the available Preview Post feature. Back at you: What is the nature of the resistance to preview your posts prior to submitting? It’s a normal board feature designed to let you see how it will look formatted and that you missed a word or double pasted a cite. It will also let you know when you have been ninja’d. > > You’re on your own to preview and edit your posts. Didn’t preview your post and it lead to adverse moderator action? I’m sympathetic but that’s your fault. Because, as stated, that feature is _also_ just as flaky at the moment. If I submit a post, even if it hangs, in my experience the post goes through. If I hit “preview post” and the database does not respond, the post is completely lost unless I wait a minute or more for the hang to terminate with an error message and then try to backpage on my browser to recover what I wrote, which is not a process I want to rely on if I’ve written a long post. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/25 "2020-05-25T19:31:20Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Because, as stated, that feature is _also_ just as flaky at the moment. > > If I submit a post, even if it hangs, in my experience the post goes through. It sounds like your default is to Submit a post immediately after if falls off your fingers, no time to proofread. Instead, default to Preview. Use a new tab or a text editor or whatever you have to do to not lose the original content if your browser doesn’t keep previously entered text (and seek a new browser right away). Preview shows the content exactly as Submit would. The gripe is that someone made a mistake before they submitted a post. It never should have been submitted. Preview, catch the mistake, edit and submit when it’s correct. Preview is the same as Submit only there’s no edit window. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/26 "2020-05-25T19:37:47Z")
Just change it. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/27 "2020-05-25T19:52:36Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Didn’t preview your post and it lead to adverse moderator action? Who said anything about adverse moderator action? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/28 "2020-05-25T19:58:40Z")
I am fine with leaving it as it is. That said, Moderators have the power to see all previous versions of a post that has been edited. If there are shenanigans, they will be able to tell and act accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/29 "2020-05-25T20:01:18Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > It sounds like your default is to Submit a post immediately after if falls off your fingers, no time to proofread. Instead, default to Preview. Use a new tab or a text editor or whatever you have to do to not lose the original content if your browser doesn’t keep previously entered text (and seek a new browser right away). Preview shows the content exactly as Submit would. The gripe is that someone made a mistake before they submitted a post. It never should have been submitted. Preview, catch the mistake, edit and submit when it’s correct. Preview is the same as Submit only there’s no edit window. You’re simply ignoring what I said. My default _was_ to Preview before the board problems. I stopped doing that _because_ of the board problems _including the Preview function_ which hangs so often. It’s not a solution when it’s compromised just as badly as every other database interaction at the moment, as you’re admitting when you say “Use a new tab or a text editor or whatever you have to do to not lose the original content”. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/30 "2020-05-25T20:39:27Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > You’re simply ignoring what I said. My default _was_ to Preview before the board problems. I stopped doing that _because_ of the board problems _including the Preview function_ which hangs so often. It’s not a solution when it’s compromised just as badly as every other database interaction at the moment, as you’re admitting when you say “Use a new tab or a text editor or whatever you have to do to not lose the original content”. You should always have been using a text editor or tabbed browser or other content saving resource. That the board ate my post or ‘lol, hungry hamsters,’ and similar have been a problem with this and every other board forever. You compose your post, copy/paste (or use your browser if it can retain entries using Back) and Preview. It hangs, then fails, either general timeout or specific 502/504. Re-preview until it loads. Proofread, oh crap, I put now instead of not or goofed a quote, correct and submit when all is well. If it hangs, then fails, either general timeout or specific 502/504, resubmit. A longer edit window doesn’t change any of this. Again, Preview is no different than Submit in this regard except that Preview doesn’t have an edit window. Sure, board performance sucks right now but using Preview is and always has been the only way to avoid formatting errors and typos mistakes. A longer edit window doesn’t change that someone failed to properly proofread their post before Submitting. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/31 "2020-05-25T20:49:19Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > You’ll have caught that when you preview your post. > > All of this addressed by using the available Preview Post feature. Back at you: What is the nature of the resistance to preview your posts prior to submitting? It’s a normal board feature designed to let you see how it will look formatted and that you missed a word or double pasted a cite. It will also let you know when you have been ninja’d. > > You’re on your own to preview and edit your posts. Didn’t preview your post and it lead to adverse moderator action? I’m sympathetic but that’s your fault. This is what I do. And I’ll copy my post to the clipboard so I don’t lose it if the board hangs. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/32 "2020-05-25T20:49:50Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Create your post offline in your computer’s text editor. Take all the time you want. Then copy/paste it in the edit window. Well, in case you post, then find you that a Mod has just given instructions to not do that sort of post, the extra time is needed. Or liek when i accidentally quoted more than fair use, tried to fix it, but couldnt. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/33 "2020-05-25T20:57:10Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > … > > All of this addressed by using the available Preview Post feature. Back at you: What is the nature of the resistance to preview your posts prior to submitting? It’s a normal board feature designed to let you see how it will look formatted and that you missed a word or double pasted a cite. … Preview post can cause a hang up, just like reporting one does. And, like I have said, it doesnt help if your post becomes obsolete or unlawful. Who care if someone makes some egregious post, and after being called on it- backtracks and edits? Either the posters have quoted the egregious part- in which case it’s there. or they haven’t- in which case it wasnt so bad. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/34 "2020-05-25T21:03:19Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Because, as stated, that feature is _also_ just as flaky at the moment. > > If I submit a post, even if it hangs, in my experience the post goes through. If I hit “preview post” and the database does not respond, the post is completely lost unless I wait a minute or more for the hang to terminate with an error message and then try to backpage on my browser to recover what I wrote, which is not a process I want to rely on if I’ve written a long post. This. I’ve completely given up previewing posts on this board. Just not worth the hassle. > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > It sounds like your default is to Submit a post immediately after if falls off your fingers, no time to proofread. Instead, default to Preview. Use a new tab or a text editor or whatever you have to do to not lose the original content if your browser doesn’t keep previously entered text (and seek a new browser right away). Preview shows the content exactly as Submit would. The gripe is that someone made a mistake before they submitted a post. It never should have been submitted. Preview, catch the mistake, edit and submit when it’s correct. Preview is the same as Submit only there’s no edit window. I take it you don’t ever read the board on a phone? Really, that’s completely impractical. But really, my personal issue is that I also use other boards, and my habits are better suited to the other boards I post on. Yeah, I understand that’s a “me problem”. And I’m not going to run off in a huff if TPTB don’t change this board. But it does mean that this board is a nuisance for me, and I have an embarrassingly large number of posts with problems of one sort of another. So if we are discussing the possibility of change, I’m going to chime in and say “Yay change! A longer edit window would be a lot nicer”. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/35 "2020-05-25T21:12:00Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > This. I’ve completely given up previewing posts on this board. Just not worth the hassle. > > I take it you don’t ever read the board on a phone? Really, that’s completely impractical. I primarily use my phone, though I’m using my laptop at the moment. It’s not only not impractical, its the only way to make sure you Submit the post you intended. What’s the hassle? It seems to boil down to ‘I can’t bother to proofread my post unless it’s been Submitted and I won’t Preview, fix it.’ ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/36 "2020-05-26T11:32:46Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > All of this addressed by using the available Preview Post feature. Back at you: What is the nature of the resistance to preview your posts prior to submitting? It’s a normal board feature designed to let you see how it will look formatted and that you missed a word or double pasted a cite. It will also let you know when you have been ninja’d. > > You’re on your own to preview and edit your posts. Didn’t preview your post and it lead to adverse moderator action? I’m sympathetic but that’s your fault. Making the mistake is my fault. Assuming that any writer on this board is his or her own best editor with a five minute window is yours. And not making an accommodation that most other boards seem to make, one that could only improve the caliber of writing in the posts here, has yet to be addressed in a satisfactory manner. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/37 "2020-05-26T13:44:36Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > has yet to be addressed in a satisfactory manner. Some people in this thread have made a case for a restrictive ability to edit. Others have made a case for no edit restrictions at all. These are mutually exclusive. There is no one answer that will satisfy everyone. If you aren’t satisfied with what has already been posted then you will probably have to remain unsatisfied. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/38 "2020-05-26T15:43:48Z")
To be clear, I would prefer either a longer edit window or no restrictions. But I’m also not going to throw a hissy fit or anything if the board sticks with what it has. I’ll just live with a higher-than-I-would-like number of errors in my posts. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/39 "2020-05-26T16:02:53Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m also doubtful anyone is actually dumb enough to try to change their post and claim they didn’t in the first place. I can think of one member (ex-member) that would claim they didn’t post things that were still sitting right there. It’s one thing to _say_ something and then pretend like you didn’t say, but to post something and pretend like you didn’t post it was bizarre. Anyway, I’m on the longer edit window bandwagon. I know a lot of you use an editor or catch every single thing on preview, but a lot of us don’t. A lot of miss mistakes until they’re re-reading the post a few minutes later. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308/40 "2020-05-26T16:35:10Z")
My 2c: 5 minutes was a great compromise when you could reliably edit it in that time. Now I’d probably lengthen the window a bit, but still keep a window. Maybe 10 minutes… I dislike the results on other boards with unlimited editing where you get a frequent occurrence of nonsensical threads after post-hoc edits have happened. I doubt a longer edit window would have this result. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-increase-the-edit-period-temporarily/854308.md?page=3)