[edited title]

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1

When a mod feels the need to alter a thread title to make it more descriptive, is there really a need to insert [edited title] in the thread title itself? Sure, you should put a post in the thread to explain the change, that’s fair enough.

I object on two grounds:

  1. Having changed a title to be more meaningful, you are then inserting unnecessary words. This distracts from the meaning, and makes it less meaningful.

  2. It usually looks like you’re pointing a finger at the OP and drawing attention to the error. I think this would only be appropriate if he commits a warnable rules violation.

Example. Nothing particularly bad about this particular one, just that it’s the most recent example.

From : Caqn someone possibly dumb this down enough for me?

To: Can someone dumb down this superconducting magnetic levitation for me? [edited title]
Was anything gained by including those last two words?

2

Informing the OP and others who have already seen that thread that this isn’t a new thread. Information is good. If you don’t need it, just gloss over it.

3

I feel it is needed. It lets you know that the title is not the original title of the thread so any posts about the title which no longer make sense will now at least not be completely unintelligible. Also, since it’s no longer the original poster’s own words, I think that should be denoted somehow and [edited title] is as simple and effective a way as possible to show this.

4

Most of the time I only do the [edited title] note if I’ve made a big change to the title and there’s a chance people might not realize an active thread has been renamed. If it’s a typo I don’t think it’s necessary. Most of those go unnoticed, or at least un-commented-upon, and I don’t think people will be confused. But either way I don’t think there’s any harm done by including the note.

5

I appreciate the notification.

6

When I read a thread, I assume the OP typed the text in the title. Sometimes the title helps direct the conversation. If it’s been changed by someone else, I like to know about it.

We could come up with a shorter way of noting it, but I’m not sure it’s worth it.

-D/a

7

What I usually try to do is to include the new info in the edited title in brackets, rather than changing the title and adding [edited title].

e.g.:

Then I add a note in the thread to indicate I edited the title.

This isn’t always possible, however, with really garbled thread titles.

I think that’s reading an excessive amount into it. It’s not remotely comparable to a warning. However, people should think about making their thread titles clear. Vague thread titles are annoying for both other posters, and for us when we have to fix them.

I’ve had people complain after they made jokes about some typo or other mistakes in a thread title, only to have them make no sense after the title was corrected. In such cases, I will usually note the original thread title in a post in the thread so others know what they were talking about.

8

I wish more thread titles were edited. Most of the time, when a mod edits a thread title, it makes searching for that topic 1000 times easier and more productive. Perhaps they could use [SE] instead to represent a staff edited title.

9

Wasn’t the general inclusion in response to requests/discussion in ATMB? ISTR that editing titles wasn’t typically done early on, then something happened behind the scenes (move to VBA?) that made it possible or something.

The [edited title] seems more of an asterisk or footnote marker, not part of the title itself. Though every time I see it, I open the thread just to make fun of the OP who was so lame as to have his title edited.

10

Since I’m the one who made the change highlighted in the OP, let me explain my reasoning.

Generally speaking, the policy of the SDMB is to minimize changes to posted comment. We’ve relaxed a bit, in that there’s a five-minute edit window for example, but the board is supposed to contain your words, not those of the staff.

That said, there are times that we need to make changes (e.g., breaking NSFW links or “call to action” posts), or make changes to be helpful (sometimes at the poster’s request, sometimes on our own). Sometimes this means changing a thread title to be more meaningful, fixing an error at the request of the OP, fixing goofed-up coding, or moving threads from forum to forum.

I’m a big fan of transparency. When I change someone else’s thread or post, it leaves a trail that other moderators can follow but the membership at large can’t see. So to make it clear to everyone else, I mark my changes.

When I move a thread, I make a post saying where I moved it from and to. That way, if someone sees a sudden change in tone in the thread, they’ll understand that it’s because the thread changed from (for example) GQ to the Pit, where the rules are different. I do the same when I edit posts – you will know not only that your post was modified, but who did it. That also means if I screw it up, you’ll know who to contact.

So, getting down to thread titles, tagging the title change and including an explanatory post accomplishes the following:
[ol]
[li]It maintains continuity and eliminates confusion if people made direct references to the old title.[/li][li]It lets the OP know who to contact if my change was inappropriate (e.g. inadvertently ruining an “in joke” or a pun).[/li][li]In this case, it reminds people that threads with informative titles get more views and better responses.[/li][li]It helps to keep the whole moderation process more transparent.[/li][/ol]
There is no fixed rule or mandated procedure on this, so other mods handle this kind of edit in their own way. I never make such edits with the intent of pointing out someone’s error or ridiculing them. I would consider that abusing my position as a mod. I’m just trying to do my part to keep the SDMB a smoothly running well-oiled machine.

11

I don’t know which moderator edited this title: Economics-drug legalization a good policy?[edited title] - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board; but if you’re going to go to the trouble to edit the title, at least spell things correctly.

12

You could do that with an explanatory post alone, no need for a tag. You’ll notice I’m not complaining about the post. And if you did this, you wouldn’t have Rhythmdvl or anyone else "open the thread just to make fun of the OP " which is my main objection.

13

I have never seen that happen, and I think Rhythmdvl was kidding. I’ve seen lots of jokes about typos in the OP, but I’ve never seen anybody pop into a thread just to make fun of someone because the title was edited. Posting [edited title] doesn’t shame the OP.

14

Interesting. The moderator “thread edit history” doesn’t show any record of a title edit or who would have performed it.

15

Maybe the OP edited it themselves during the 5 minute window and adopted the meme of using [edited title].

16

That thread was split off from another thread, so the editing history might not show the full picture. I don’t know if the OP spelled “leagalization” that way himself in the post title and tomndebb copied it or if it was a typo by tomndebb. Anyway it’s fixed now.

If you care that much about typos, in the future please go to the trouble of reporting the post. We’ll see and fix it sooner.

17

That’s not the point. The topic here was editing titles. Clearly an admin saw the title when they edited it. If you’re going to the trouble of editing one…why not check the spelling while you’re at it? It shouldn’t require someone else to press the notify button in those cases.

18

I could ask you the same question: if you’re going to go to the trouble of posting about it, why not hit the report button and say “typo?” Whether the mod made the typo himself or just didn’t fix the OP’s typo, these things happen once in a while. We try to be careful and avoid them, but it’s something that happens when you type a bunch.

19

Same here. I can’t recall anyone posting to make fun someone for having their title edited, although plenty of people makes jokes when there are mistakes in titles.

I think you would have to be extremely sensitive to be seriously embarrassed by having your title edited.

Actually, it might be better if more people were embarrassed by having their titles edited, so that maybe they would take more care next time. Unfortunately it’s often the same people posting vague and unhelpful thread titles that need to be edited over and over again.

20

I’m flattered that you think we are so infallible, but mods are capable of making mistakes just like ordinary mortals. The jackboots don’t do much to help us avoid an occasional typo, and the mailed gloves make it difficult to type.:wink: