# editing my message **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 7, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853 "2003-07-07T20:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![skin2skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@skin2skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skin2skin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/1 "2003-07-07T20:31:42Z")
Why am I not able to edit any of my posts? I’m a member. I noticed an error that I would like to correct. Why have the option if it’s not allowed? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/2 "2003-07-07T20:37:41Z")
They’ve disabled that feature to keep people from posting inflammatory stuff, then going back and editing it so the people who took offense look like ninnies. Taking the appearance of the feature completely off the web page would call for a lot more coding (and possibly copyright violation, as well); likewise with the ability to post pictures. You can’t do that, either, but the feature is still listed as a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/3 "2003-07-07T20:39:39Z")
The primary reason for disabling edititing is to prevent a poster from submitting a message inviting attack, then editing it to make subsequent posters look stupid. It’s happened before. The other reason is bandwidth. You may have noticed how slow the SDMB server is at times. Any additional loadiang will only comppound the issue. ---
**Author:** ![skin2skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@skin2skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skin2skin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/4 "2003-07-07T20:40:02Z")
Thanks for getting back so fast. I know there are other sites that have that option, but I can understand why they decided not to allow it. Thanks again ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/5 "2003-07-07T20:53:57Z")
Editing posts was disabled for members because of the potential for abuse. The button is there so that moderators and administrators can edit posts if necessary. See **Arnold** ’s opening post in [FAQ - technical issues - please read this BEFORE posting a question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103503) for a list of disabled features and the answers to a lot of other questions. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/6 "2003-07-10T06:07:56Z")
This question is asked so often that I have added it to [the FAQ](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1900266#post1900266). > [@](#): > > Q: … why is editing disabled? > A: Because of the potential for abuse. After posting something inflammatory that causes hurt feelings a poster could change what they had said originally and confusion would ensue. Even allowing editing for a short period of time could cause this issue due to the short interval between posts in a busy thread. > > Q: Then why is the edit button still there? > A: Because staff members (moderators and administrators) need the ability to edit posts to fulfill their board duties. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/7 "2003-07-10T06:14:27Z")
Thank you, **Arnold**. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/8 "2003-07-10T07:10:18Z")
That FAQ entry makes me curious. Could you, in theory, get rid of the edit button if you disabled the feature for moderators? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-my-message/186853/9 "2003-07-10T07:28:40Z")
They could, in theory, have the Edit button _only_ show for moderators. That should be a feature of vB, if you ask me. As it stands now, they can only do that with some PHP script modificatrions.