# \[eta\] **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 11, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776 "2007-05-11T23:30:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/1 "2007-05-11T23:30:05Z")
Hate to ask, but I can’t figure out what this means… [ETA] ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/2 "2007-05-11T23:31:49Z")
Edited To Ask ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/3 "2007-05-11T23:32:23Z")
or Edited To Add ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/4 "2007-05-11T23:34:01Z")
I’ll second that. All of a sudden everyone started using it. I know someone asked a question (probably in MPSIMS) for a definition. I tried searching for that thread but I guess the SDMB does not like 3 letter searches. Well that was a fast answer. Still what’s the purpose for it? I edited this because on preview I saw the answer. Would it cause sleepless nights if I didn’t state the reason? ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/5 "2007-05-11T23:42:46Z")
[QUOTE=wolf\_meister] Still what’s the purpose for it? I edited this because on preview I saw the answer. Would it cause sleepless nights if I didn’t state the reason? [/QUOTE] On some message boards, it’s more common than on this one because on other message boards they allow editing at any time. So you could conceivably go back and change the whole OP and make everyone answering the original question look like idiots. So in order to avoid this, polite people add the ETA when they want to let others know that something was changed after other people have already responded. On this message board, it’s less necessary because you only have the 5 minute window, but just in case someone was answering or reading in those 5 minutes, it could be considered polite to let them know you changed something. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/6 "2007-05-11T23:56:20Z")
[QUOTE=Heffalump and Roo] On this message board, it’s less necessary because you only have the 5 minute window, but just in case someone was answering or reading in those 5 minutes, it could be considered polite to let them know you changed something. [/QUOTE] I see. I was confused because I thought folks were using it on preview. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/7 "2007-05-12T01:02:41Z")
plus, people see the post was edited and are left wondering what it was. This way you know what was added ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/8 "2007-05-12T01:03:20Z")
[QUOTE=Heffalump and Roo] On some message boards, it’s more common than on this one because on other message boards they allow editing at any time. So you could conceivably go back and change the whole OP and make everyone answering the original question look like idiots. So in order to avoid this, polite people add the ETA when they want to let others know that something was changed after other people have already responded. On this message board, it’s less necessary because you only have the 5 minute window, but just in case someone was answering or reading in those 5 minutes, it could be considered polite to let them know you changed something. [/QUOTE] Except, of course, that the fact you edited is shown under the post and you can add your reason for editing at the time of the edit, so it’s mostly unnecessary 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/9 "2007-05-12T01:17:01Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] Except, of course, that the fact you edited is shown under the post and you can add your reason for editing at the time of the edit, so it’s mostly unnecessary 🙂 [/QUOTE] Yes, but with other bulletin board software, you don’t get a “reason for editing” line, so people who are used to editing from other boards are used to adding an ETA line themselves. GT ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/10 "2007-05-12T04:09:12Z")
Also, I think there is a limit on the number of characters the “reason for editing” box will accept, so in the odd case where someone want to add more, “ETA” allows that flexibility. I’m also pretty sure a lot of people have yet to notice the “reason for editing” box, because it is located above the “title” box that most people never use on these boards. I hesitate to put a percentage on it, but I think most replies go through the Quick Response box on the main thread page, rather than trough “advanced/preview”. So people never noticed that extra “feature” and just go straight to the reply box to compose/edit their posts. Also, (also) I think a lot of posters never visit ATMB where enough people ask questions that allow us to learn things About This Message Board that we didn’t know before… such as common acronyms! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/11 "2007-05-12T04:35:03Z")
test ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/12 "2007-05-12T12:02:33Z")
I must have a touch of dyslexia because when I see eta I always think **A** fter **T** he **E** dit. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/13 "2007-05-12T12:50:39Z")
But that would be ATE, not ETA. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/14 "2007-05-12T13:39:23Z")
[QUOTE=Kat] But that would be ATE, not ETA. [/QUOTE] By golly you are right. Hmmmm. Weird. Maybe that is what I meant by saying _I must have a touch of dyslexia…_ In truth, dyslexia is much more complex than confusing the order of letters, but the term is commonly enough associated that way that most people would know what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/15 "2007-05-12T13:58:44Z")
Here’s a post I used it on this morning: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8565763&postcount=6](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8565763&postcount=6) As you can see, I added a whole paragraph after I posted. It was a paragraph that conveyed new information, from a whole new perspective, than the rest of my post. I have, in the past, entered “Added last paragraph” to the Reason for Edit window, but ETA is a much shorter way of saying the same thing. If I’m fixing a typo, I don’t usually mark it either way. If I change an important word (like “now” to “not”), I’ll note that in the Reason for Edit field. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/16 "2007-05-12T14:05:38Z")
Thank god it’s something innocuous. I was afraid the board was being infiltrated by [Basque terrorists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eta/403776/17 "2007-05-14T11:50:07Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] …the term is commonly enough associated that way that most people would know what I meant. [/QUOTE] But not all. Maybe that’s what you meant by ‘most’ 😉