# How the heck do you edit your posts?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [August 31, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052 "2001-08-31T01:42:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hiyruu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiyruu)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/1 "2001-08-31T01:42:27Z")
I clicked on the edit button and then was promted to log-in. Then it would not let me log-in WTF?
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### Author:  [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/2 "2001-08-31T01:46:32Z")
Only Mods and administraiters can edit posts after they are posted.
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### Author:  [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/3 "2001-08-31T01:47:51Z")
For us low-life peons, we have to settle for hitting “Preview” and proofreading before posting.
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### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/4 "2001-08-31T03:30:56Z")
You hit preview and then edit. You then hit submit. Your out of luck if it’s wrong at that point. This is also in the wrong section. General questions is for the type of stuff you would see in Cecil’s books.
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/5 "2001-08-31T03:37:11Z")
Unlike a lot of other message boards, you are not allowed to edit your own posts here. This is so you can’t post something inflammatory and then go back and change it, and claim you never said that.
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/6 "2001-08-31T03:59:27Z")
The fine folks above are correct. You can’t edit your posts, but I can. You also can’t move your threads, but I can move this one to About this Message Board.
bibliophage
moderator, GQ
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### Author:  [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/7 "2001-08-31T03:59:29Z")
Didn’t you mean _prompted_ to log in? OK, I’m an anal-retentive ass but this is the only place I ever get to play “know-it-all”.
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/8 "2001-08-31T13:24:34Z")
Correct, we don’t allow editing of posts for the reason cited by DDG.
If you have made a major error and would like a post to be edited, contact a moderator (preferably the moderators of the relevant forum.) If it’s urgent (your link had a typo that inadvertently goes to a porn site, say), you might email all the mods in hopes that someone is online quickly.
We’re usually happy to help correct goofs, as long as it’s not burdensome. This does not mean we’ll delete a whole post just because you changed your mind, it means that we’re sensitive to the fact that we all (except Cecil) make mistakes.
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### Author:  [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/9 "2001-10-22T17:45:00Z")
Is it possible to set it so we may edit our own posts for just a small period of time after they originated? Like, say, 10 minutes? Five? This would serve as an ability to correct our own (sometimes) horrendous coding errors, but wouldn’t allow us to change arguments after replies and such…
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### Author:  [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-heck-do-you-edit-your-posts/79052/10 "2001-10-22T18:02:23Z")
It’s possible. We’ve discussed it in the past and discarded the idea for various reasons. Foremost of which is the edit feature would also allow a user to delete his post completely with just two mouse-clicks. So, don’t look for this to be changed anytime soon.