# Is it cool not to use the "edit" button here? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553 "2008-11-26T14:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/1 "2008-11-26T14:40:40Z")
It is rare when I see the edit tag on a post by someone else here on the SD. Me however I’m always tweaking things; even if I preview 2 or 3 times, I will often notice something I missed (wrong word, typo, a post by someone else got in right before me and I want to respond to their points as well). I guess old habits, from when editing was not allowed, die hard here eh? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/2 "2008-11-26T15:52:31Z")
Well it’s not _not_ cool. Between Google and autocorrect, I have become a lazy, lazy person. I totally abuse the edit button. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/3 "2008-11-26T16:01:17Z")
It seems like I use it more often than not. Sometimes, I’ll end up using it twice in rapid succession on the same post. Whether or not it’s “not cool”, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/4 "2008-11-26T16:01:26Z")
If it is, then I’m a nerd. No matter how carefully I preview my posts, I always find a mistake after hitting send. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/5 "2008-11-26T16:02:15Z")
The edit button is a relatively new edition to the SDMB, so old timers are used to previewing and doing without. I don’t mind using it to correct mistakes and for esprit d’escalier. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/6 "2008-11-26T16:41:37Z")
I often use it when typing before I’ve had my morning dosage of coffee. I preview, but sometimes I don’t catch my mistakes at first glance (same with my papers. I cannot proofread my own writing, but I can tear another person’s apart). I’m not ashamed to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/7 "2008-11-26T16:43:25Z")
I always forget to ---
**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:** [November 26, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/8 "2008-11-26T16:45:30Z")
Find with me. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/9 "2008-11-26T20:49:50Z")
I use it when I need to (probably one quarter of the time, I’d say). I have definitely gotten more lax with my previewing since we got editing capabilities. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/10 "2008-11-26T21:16:55Z")
I use it fairly seldom, and that’s probably mostly because of the habit of not using it. I’ll edit for embarassing typos caught _just_ too late or coding errors (all too often). I don’t like editing for content, although I will sometimes finish a thought or add a new paragraph, so long as it doesn’t require me to delete anything which already exists. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/11 "2008-11-26T21:42:03Z")
I always feel bad when I have to edit, because I feel it shows a lack of care in writing the original post. It’s really not such a big deal though. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/12 "2008-11-27T04:03:00Z")
I actually went back to add a comma tonight. Considered not doing it, but decided reinforcing good grammar is important. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/13 "2008-11-27T04:39:00Z")
Why, just now I had the opportunity to change the quoted section of one of my posts just in time to be an obnoxious tosser (all in good fun, of course!). This, I recognize, is horrid abuse of the edit function, but it was just too great a temptation, and, to misquote a man far wittier than I, _I can resist everything but temptation_. I try to be careful with my posts, but sometimes I find an error. I try not to edit for content, but sometimes I will add an extra paragraph or sentence or wall of text if it is relevant, useful, and/or helps explain my post better. BTB, **RealityChuck** , I love saying _l’esprit d’escalier_, it’s one of those phrases that just rolls right off the tongue, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/14 "2008-11-27T04:45:08Z")
I use it fairly often (the older I get, the less accurately I type). However, I would prefer not to because especially with a very short post, some of the pithiness is lost when instead of an elegant one-line observation, there’s that crappy little “Last edited by…” text at the bottom. The impact of the post is lessened by distracting visual clutter. I’m a little embarrassed to use it, not because it indicates that I am prone to errors in my writing that I don’t catch before posting (well, that too) but because it suggests that after I hit send, I go back and reread my post - what possible excuse is there for that except admiring one’s own prose/thought processes? (Evidently I’m guilty.) ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/15 "2008-11-27T05:03:04Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > BTB, **RealityChuck** , I love saying _l’esprit d’escalier_, it’s one of those phrases that just rolls right off the tongue, isn’t it? I wish I’d recalled this phrase when I was choosing my dopername - it would have been _le mot juste_. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/16 "2008-11-27T05:19:34Z")
Yes ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/17 "2008-11-27T05:29:12Z")
Wow, if not using “Edit” is the measure of cool here, I’m the squarest geek on the boards! “Edit” function was the greatest thing to happen to me since … well, since I joined SDMB. I’ll keep using it as long as it’s available, and no apologies for being uncool. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/18 "2008-11-27T12:37:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The edit button is a relatively new edition to the SDMB, so old timers are used to previewing and doing without. > > I don’t mind using it to correct mistakes and for esprit d’escalier. It’s not really l’esprit de l’escalier unless you think of it just as your 5 minutes are up :p. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/19 "2008-11-27T12:45:23Z")
I don’t like using it, because I hate the little reveal that comes up at the bottom of the post. I usually am only using it to fix a typo, so it seems a bit unfair to show that to everyone when I am fixing it so nobody knows I made the mistake in the first place. Anyways, I did once edit a post, adding extra text, while someone was responding to me, so that was an interesting experience. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cool-not-to-use-the-edit-button-here/474553/20 "2008-11-27T17:49:59Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I\ > I’m a little embarrassed to use it, not because it indicates that I am prone to errors in my writing that I don’t catch before posting (well, that too) but because it suggests that after I hit send, I go back and reread my post - what possible excuse is there for that except admiring one’s own prose/thought processes? (Evidently I’m guilty.) I do that.