# Small window for editing? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 14, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104 "2010-10-14T07:43:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/1 "2010-10-14T07:43:37Z")
Why do we get such a small window of time to edit our posts? 5 minutesis too short to find all mistakesin spelling/grammar/style, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/2 "2010-10-14T08:04:37Z")
Because we tend to get into some pretty heated, fast moving (posts coming every few minutes). This forces you to stick to what you say and not (whether accidentally or otherwise) change something after someone responds to it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/3 "2010-10-14T09:00:53Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > This forces you to stick to what you say and not (whether accidentally or otherwise) change something after someone responds to it. Which does happen on boards without such a limit, and it’s very irritating trying to debate someone who edits his previous statements when you catch him in an error/lie and then denies ever having said it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/4 "2010-10-14T10:21:11Z")
And, anyways, we have a preview button which can serve the same function most of the time. You just have to get used to clicking it first. And not get over confident. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/5 "2010-10-14T11:24:07Z")
The people who have responded already have given you the straight dope on this: 1. This is a frequently fast-paced and highly interactive board, and we don’t want to allow people to go back and change what they said earlier in a discussion or debate. 2. We hope it will encourage people to think before they post. Mods can go in and edit a post to fix coding or remove excessively long quotes, etc., but in general, what you post is up there for good. 3. The preview function solves many of the problems you’re concerned about – you can look at your coding, make sure your links work, etc., before launching your post into the thread. (You can also use the A/A toggle in the upper right-hand corner of the “reply to thread” box – that will toggle to WYSIWYG for italics and bold, but it doesn’t work for links and spoiler boxes.) **twickster** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/6 "2010-10-14T11:24:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And, anyways, we have a preview button which can serve the same function most of the time. You just have to get used to clicking it first. And not get over confident. Are you implying that someone could make a post at 3am and want to change it in the morning when they re-read it because they left off an entire half of a sentence? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/7 "2010-10-14T11:43:22Z")
Nope. I was adding on to the person above me. Ever since the multiquote was instituted, I don’t bother hitting the quote button for short, unambiguous replies. That’s what I said I’d do. I no longer extend the common courtesy of quoting to make threaded mode work properly. And, whether you know it or not, starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction has been perfectly good English since at least the seventeenth century. My only mistake in that post was the space between over and confident, and as someone with OCD, I’m trying to fight the urge to fix every little mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/8 "2010-10-14T12:30:31Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Nope. I was adding on to the person above me. Ever since the multiquote was instituted, I don’t bother hitting the quote button for short, unambiguous replies. That’s what I said I’d do. I no longer extend the common courtesy of quoting to make threaded mode work properly. > > And, whether you know it or not, starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction has been perfectly good English since at least the seventeenth century. My only mistake in that post was the space between over and confident, and as someone with OCD, I’m trying to fight the urge to fix every little mistake. I meant my post, I _thought_ about an entire sentence but only typed half of it. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/9 "2010-10-14T17:12:11Z")
Five minutes is already giving everyone some leeway since for 6 or 7 years they didn’t allow you to edit your posts **at all**. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/10 "2010-10-14T19:53:05Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Five minutes is already giving everyone some leeway since for 6 or 7 years they didn’t allow you to edit your posts **at all**. Five minutes is a compromise. It’s long enough so you should be able to catch your errors, and possibly add an afterthought, and short enough that not too many people will quote or comment on your post within the edit window. Even so, we sometimes get cases of people quoting and commenting on an original post, which then gets edited, confusing the thread. Either hilarity or a Pitting may ensue. 😉 If we made the window much longer this sort of thing would happen more frequently. If you find yourself making lots of mistakes in your posts, you should get into the habit of using the preview function rather than relying on the edit window. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/11 "2010-10-14T20:58:34Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Five minutes is already giving everyone some leeway since for 6 or 7 years they didn’t allow you to edit your posts **at all**. Oh, yeah. While I personally would prefer ten minutes, I am grateful to have even five. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/12 "2010-10-14T21:31:33Z")
And, if the worst happens and you miss the five-minute edit period, you can always come back in a later post and correct your mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/13 "2010-10-15T14:19:57Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Why do we get such a small window of time to edit our posts? 5 minutesis too short to find all mistakesin spelling/grammar/style, IMO. Your posts average about 20 words a post, etv. How does it take you 5 minutes to review that? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/14 "2010-10-16T13:24:05Z")
It should also be noted that if you make a serious typo (such as “not” instead of “now”), you can ask a moderator to fix it, even after the five minute limit. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-window-for-editing/557104/15 "2010-10-17T04:26:19Z")
I am the Typo King. No matter how careful I try to be, it seems I always spot at least one error in my posts whether I Preview them or not. I’m grateful for the five-minute window, but 10 minutes would be better.