# why can't we edit our own posts?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-edit-our-own-posts/170152>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [April 21, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-edit-our-own-posts/170152 "2003-04-21T22:22:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-edit-our-own-posts/170152/1 "2003-04-21T22:22:34Z")

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At least maybe for an hour? Other MB allow this- so it can’t be that hard.

I only went back for a month or so on this, and it is likely this was answered before, but it came up in GD, where some poster claims it is because dudes would change their words in a debate.

Umm- does it really matter? And would not a 1 hour time out- not to mention the “quote” function- slow this down a lot?:dubious:

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**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:** [April 21, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-edit-our-own-posts/170152/2 "2003-04-21T22:30:00Z")

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Yeah, it’s been discussed: [Editing our own posts, revisited](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170857)… several times.

Basically, yes, we’ve found that it does matter. We’ve seen other boards where people have taken a stand, got lots of comments, and then edited their OP. It’s not pleasant. It’s not nice.

And for us, an hour is a long time. Note how quickly you’ve got a response to your query.

All in all, we’ve decided that the minor typos and word-smithing just aint worth it. If you make a major typo (like leaving out the word “not”), email a Moderator who will be glad to fix it for you.