Are post edits saved on the servers?

I have always wanted to know if ATS' post edits are each individually saved on the servers. If I edit a post and change my content, would the old version still exist and be saved on the server? Or, is there only one copy of the post and what is edited is forever changed.

Just wondering in case I accidentally edit a post where I solve all of man-kinds problems and wish to ask for the original post draft.

reply to post by wiredamerican


Well lets think about that, wouldn't all of mankinds problems include the solution to not accidently erase the solution for all of mankinds problems?

Oh well back to the drawing board!

Darn I had them all but that one worked out too before that last edit!

[edit on 2/3/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

[edit on 2/3/10 by ProtoplasmicTraveler]

Well, pay attention to your posts, proofreading several times before clicking submit. Or... if you edit your post, insert the edit inline with the original text altered to show the text has been superceded?


Anyhow, it's highly unlikely that old post text would be deliberately saved. The processing impact to the database to recall the original text then apply any successive edits, or compare multiple versions of posts and retrieve the most recent one, would likely be too high to be efficiently implemented without significant impact to page rendering. That does not mean though, that the database doesn't perform intermittent backups and could backup a post before an edit is applied. Things like that do happen and typically show up when a site crashes and subsequently has to restore from a backup and posts are missing and edits don't show. However, an appropriately configured database can "replay" all the edits and bring the backup to "current" status. Also, "mirrored" databases generally do not suffer from that problem since a crash on one database server can be restored from the more current database on a mirror.

But I've digressed.

reply to post by wiredamerican


Yes they are and the old posts go directly to the CIA and Homeland Security!

Why what did you say?

IRM