Selective editing.

I'm wondering how easy it would be to introduce date and time stamps on edits to posts?

Everyone makes mistakes when they post - I do it all the time. I like my posts to be spelt correctly and be as clear as possible. I'm sure everyone does.

What I've noticed however, is a new trend to selectively edit previous posts to "shape" a conversation and make it read completely differently from the original, in order to change the perception of it.

Anyone coming into a thread cold can read an entirely different thing as far as content and intonation to what was there to start with. It makes points and counter points hard to put across and enourages ignorance that can be selectively removed later.

Has anyone else experienced this or is it just me?

I've seen it plenty of times. It kinda sucks, I'd have to sy.

I was a member of another forum, (different subject matter) and I and several other left because of just the reason you state.
Someone would start a thread, then after a few replies would edit the thread so the original question or point was almost 180 degrees from its original intention

We do have edit tags that appear every time an edit is done. I believe the date is shown, but the time of the edit does not appear. And the edit window is only an hour or two I believe, so outside of that, only a staff member could edit a post. So I don't see how this is a major problem. An author has a very restricted time to edit his/her post, and it is clearly labeled when they do so.

On top of that, nine out of ten times the post in question is being quoted by members who are responding. So the original post in question, has been quoted several times, while it was intact.

I've been here for almost two years, and I've yet to see this as a problem once. It certainly may exist, but I've yet to run in to it.

Edit: Just to show the stamp

[edit on 17-6-2007 by chissler]

editing, re-editing, re-re-editing of insulting posts .... I remember one poster who continually did that. Every stink'n time. Drove us all nutz.

It's a kind of trolling - IMHO.

That poster has been banned.

Originally posted by chissler

And the edit window is only an hour or two I believe,

Actually it is more like four hours. (The last time that I paid attention to it, anyway. - which was during the "missing edit button" thread here in BQB last week - link )





edit to fix quote...and add link...





[edit on 6/17/2007 by Mechanic 32]

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Drove us all nutz.

And that's my view on this subject. If a poster does this often, people catch on and that poster loses ALL credibility. People who come back and edit their post to drastically change the content of the original will be called out by the members.

It's not ATS's job to babysit us to make sure we can't edit our posts. I have actually read a post of mine a couple hours after writing it to discover a typo, so I go in and correct it.

We have to be responsible and have integrity ourselves. That's not something you can force on others.

I will say that I have been known to copy whole posts by edit-happy members and store them away in a Word file to refer to later...

Originally posted by Ironside
I've seen it plenty of times. It kinda sucks, I'd have to sy.

yup sure does sorry for the one liner.

May I please remind members of ATS that should you come across such "selective editing" as you call it, let us know!!!

I can't insist enough that there is no point building up a heated tension about an issue and then finally letting it rip in this forum.

This forum is not for complaints, it is supposed to be a place where STAFF make board-specific announcements and MEMBERS can pose questions.

Complaints should be made using the Complaint form.

Should someone find a problem then please use the complaint/suggestion form. This way staff will be made aware of an incident or situation and can monitor it.

Such abuse of the edit functionality window is immoral and worthy of a ban.

So please, let us know at the start, not after it drives you insane to rant about it.


Edit: After consideration, I've amended my remark of the purpose of this forum as it unduely insulted the topic author. Apologies.

[edit on 19-6-2007 by SimonGray]

Originally posted by SimonGray
This forum is not for complaints, it is supposed to be a place where STAFF make board-specific announcements.

Thread Closed