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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26034 Posts |
 Posted - 05/09/2007 : 08:27:48
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In this thread, we had user FE6666 make 31 posts, and then months later he came back and deleted all of them and heavily edited his OP. He then came back and erased even the thread title.
HalfMooner considered that a banning offense, but the easy solution is just to put time limits on editing and deleting posts.
But before I had a chance to lock the thread:quote:
Originally posted by marfknox, over here
I'd hate to see a tightening up of rules just because everyone once in a while something like this happens.
It is already extraordinarily rare for anyone to go back an edit one of their posts even a week later. A 15-day limit for the edit and delete functions would, I think, only really affect HalfMooner, who has on a couple of occassions gone back and tinkered with his Moonscape News pieces over a month after posting them. Even then, were he to miss the deadline, he could just PM one of us admins and ask us to make changes for him.
As "a tightening up of the rules," what's on the to-do list is liable to affect only people like FE6666, who seems to have posted here primarily to advertise his hero, anyway. Some 99.9% of our members aren't going to notice.
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- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9698 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2007 : 12:06:18 [Permalink]
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Two weeks seems reasonable to me.
Like Dave W. said, admins and moderators are available for those who want something changed after that. Just PM us, and there won't be any problem editing unless the changes are unreasonable.
And in case a user thinks the moderator (like me) is unreasonable, they can always appeal to SFN admins: @tomic, Kil, and Dave W.
Everyone can make mistakes, or bad judgement calls, and a part of the personal development process is to be made aware of these instances, so we can adjust and improve ourselves.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2007 : 15:58:11 [Permalink]
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I'll go along with that. BTW, I wasn't advocating that I be banned for fixing spelling and grammar errors. Because I think I'm an exception to such rules. 
But seriously, folks, I agree that the issue of preserving the sense of a hotly debated interactive issue trumps the possible minor inconvenience of such as spelling and grammar obsessed parodists or others.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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JohnOAS
SFN Regular
Australia
800 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2007 : 20:04:15 [Permalink]
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This discussion follows on from one in the Psychic Jomanda thread, which is now locked.
The discussion was about whether or not people should be prevented from editing/deleting their content after some time. The discussion of this matter kicked in around here. (It's only 8 short posts).
Marf's last post was:
Originally posted by marfknox
I'd hate to see a tightening up of rules just because everyone once in a while something like this happens. |
I was just going to PM marf, but thought others might have a view on this too.
What time period, if any, would you consider appropriate for your content to be "locked"? I imagine you'd still be able to post something to a mod if you really wanted something deleted/edited.
Would a rule change like this make you approach posting differently? I'm just wondering why you feel this way, I don't have strong feelings one way or the other.
Copied from elsewhere, and edited slightly, which is why the context is a little odd, but hopefully you'll get the idea. |
John's just this guy, you know. |
| Edited by - JohnOAS on 05/09/2007 20:05:59 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2007 : 23:59:36 [Permalink]
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I don't think the two-week limit on re-editing one's stuff is in any way a burden upon free expression within the established boundaries here. I, too, might object, if the solution were draconian. It's not, and indeed could later be adjusted to a longer or shorter period, according to events.
I note that Marf's concern was posted before the specific new policy suggestion, so I do not imply that she would object to this minor tweak, either.
When I'd earlier said "banning offense," I'd overstated the case against such revisions. But some kinds of revisionism of one's words can be quite irritating. (I've seen one of our other regular trolls do that after being caught in a falsehood.)
Alternatively, is there any way to limit later revisions to strikethroughs to show deletions, and perhaps some color-coded way of showing additions, both automatically coming into effect after some set time?
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 05/10/2007 00:16:46 |
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JohnOAS
SFN Regular
Australia
800 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 04:45:38 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
Alternatively, is there any way to limit later revisions to strikethroughs to show deletions, and perhaps some color-coded way of showing additions, both automatically coming into effect after some set time?
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Yeah, I reckon the mods should implement some sort of asp implementation of subversion*. They've got nothing better to do.
* If it turns out that there is a hell, I'm pretty sure I'm going straight there for that suggestion alone. |
John's just this guy, you know. |
| Edited by - JohnOAS on 05/10/2007 04:46:55 |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26034 Posts |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13481 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 07:43:56 [Permalink]
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| I have no problem with a limit on the time a post can be edited. If anyone really wants to change something, any moderator or administrator should be able to make that possible if the request is reasonable... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 08:29:15 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
And does everyone down under do their superscripts as subscripts, or is it just you?
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So that's how you do those. I remembered that you added sub- and superscripts awhile back, Dave, just not how to write them. And when I checked the "forum code" window, they weren't in the list. Neither is [spoiler], I believe. Maybe time to update it?
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 05/10/2007 08:29:50 |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26034 Posts |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 09:22:36 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
Yeah, I keep on forgetting about updating the FAQ, too, H. I'll add 'em to the to-do list.
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Thanks. Sorry to increase your workload. 
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9698 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 17:00:13 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
Alternatively, is there any way to limit later revisions to strikethroughs to show deletions, and perhaps some color-coded way of showing additions, both automatically coming into effect after some set time?
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That would require not only huge additions to the database, recording every change someone does, but also major, and I mean major re-working on how the forum software save and retrieve posts from the database.
I do not know the specifics of Snitz forum software, but I've dived deep into the phpBB software and database on the behalf of Skepticality to straighten out the problems they had last autumn, so I have a general idea of how forum software works in concept.
vBulletin software doesn't even have the functionality you suggests, Halfmooner, but the vBulletin database has twice as many tables as phpBB.
(edit formatting) |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
| Edited by - Dr. Mabuse on 05/10/2007 17:31:19 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 17:27:17 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
Originally posted by HalfMooner
Alternatively, is there any way to limit later revisions to strikethroughs to show deletions, and perhaps some color-coded way of showing additions, both automatically coming into effect after some set time?
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That would require not only huge additions to the database, recording every change someone does, but also major, and I mean major re-working on how the forum software save and retrieve posts from the database.
I do not know the specifics of Snitz forum software, but I've dived deep into the phpBB software and database on the behalf of Skepticality to straighten out the problems they had last autumn, so I have a general idea of how forum software works in concept.
vBulletin software doesn't even have the functionality you suggests, Halfmooner, but the vBulletin database has twice as many tables as phpBB.
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Well, if it's a really big job, it sounds like you guys should start right away, then.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26034 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2007 : 18:34:36 [Permalink]
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The coding of such functionality wouldn't be as bad as Mab lets on. After all, Microsoft's file compare utility (fc.exe) is under 15 KB in size, and includes a lot of features that wouldn't be needed. And no extra database tables would be required. No, the real problem would be when people start to use the new edit.
Because nobody is goignng to want to see thiseses iof crapthing happen to a post. And it'll scare the hellck out of nuewbies. With too many changes, it'll would become allmost undcyphrablePlus, it would become really harddifficult to read with more than one edit. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26034 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2007 : 20:35:25 [Permalink]
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Update:
No regular members should see edit or delete buttons on any post more than a week old (I know, I said two weeks, but most edits will be made within minutes, so the extra time doesn't buy much - but it's an arguable point).
Moderators should see edit and delete buttons on any posts within their jurisdiction, and no such buttons on those outside it that aren't their own less-than-a-week-old posts.
Us admins can still hack up anything that isn't archived. Reasonable requests can be made via email or PM. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 02:25:59 [Permalink]
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Okay now: Immediately upon posting a the first item in a thread, it's unavailable for editing.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Delete/Edit Limits
