Forgive me if this question has already been posed and discussed at great length or something--my memory is horrid.

Here's my question, it kind of ties in with Nova's "Post-Scripts" thread, but isn't exactly the same thing so I figured I should give it its own thread.

*************************************

Please explain the reason, the real reason, why we're not able to modify (edit) our posts later if we go "Oh, no, what was I thinking??? I didn't mean to write that/really shouldn't have written that at all!" There's that time limit (what is it, more than 15 minutes and it's locked? 30 minutes? Can't remember) to modify stuff. It's like our own :foot: is immortalized forever and there's not a dang thing we can do about it. :faint: :( Except, maybe, beg a moderator or an admin to change it. But that's not always feasable because they tend to be quite busy.

Just wish it could be changed, that's all. Don't want to sound paranoid, like a "conspiracy theorist" or something, but is there some purposeful reason people's stuff is just stuck there with no control on the author's part over its presence...a reason why it's set up that way? :confused:

Not trying to raise a fuss here--but I think I'm making a point, since, well, * impulsivity (is that the right word here?) is a big part of the embarrassing social issues many ADDers have to deal with, and while we can't go back and time travel to change things in our "real world" lives, this forum is kind of supposed to be a "safe haven" of sorts for people with this condition, is it not?

Even when someone says something they regret in the "real world," we can apologize and reconcile, and/or things can simply pass and fade and possibly be forgotten, whereas this is written information, concretely posted and indefinitely locked on the web. *

There's junk on here I didn't think through before posting it that I wish I could edit, but, well, I can't...and I doubt I'm the only one who's felt like an idiot and wanted to go back and change something.

One matter that causes concern is the fact that this forum and its contents are openly viewable through simple Google searches, and while that's good, IMHO--after all, that's how I found this place--essentially the entire world can at any time read something completely assenine that I or someone else has written.

Please note that I'm not trying to inspire a mutiny here, and am fully aware of the fact that we're responsible for our own actions and what-not--it's not about that...please read what's between the *s if the basic reasoning behind this proposal/inquiry isn't clear. Please note that I do realize it's a private forum, and we decide to post here, and no one's forcing us to say something :foot: -ish. Still, why is it set up this way?

May I suggest that it could be changed, to allow us to edit our own posts at our discretion?

Please understand that the preceding inquiry/message is genuinely rooted in logic and contemplation, not dramatic demand.

KJ/C

Hi Chrys,
A very quick search found a thread that gives a sensible answer to you question.

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8881&highlight=editing+posts

Thanks for pointing that out, Imnapl.
I see I've managed to :foot: simply by not being thorough enough in looking for the answer to the question before I asked it! I do see the reasonable argument posted on the link you gave me, but still, there are posts that are just not productive and didn't help anyone else out but still exist. Some people are equipped with good "Do not write this or you may regret it later" alarms. Others, however, (generally as a process of learning over the course of their lifetimes) do not have fully or consistently functional alarms.

Sometimes posts aren't simply :o in a mild, "Oh man that looked stupid, but oh, well" way. Let's consider the following possible scenarios:
Someone writes a post they regret later.

it's just embarrassing to have written it on the forum, they're embarrassed, but it's not that big of a deal...:foot: and/or
it's a rather serious case of self-induced humiliation, and upsetting to realize fully that, well, that post can't just be wiped off, it's gonna sit there and possibly make them look really stupid,:foot: :o and/or
worst case scenario: the post may possibly cause problems in their personal, non-internet lives simply because it exists and someone could read it. :foot: :eek: :foot: :faint:
I can think of at least one, personal example where I said something assenine--and I'm sure that Imnapl can, because she's already done a good job of poking at me for writing stupid stuff at some point or other. (Befuddled? Refer to this: http://www.addforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=180932&postcount=31 (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=180932&postcount=31))
Here's a thought: in some instances, one member could have posted something that other members of the forum would look at and have no idea that the post could cause a problem for them in the "outside world." Kind of abstract, I realize, but hey, no matter how silly it sounds, it's possible, I'm sure.

Suggestion:
Even though we have very busy admins/moderators/etc., etc. and I know that, what if there was a specific area or some sort of "form" or "application" available to us?
Such a form would provide a structured way to request that Mods or Admins look at something we've written because we'd like it to be altered or deleted...then, if this seemed reasonable, the higher-ups could fulfill the request. On this form, we could say something like"This post exists here. Please consider altering it or deleting it because (member provides reason here) and as such I would prefer that it was not there or could be edited. Suggestions for alteration if deletion is deemed inappropriate: (member lists suggestions.)"
This would be more convenient for members, but it'd also be way more convenient for Admins and Mods because of all the random PMs, e-mails, etc., that they get here and there.




Consideration of Current Ways to Draw Attention to and/or Request Alteration or Deletion of a Post:
*Members are able to write moderators and admins via PM and just say "Uh, could you go erase/edit this for me?" However, they don't and can't always get around to it because as I said, they're getting random PMs and stuff all the time, and that's not anyone's fault--it's just unfortunate.
*The "Report Bad Post" button does exist already, and I know it--it's sort of like a street sign, at the top of each post in the forums. A person can click on that and report something they see (like something dangerous, when someone's saying "Here, do this or that with your medication" in advice to another member.) I guess that could be used, since it is a form and all. But...it's designated for emergency-esque stuff--should we really use that to report our own :foot: s?

Just trying to make a suggestion.
KJ/C

Chrys,
Do you know of any other discussion forums where there isn't a time limit for editing your own posts? In my limited experience, the time limit seems to be standard practice.

The Scott Peterson website, (no longer exists-served its purpose) did not have a time limit for editing. I used it to remove a post i had left that after time went by i found it to be a bit inflammed, so i deleted it.

Others I could go in any time and add to it or fix errors, things of that nature.

The edit was wide open forever. Or at least as long as the site was up.

Do you know of any other discussion forums where there isn't a time limit for editing your own posts? In my limited experience, the time limit seems to be standard practice.

Actually, I have--more than one. I can't give out every name, but I can say that on my college forums, we had open discussion threads in one area, and academic discussion threads in another. We also had an area where we could (sort of) PM our instructor, though that was essentially in forum format too--it was called a "Private Folder."

In each of those areas, at any time during the course from start to finish we could edit our posts. This was good--perhaps I was having a "bad brain day," and phrased something in a way that did not reflect my normal level of intellect. :rolleyes:

Of course, some would see it--but then, others would not. Before those "others" saw it, I could go back and rephrase it, or modify it in whatever way to try to preserve whatever level of intellect I may have managed to present to peers and my professor up to that point. As well, if I got annoyed with someone (and it always happened between professors and students, or between students at some point, not just those with occasional glitches in impulsivity control), then posted something I regretted later, :eek: I could go back and edit it to something far less inflammatory. Even if it was in my private folder, and trust me, there were a couple of professors I butted heads with (in one case, nearly everyone butted heads with the professor. Ugh, I still remember that professor, and the class was nearly two years ago. :mad: *shudder* :faint: )

I fully realize that you're posting in an effort to help, Imnapl. You have without question made very kind efforts to help in any way possible with other things I struggled with previously, and I very much appreciated your offers and provision of help (and still do--it was so sweet of you!) That said, it is my hope--no, wait, there's no need or merit to insult of your intellect, so to rephrase, I'm quite positive you understand that while it's absolutely great for fellow members to give input, I was technically addressing this issue to staff members...well, if any feel the urge to jump in, that is--is anyone in a staff position going throw me some advisement here? :eyebrow: Anyone? :confused:

Again, thanks for your contributions, Imnapl and crazymama. Much obliged! :)

KJ/C

OK, the real reason that there are time limits at all is so we will stop Procrastinating and get the point across. :D

LOL...guess that's a good theory, from a CBT frame of thought.

"Ok, people--we're not going to accomodate your weaknesses any further. Get off your a**es and make up your mind before you submit stuff and don't go whining to us afterward." (Crap, now Andrew's going to come on here and say something like "You said it, KJ--I didn't!") That is of course valid, I know, but I'm still hoping because, well, I have a particular situation that's making me especially concerned about this, and I don't want to/can't go into it (no offense, guys, but I'd be pseudoslaughtering myself if I did.)

Thanks guys...
KJ/C

as a moderator of a few online forums. imho, the reason for restrictive edit time is simple.

a post in the forum here is akin to public speaking, or speaking in a real-life "forum", or publishing an article in a magazine, once you have said something, it has been heard by your audience/readers. you cannot go back in time and erase what is already in other people's memory.

you can however, post a correction. like what people do when they find a mistake in their article, or if they misspeak, they can immediately correct themselves.

and why is there a 30mins window for editing? it is mainly because communication isn't exactly realtime like public speaking, and the inherent casual nature of an online forum usually means posters are less careful with what they type, so the 30mins acts as a grace period, in which *most* readers may not have read what was posted. and for those who have, can see the "edited by" message.

as i said, it is imho. and this policy prevent abusing of editing as well as allowing certain amount of errors to be corrected without causing mass confusion.

Ok, Badders, I understand that, thank you for your contribution to this effort of mine in figuring this out and whether something can be changed, etc. If I may, I would now like to ask for your thoughts--what do you think about the idea I proposed re: an actual form specifically designated for members to request or propose an edit on something they've written?

KJ/C

The only thing I'd like unlimited editing on is my spelling mistakes. lol
But once I've put something out there.
People will ignore it, respond to it, or question it's meaning.
Then I'm free to post again if I need too.
So in that way we do get a chance to edit.
By making a second reply post.
Besides going back and rethinking everything we say can inhibit posting.

Ok, Badders, I understand that, thank you for your contribution to this effort of mine in figuring this out and whether something can be changed, etc. If I may, I would now like to ask for your thoughts--what do you think about the idea I proposed re: an actual form specifically designated for members to request or propose an edit on something they've written?

KJ/C
that happens. and the "form" that you requested come in the shape of a PM (Private Message) to the moderators who has power to edit posts.

it is then up to the moderator staff to decide if the request is reasonable, and how the request should be handled to minimize confusion.

and you should also realize that moderators are busy people, if you go bug them every other post, you will not be very popular among them.

best is to think twice before posting something. but granted that us ADDers can be impulsive at times (esp those high on medication.... ;) ), it may or may not be possible.

and i am only speaking from my own experience from my own forums. i am NOT speaking on behalf of addforums moderators. so YMMV.

I believe that the ADA has a provision that specifically states that a reasonable accomodation must be made to provide extended editing privilieges to posts on an ADD forum site if said poster has been diagnosed with ADD.

Except in the case where the site administrator also has ADD. In which case, all members must make a reasonable accomodation for the administrator to allow an acceptable level of regular site maintenance to be performed while allowing said person to also have a life.

OMG! I have way too much time on my hands today! :faint:

us ADDers can be impulsive at times (esp those high on medication.... ;) )
Great Scot! Adders get high on meds and then post in public forums on the internet? :eek:

as a moderator of a few online forums. imho, the reason for restrictive edit time is simple.

a post in the forum here is akin to public speaking, or speaking in a real-life "forum", or publishing an article in a magazine, once you have said something, it has been heard by your audience/readers. you cannot go back in time and erase what is already in other people's memory.

you can however, post a correction. like what people do when they find a mistake in their article, or if they misspeak, they can immediately correct themselves.

and why is there a 30mins window for editing? it is mainly because communication isn't exactly realtime like public speaking, and the inherent casual nature of an online forum usually means posters are less careful with what they type, so the 30mins acts as a grace period, in which *most* readers may not have read what was posted. and for those who have, can see the "edited by" message.

as i said, it is imho. and this policy prevent abusing of editing as well as allowing certain amount of errors to be corrected without causing mass confusion.


You nailed it. :)

Um. So when do posts become redundant and fall off the other end of the continuum, never to be seen again? Is there a redundancy limit?

Every post here stays...forever.

No offense, Badders, but...I essentially said all of this prior to your post.

I am well aware that moderators are busy. Somehow I thought a form would make things more organized, therefore less of a pain in the neck for moderators and admins to deal with.
I already said that it's up to the mod staff. I already said that, as of now, if we want to request a removal or edit of some sort, we are supposed to PM a mod.
I already pointed out that impulsivity is a common thing with many of us.
I have no idea whatsoever what YMMV means, but all I know is that this thread has officially morphed out of my question, then revised question, and into a mess of redundancy--not only speaking to you here, badders, but all I was worried about was a couple of posts of mine that could cause major, serious problems for me personally yet my stupid butt had posted them and now they are just there to potentially nail me to the wall. That's it, that's all there is to it.

I'm sorry if that offends anyone, I know you were all just trying to assist and I know full well that my messages--the initial ones--were really really long and maybe you just didn't get a chance to read what I already wrote. And hey, I can be a master of redundancy at times, especially in the wee hours when no Dex seems to be present and active in my noggin'. :faint: But whatever it was, something went screwy and, well, badders, I just don't know what's up with your attitude...but essentially, I said what you said at the start (as mentioned in the beginning of this post) and also, regarding your given explanation of why there's a time limit, it should be noted that Imnapl's initial provision of a link to another thread covered all of what you said in your rather condescending explanation of why there's a time limit. ("IMHO"s can only take you so far in trying to seem polite, badders.)

Y'all, in post #2, Imnapl gave me that link to the other thread. In post #3, I'd conceded to having asked a question that'd already been answered and made the suggestion for the form. As such, post #3, alone, made the name I initially gave this thread completely irrelevant. But of course, I couldn't edit the title of the thread to be something like "Could we have a permission form to edit?" or something because the time limit had run out quite a while before that.

Regardless of what I have interpreted to be degredation, badders, thanks for trying to be helpful...perhaps you're not being condescending and I misinterpreted things severely, in which case I apologize. However, I've obviously gotten nowhere here, it was just a proposal, that's all, and now that I've annoyed the living heck out of everyone, I suppose I'm just going to have to...what's the word? Oh, right--pray that a couple of posts are not discovered by the wrong people and taken out of context. Because if that happens, I am essentially SOL, and will probably go MIA following the discovery.

This is all rather ironic--I wish I could go back and delete my original post, so that this had not been established. Or, at least, I wish I could've gone back and changed the title of the thread after post #3--but I'm being redundant.

KJ/C
a.k.a. "Needle-weilding chica who metaphorically screwed herself to the wall and now has not metaphorical screwdriver with which to unscrew herself, but may be able to get a moderator to free her if she bugs them and they have a chance (or feel like it)"

...if I've annoyed some mods with this thread, (and I probably have) I'm well aware that, well, KJ ain't gonna get a lick of help. So I metaphorically screwed myself to the wall twice, but I have no idea how that could metaphorically happen unless I could disclocate my metaphorical joints.




as a moderator of a few online forums. imho, the reason for restrictive edit time is simple.

a post in the forum here is akin to public speaking, or speaking in a real-life "forum", or publishing an article in a magazine, once you have said something, it has been heard by your audience/readers. you cannot go back in time and erase what is already in other people's memory.

you can however, post a correction. like what people do when they find a mistake in their article, or if they misspeak, they can immediately correct themselves.

and why is there a 30mins window for editing? it is mainly because communication isn't exactly realtime like public speaking, and the inherent casual nature of an online forum usually means posters are less careful with what they type, so the 30mins acts as a grace period, in which *most* readers may not have read what was posted. and for those who have, can see the "edited by" message.

as i said, it is imho. and this policy prevent abusing of editing as well as allowing certain amount of errors to be corrected without causing mass confusion.
that happens. and the "form" that you requested come in the shape of a PM (Private Message) to the moderators who has power to edit posts.

it is then up to the moderator staff to decide if the request is reasonable, and how the request should be handled to minimize confusion.

and you should also realize that moderators are busy people, if you go bug them every other post, you will not be very popular among them.

best is to think twice before posting something. but granted that us ADDers can be impulsive at times (esp those high on medication.... ;) ), it may or may not be possible.

and i am only speaking from my own experience from my own forums. i am NOT speaking on behalf of addforums moderators. so YMMV.

On RARE occassions posts MAY be edited at the request of a forum member, at the discretion of the Forums Staff. Since this will only occur on RARE occassions, no form is required or necessary.

KnittingJunkie,

i apologize if you are offended by my posts. i have zero ill-meaning in any of them and was sincerely trying to be helpful.

i didn't mean to be redundant, i usually just blurt out what is in my head when i type, which may end up repeating existing information in the thread.

btw, YMMV=Your Mileage May Vary.

btw, YMMV=Your Mileage May Vary. New one for me, too, KJ. I drive a diesel car and I get very good mileage, thanks. :D

Do you have ADD or something....lol



KnittingJunkie,

i apologize if you are offended by my posts. i have zero ill-meaning in any of them and was sincerely trying to be helpful.

i didn't mean to be redundant, i usually just blurt out what is in my head when i type, which may end up repeating existing information in the thread.

btw, YMMV=Your Mileage May Vary.

Oops, sorry--thought I replied, after my last post, but looking at it I guess I didn't.

It's all good, Badders--I have stuff on my mind. Thanks for the new word...I'll have to begin using it. :D Thanks for apologizing, it was irritating but I think I kinda overreacted.

Basically, I'm stressed @ the moment, made me cranky, sorry for the rather harsh reaction. It's ok, no worries y'all. Everything's fine. Nothing anyone else can do. Something did inspire this thread, and it's something that, well, is my own fault and is likely not going to be fixed so, well, I'm just going to have to deal with that and quit being cranky with other people who didn't play a part in it. :o

Ok, I'm rambling senslessly at this point, it's 3:40 a.m. though, should've gone to bed over 2 hours ago. :rolleyes: I may be gone all weekend so if someone asks me something, or says something specifically directed toward me or something between tomorrow morning and Monday (or thereabouts) don't be concerned if I don't respond, ok? Ain't ignoring you--just somewhere without any access to the internet (my in-laws') but might drop by my parents' and could check things out while I'm there. :)

Ughhh...have to drive in 4 hours. Dangit, my husband's gonna have to drive the first half of the trip for the safety of all of us! Just lost track of time..."Just gonna check my e-mail" turns into..."Oh, manually inserted asterisks! It's 4 a.m.! What the...?" :faint:

KJ/C

Chrys

Andrew, Sexy Dollbaby...
I am sending you a private message pertaining to my original question....
N

I've responded in pm to you...but for the record, there is no time limit to creating a post...only editing it.

FB's reply made the most sense, actually, LMAO !!
Thanks!
Nova


Fightingboredom:

OK, the real reason that there are time limits at all is so we will stop Procrastinating and get the point across. :D

And I got your last message, which was, clear and concise !
Cookies, y'all. Keep 'em on.
Thanks Andrew!
Nova