leaving this forum

[erik]

the fact that we can not even edit our posts and much less delete them is a pretty big deal to me, never seen any other site doing this, I don't feel safe posting here.

[Peterkin]

Eh? I edit all the time. Three, four times for a single post* If there were a contest for most editings, being the klutziest typist with the crappiest keyboard, I would probably be the champion.

*not, as I had in the original version, singlle piost.

I've deleted a couple, too, upon discovering that somebody else had better and more up-to-date information on the topic.

Life's a beach, baby! You can erase anything from the sand, so long as you beat the tide to it.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Peterkin

[iNow]

11 minutes ago, erik said:

I don't feel safe posting here.

Yea. The danger is real. That one hour window of allowed edit time and inability to pull threads out of threaded discussions that have already happened. It’s a miracle we’re not all dead 

[Peterkin]

1 minute ago, iNow said:

It’s a miracle we’re not all dead 

How sure are you that we're not?

[iNow]

I’d answer, but since I won’t be able to edit it one hour from now or delete it two years from now I probably shouldn’t 

[sethoflagos]

15 minutes ago, iNow said:

I’d answer, but since I won’t be able to edit it one hour from now or delete it two years from now I probably shouldn’t 

How does the OP manage to cope with that most unsafe of environments, real life with its utterly unbearable lack of any retrospective editing facility?  

[Peterkin]

Not well, I imagine.

[Arete]

It took over 168 times more effort to write this post than to left click the X on the browser tab.  Are you sure you don't just like being dramatic? 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Arete

[CharonY]

52 minutes ago, Arete said:

It took over 168 times more effort to write this post than to left click the X on the browser tab.  Are you sure you just don't like being dramatic? 

Hold on, you can close browsers?

[Intoscience]

5 hours ago, erik said:

the fact that we can not even edit our posts and much less delete them is a pretty big deal to me, never seen any other site doing this, I don't feel safe posting here.

In what way do you feel threatened? The worst that can happen is that you get some ridicule or verbal attack on a social digital platform. 

Dealing with humility can often be a life lesson and make you more resilient. If not then you could always refrain from posting something that may provoke personal attack or ridicule.

But to be fair the moderators do a pretty good job of policing such so you are protected to a certain degree.  

[studiot]

8 hours ago, erik said:

the fact that we can not even edit our posts and much less delete them is a pretty big deal to me, never seen any other site doing this, I don't feel safe posting here.

Hello, erik,

I see you have a total of 15 posts resulting in 4 plus points since you joined.

That's better than  1  to 4 and better even than our most senior moderator.

Please don't feel threatened, you are doing exceedingly well.

[TheVat]

9 hours ago, CharonY said:

Hold on, you can close browsers?

🤣

Admit I'm a little curious where there are all these forums that don't have time windows on editing or deleting.  That would be a real gift to trolls.

[geordief]

SSS

Warning :Sarcasm Sargasso Sea

[swansont]

Felling a little unsafe is positive, IMO. It means not being able to post provocative trash and delete it later, after finding out you’ve overstepped. That’s something you have to think about beforehand. It makes you a little bit accountable for your posts, even if you post under a pseudonym.

 

[Phi for All]

13 hours ago, erik said:

I don't feel safe posting here.

Ultimately, this part is completely up to you, but I have to ask why? You get an hour to edit/delete, so what's unsafe, even if you're past the time limit? I'm having a hard time thinking of how our editing rules are "unsafe".

We aren't going to change, since we've actually experienced what happens when people can edit/delete at will. Talk about unsafe! In the distant past, we'd have people post one question, get a bunch of responses, then edit the question to make the responses look stupid, or bigoted, or some other manipulation. And of course, if someone makes a claim but can later remove it and say they never made it, a discussion forum becomes fairly meaningless.

So, if you must go, perhaps you can first tell us what's so dangerous about holding people accountable for their part in a conversation?

Edit to add: I see from this thread that you wanted to go back and edit your OP after others had responded and showed you how your idea was wrong. Can't you see how weird that would make the thread look, you removing errors from your OP that others comment on later in the thread? People reading that a month from now wouldn't be able to understand it.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Phi for All
added link to other thread

[exchemist]

2 hours ago, TheVat said:

🤣

Admit I'm a little curious where there are all these forums that don't have time windows on editing or deleting.  That would be a real gift to trolls.

Actually I subscribe to one and it is not generally a problem. But there, so long as you quote the post to which you reply, that version is not changed by any subsequent edit the author may make after you have replied. That avoids the issue of replies looking nonsensical. As for abuse by trolls, that hardly ever happens and when it does the mechanism I have described ensures an audit trail of the changes can be seen by all.

I quite often go back and correct typos on later reading, but obviously I wouldn’t dream of substantively altering the content of my posts. I suppose the ability to do that can make one a bit lazy in drafting. But that forum tends to have quick reactions so there is some pressure to get your response in while the topic is hot, whereas here people tend to be (!) more reflective and thorough, as befits a more intellectual place. So I’m not suggesting this place should change.

[Sensei]

2 hours ago, exchemist said:

I quite often go back and correct typos on later reading, but obviously I wouldn’t dream of substantively altering the content of my posts.

Add the English dictionary and spell-checker extension to your web browser, enable it in the text area (RMB), and the web browser will highlight (with red underline) incorrect words for you.

 

[exchemist]

32 minutes ago, Sensei said:

Add the English dictionary and spell-checker extension to your web browser, enable it in the text area (RMB), and the web browser will highlight (with red underline) incorrect words for you.

 

No thanks, that would make me lazier. Also, my experience of spelI-checkers is they sometimes get things wrong.  I'm a refusenik on those, just as I am on satnavs - I prefer maps. 

[MigL]

I'm with Studiot on this, Erik.
I have been re-reading the threads you participated in, concerning Gravity theory and fine tuning of the Universe, and I found your posts to be thoughtful and insightful.
Even when making statements that others corrected, there is no need for editing, as they become a valuable learning tool for others.
And that is the reason we are all here; to learn from others, and sometimes, provide some insights, or even teach a thing or two to the 'experts'.

Your contributions, so far, are valued and appreciated.

Edited December 7, 2022 by MigL

[iNow]

20 hours ago, erik said:

we can not even edit our posts and much less delete them is a pretty big deal to me

As others have shared, the intent underlying this permission setting here is to avoid problems from bad actors, and the staff here have decided that minimizing that risk brings more value to the site and participants than the marginal value of allowing forever edits or voluntary deletes forever for everyone. 

With that said, if a post is particularly bad, then I’m sure you could click the Report button and ask the mods here to make a specific edit or fix on your behalf. 

But on the internet, you need to basically assume it lives forever the moment you click Submit Reply or Send. 

Edited December 7, 2022 by iNow

[studiot]

5 minutes ago, iNow said:

As others have shared, the intent underlying this permission setting here is to avoid problems from bad actors, and the staff here have decided that minimizing that risk brings more value to the site and participants than the marginal value of allowing forever edits or voluntary deletes forever for everyone. 

With that said, if a post is particularly bad, then I’m sure you could click the Report button and ask the mods here to make a specific edit or fix on your behalf. 

But on the internet, you need to basically assume it lives forever the moment you click Submit Reply or Send. 

+1

Yup I must own up to asking for one or two particularly stupid bobos to be put right that way, in case a later reader only read the first post and not my later apology and correction.

 

[TheVat]

Like @studiot I've had a couple bloopers.  One, as it happened, was me utterly misreading the phrasing of some innocuous post of his and reacting contentiously and stupidly.  I wanted to deep six my post, but didn't even edit a correction in time.  It was fortunate that someone else, @StringJunky maybe, alertly pointed out the misunderstanding.   Blessed are the cheesemakers.