The Purpose of the Editor's Note on Posts?

[Dsanders 5,747]

I've been wondering this for some time now. What exactly is the purpose of the editing note you get when/if you have to edit a post anyways? I mean, it seems rather superfluous to me.

 

Plus, with me being generally kinda OCD when it comes to small details, the little note at the bottom tends to bug me sometimes. Not all the time, but eh, sometimes it gives me the whole "your writing's not good compared to most other people's posts on here so therefore, you will be labeled :comeatus: " kind of vibe.

 

I don't necessarily think exactly that, but for when and if I want to correct the simplest and littlest error in a post that I make, simply because I like making my writing look nice, I find it annoying that for one little error that I wanted to fix up, I get tagged with this seeming pointless note that just seems to be of little to no value to me or anyone else.

 

I think that for editing it would be easier and a harmless nice change, especially for those of us who can't help but get all riled up over little details, if we would simply not get that editor's note whenever we want to edit a post and fix up a few errors.

 

So I'm just wondering, what you do guys think? 

 

EDIT: See what I mean? lol

Edited December 7, 2013 by Dsanders

[Magpie 623]

I don't mind it, really. Just lets people know the post changed.

 

EDIT: Like it just did.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Brosparkles

[Dsanders 5,747]

 

 

I don't mind it, really. Just lets people know the post changed.

 

What's the point for that though? If we had no editing note, we could still tell that the post has changed by reading over it a second time. Besides, who really bothers to do that anyways? I'm just saying it's ultimately pointless and a little annoying if you just want to correct a simple error, and it says you have edited it. While that may be the case, it's barely a tiny little portion you've edited? Why should people know about that?

[Mlpfan185 1,763]

Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by NONAME

[Dsanders 5,747]

It is handy in a lot of different circumstances. For example, my giveaways, it lets people know when the name list was updated. It also is a tattle tale if someone tries to edit their post to reflect an untruth.

 

I can see the little bit of usefulness there. However for the updates on the name list, that can also be looked upon quite frequently and the changes would still be noticeable, even without the note. At least that's what I usually do. You got me on the latter though. But how exactly do you know if such a thing would happen? Has it happened before?

 

Overall, I still consider it quite superfluous and unnecessary in a number of circumstances, especially when editing a simple little mistake, even it is as minuscule as a single letter. It can really bug the crap outta me sometimes, especially since I'm quite OCD about my own writing. 

[King 5,625]

 

 

What's the point for that though? If we had no editing note, we could still tell that the post has changed by reading over it a second time.

 
Its not really important, it just informs people that it was changed for one reason or another. Also possibly helps moderators know if someone edited out something that was against the rules.

As I said, its not a "must have" feature, it just exists for one reason or the other

[Dsanders 5,747]

 

 

As I said, its not a "must have" feature, it just exists for one reason or the other

 

Let me just ask you this: would it really be that bad if you were to remove it?

 

Because I understand all the points everyone is making here, but still, it seems rather arbitrary when it your post is automatically given that tag when you have to edit one little mistake. I mean with that regards, it really serves little to no purpose.

 

Maybe the editor's note does have some good reasons for existing, but still I wish the system wasn't so oriented and I guess you can say, sensitive as to count the fixing of a few harmless mistakes on a post as worthy enough of an edit. 

[SCS 7,537]

I think the feature is useful - there may be one or more people who would want to know whether or not a particular post was edited. It is particularly important for moderation - moderators have to edit people's posts from time to time, and they are able to leave a custom edit note in order to inform others why the post was edited. This helps prevent confusion that could arise from people not knowing what had occurred when their post had been changed in some way.

[Dsanders 5,747]

I think the feature is useful - there may be one or more people who would want to know whether or not a particular post was edited. It is particularly important for moderation - moderators have to edit people's posts from time to time, and they are able to leave a custom edit note in order to inform others why the post was edited. This helps prevent confusion that could arise from people not knowing what had occurred when their post had been changed in some way.

I can see its purpose for helping the staff out with moderation, but this also brings up yet another suggestion: why not make the editing feature only exclusive to the moderators? I mean it would make perfect sense wouldn't it?

 

And again, I still say the overall strictness of this feature is rather unnecessary, especially in regard to those of us who want to change very little and minute mistakes that are most likely of little to no relevance and importance to the people of this community.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Dsanders

[Shift 4,272]

I really think that if they fix it, at least make it smaller and not like 'OMG THIS PERSON EDITED HIS POST!'. Maybe they could make it smaller and put it in a less obvious spot?

[Nohbdy 4,108]

I've been bothered by this, as well. If it weren't for one huge issue with taking out the message, I'd love for it to be implemented. Read on for details. 

I can see its purpose for helping the staff out with moderation, but this also brings up yet another suggestion: why not make the editing feature only exclusive to the moderators? I mean it would make perfect sense wouldn't it?

Some other IPB communities I've been on actually use a checkbox to make the message optional for all users. It doesn't have to be exclusive to moderators, and it would still work. 

 

 
Also possibly helps moderators know if someone edited out something that was against the rules.
 

Not an issue, actually. We can see every edit that has been made to a post, regardless of the edit message. Changes to the message will have little, if any, direct impact on moderation.

 

The biggest concern that I have with removing (or making optional) the edit message has been mentioned already. Non-moderator users have no access to edit history, which means that a dishonest user can easily abuse the feature. Any disputes caused by this action will need to be investigated by the moderation team, who are already stretched very thin. I've seen the problem happen on other sites. For this reason alone, I'm extremely hesitant to support the removal of the message.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Aquila
Clarification

[Zygen 6,066]

I don't mind it, doesn't really bug me, and i forget its there half the time.

 

its nice to know if someone did edit their post anyways, in case many something changed and i'm curious if i'm crazy or it really did change.

 

I usually inform people if i edited on the post itself anyways, unless its grammar fixes, so yeah, doesn't bother me personally much, and i suppose it has its uses in some cases even.

 

I'm kinda neutral on it, doesn't matter to me either way.

[Dsanders 5,747]

 unless its grammar fixes,

That's really what I am ultimately referring to. It's the fact that even editing something as subtle as a few simple errors is considered eligible enough for the note to be made!

 

I remember having to only edit ONE single grammatical mistake in this one neatly written post I made, and that dang edit note just took away the aesthetic feel of it all, at least that's how it felt for me.

 

I hate being OCD like this and the seemingly arbitrary note doesn't help one bit. lol

[Zygen 6,066]

That's really what I am ultimately referring to. It's the fact that even editing something as subtle as a few simple errors is considered eligible enough for the note to be made!

 

I remember having to only edit ONE single grammatical mistake in this one neatly written post I made, and that dang edit note just took away the aesthetic feel of it all, at least that's how it felt for me.

 

I hate being OCD like this and the seemingly arbitrary note doesn't help one bit. lol

Well i guess i can understand that, but i dunno if theres a way to exclude it for that.

 

I dunno how this stuff works totally on a technical standpoint so yeah.

 

Idk, it doesn't bother me, but i guess i can understand if it does you, dunno if its something that can be totally fixed though.

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,527]

The biggest concern that I have with removing (or making optional) the edit message has been mentioned already. Non-moderator users have no access to edit history, which means that a dishonest user can easily abuse the feature. Any disputes caused by this action will need to be investigated by the moderation team, who are already stretched very thin. I've seen the problem happen on other sites. For this reason alone, I'm extremely hesitant to support the removal of the message.

 

As Aquila mentioned, it's a preventative measure mostly designed to aid in keeping users accountable to each other. It's a rather discrete note that does no real harm, but can be handy when you come across a post and wonder if there is (or was) more to it than meets the eye. It has happened before that users would edit posts that rubbed others the wrong way in an attempt to "take back" their words - and it generally makes situations worse when that happens.

 

 

It's the fact that even editing something as subtle as a few simple errors is considered eligible enough for the note to be made!

 

There's no "eligibility" factor at work with this note; the way it works is rather simple: if your post has changed since it was first submitted, the time the post's contents changed becomes just as public as the time it was first published.

 

In the grand scheme of things, getting into defining what constitutes a note-worthy edit (pun totally not intended ) from a "minor" one, then laying out moderation policies to enforce such a rule, will be more trouble than it's worth.