Edit Feature - Now Time Limited?

[Casey]

On 2/13/2019 at 11:51 PM, Dave Ambrose said:

This isn't perfect, but hopefully an improvement.

We'll all adjust to whatever the new window is and be fine. 

[Jordan White]

Another reason for no time limit is if your image links get broken down the road and you want to update them, especially in the aforementioned long build threads.

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 2/13/2019 at 9:28 AM, Casey said:

I have seen very few people doing that, as most members seem to understand their work can stand for itself. Topics are automatically updated when a new reply is added, so updating the post title every time something is done is redundant and unnecessary. People will read/see any new or updated work when they read the topic.

Here's a good example of why updating the topic is unnecessary:

 

That's not necessarily true.

Just because a build thread in the "On the Workbench" section bounces to the top of the list on occasion doesn't mean that I'm going to read it again, unless there are updates.

I want to go back and review any new material by the builder.

I'm not interested in reading everybody else's comments on it.

I don't want to have to go back and check the thread a half a dozen times if there is no new progress on it.

It all seems kind of dumb to me.

 

Steve

Edited February 16, 2019 by StevenGuthmiller

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 2/13/2019 at 11:51 PM, Dave Ambrose said:

Not so much broken as makes us vulnerable to getting hacked. I lengthened the edit window to 3 days. This isn't perfect, but hopefully an improvement. It's going to take me some time to figure out how we mitigate this vulnerability, and get us back to where we can edit old content again. 

I understand your frustration, but please bear with me. 

As long as we are moving towards a fix, I'm okay with it.

But we do need to get it back to where it was.

I use the edit function all of the time.

Not everything changes within 45 minutes or 3 days!

 

Steve

[Straightliner59]

On 2/13/2019 at 8:15 AM, Can-Con said:

Me too. I think there's quite a few here that do that. 

Same here. I think it's important to be able to update threads in "On The Bench", as to when project threads have been modified.

[Straightliner59]

On 2/13/2019 at 7:34 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

I have to respectfully disagree.

I have build threads that are often dormant for years, and then get fired up again. I've noticed that if I don't modify the header and include a date, there are relatively few readers, most apparently assuming it's just an old, dead thread somebody dug up for one reason or another.

As the only object of posting one's work on a forum is to have it seen, there's little incentive to add new material (which in my own case takes more than average effort) if it's just going to be ignored.

Hear, hear. I am generally notoriously slow!

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Straightliner59 said:

Same here. I think it's important to be able to update threads in "On The Bench", as to when project threads have been modified.

+1 to that. I like to see updated thread titles. (And do them myself.) 

[bobthehobbyguy]

I agree that editing a topic header is a good thing. Going back days latter to edit a post really doesn't make sense.

  If there is something like editing photo links quote and then make the note.  Editing a post doesn't show in the new content and I doubt that many go back and read a topic more than once. 

[Rusty92]

I've seen some other forums where instead of letting you edit the existing text you instead supplement the post and down at the bottom of the post it says "Post Updated" with the new text.

For example:

I like the look of the new Corvettes.

Post Updated

But not in red!

The example above shows what it would be like. Kind of like our "reason for edit" box that we can fill in, but this way just automatically adds a new line of text and doesn't allow a user to change the old one.

 

[peteski]

"The Home - The Community - Real or Model? / Auto ID Quiz - Autoquiz"  thread had the initial post updated regularly after about 5 days (to provide the solution to the quiz).  it was nice to be able to see the photo description in the initial post, rather than looking elsewhere.

[tim boyd]

On 2/13/2019 at 10:15 AM, Can-Con said:

Me too. I think there's quite a few here that do that. 

Me as well....I tried to update a title of one of my threads yesterday and the option was gone.  I thought it was just my lousy laptop acting up...   Yes Dave, see if you can do something about this if possible...thanks.....Tim

[Dennis Lacy]

Add me as another who ALWAYS updates my WIP thread titles to indicate I have done more work on the project. 

 

It definitely has a noticeable effect on getting views and comments!  

Edited February 19, 2019 by Dennis Lacy

[peteski]

On 2/14/2019 at 12:51 AM, Dave Ambrose said:

Not so much broken as makes us vulnerable to getting hacked. I lengthened the edit window to 3 days. This isn't perfect, but hopefully an improvement. It's going to take me some time to figure out how we mitigate this vulnerability, and get us back to where we can edit old content again. 

I understand your frustration, but please bear with me. 

I'm curious:  For how many years has the post editing been enabled permanently? In that time were there any hacks contributed to the ability to edit the older posts?  I guess that I just don't see how the ability to edit ones posts can make the forum vulnerable.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Id rather have Dave be cautious.  The last time the site was hacked it was down for quite a while.

In the grand scheme of things not be able to edit posts for the convience of a few is not worth having the site down. I agree that the edit feature is useful and hopefully we will get that back.

[Force]

I just noticed we can't edit our own posts in the private message section...why is that?
That has allways been possible before, but now after you have posted a message it's not possible to edit it.

And I don't think the edit feature on the forum is just "for the convenience of a few" as Bob put it in the post above, I think many here edits their posts now and then...and there is no preview feature so if we can't edit the posts and you see something you want to change it after it has been posted it can't be fixed afterwards.
For me who don't have English as my native language, and we are many here as this forum has members from all over the world, I sometimes have to edit the posts just to get spelling, punctuation and sentence structure right so my posts will be understandable.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Force

[Casey]

6 hours ago, Force said:

there is no preview feature so if we can't edit the posts and you see something you want to change it after it has been posted it can't be fixed afterwards.

Dave lengthened the edit window to 3 days, so everyone should be able to edit their content because of grammatical errors, spelling, etc. within that three day window of creating your post. 

[bobthehobbyguy]

I'm not saying would shouldn't be a able to edit posts. Three days is plenty. Why do we need to go back months later to edit a post?

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

I'm not saying would shouldn't be a able to edit posts. Three days is plenty. Why do we need to go back months later to edit a post?

As discussed above, some of us who actually post long-term build threads need to be able to update the headers so the updated posts including new material will actually be read.

As it stands now, it's unlikely I'll update any long-term threads. If they're not going to be presented as "updated with new info", and likely get read as a result, it's too much effort to expend for nothing. As I've stated before, there's NO rational reason to post a build on a forum other than to have it seen by other people.

Also, occasionally, while researching a particularly involved build, I'll unearth additional information I didn't have at the time of the first post, sometimes factually contradicting information I'd already posted. In the interest of only presenting FACTUAL information (I know, this is rarely a consideration on the internet), I need to be able to edit indefinitely.

This isn't "for the convenience of a few" in my opinion. It serves to bring value to the forum.

[Xingu]

Everyone please scroll back to where the site admin says this feature exposes us to a security vulnerability. Really, that should be the end of the discussion. This was not a random change. This affects every post and every member on this board. Dave is trying to find a solution. Until he does it stays limited and everyone needs to work within the new time constraints.

[Ace-Garageguy]

5 minutes ago, Xingu said:

Everyone please scroll back to where the site admin says this feature exposes us to a security vulnerability. Really, that should be the end of the discussion. This was not a random change. This affects every post and every member on this board. Dave is trying to find a solution. Until he does it stays limited and everyone needs to work within the new time constraints.

I, for one, understand that completely, and not bothering to update long threads until the vulnerability is resolved is certainly working "within the new time constraints".

I may update a couple anyway, just to see what kind of readership they generate, but if past experience is anything to go by, at this point in time, it won't be much.

If no long-term edit becomes the necessarily accepted norm, and headers cannot be updated, eventually board members will become aware that a very old thread popping up on the WIP section isn't necessarily an already-been-read ghost.

[Casey]

48 minutes ago, Xingu said:

Everyone please scroll back to where the site admin says this feature exposes us to a security vulnerability. Really, that should be the end of the discussion.

Point taken. My original question was answered, so please, lock this topic.