Question

Another Attempt At Proposing the Edit Response button

Answer 1

I have a reasonable compromise for introducing the "Edit Response" button. I don't believe it would be completely unreasonable to include it but place a time limit on it, say maybe a couple of minutes. Afterwards, the post would be permanent and no changes will be able to be made to it afterwards. If anyone abuses it, they'll just be reported of course.

Another proposal is to include some guidelines specific to each of the major groups so that new users have an idea of what to expect and what is expected of them (what to do, what not to do). These guidelines should be permanently placed by an appropriate mod or admin at the top of the questions list. That way, no one misses them and if need be, students can refer to them or be directed to them for extra guidance.

Answer 2

I'm not even gonna read that..I agree we need one.

Answer 3

Nevermind...I'll read it... But I still agree no matter what.

Answer 4

I also agree with that. It would be very useful to have one.

Answer 5

fourthed

Answer 6

I think he was including Hero, so Hero(1) Sniffles(2) Me(3) & him(4) :P

Answer 7

I also agree.

Answer 8

first of all i agree with an edit response button...however i have two sides i'd like to point out..

in my opinion creating error in threads is nice because it is only through error that people learn best. if people used edit response button to edit their wrong solutions it MAY lead to confusions, discrepancies and inconsistencies.

the most effective use of an edit response button is for editing typographic errors (especially in latex codes). that's when we have most problems..we have written very long latex codes and then they turn out to be errors.

so in my opinion, the best way for an edit response button to be efficient is if there was some way that the edit response button can ONLY be used to edit typographical errors, and not whole solutions.

that is my opinion anyway, what do you think @Hero ?

Answer 9

I think it is a good idea, but when I think about it more....I think about how it can be abused and how some people might get mad at some instances.
For example, say someone ask a question. Someone responds with a wrong approach or maybe even something off topic.
Then another person responds with the correct approach.
The person who responded with the wrong approach can correct what he said off the person who posted the correct approach.
So when people come by the person who first posted the wrong approach who now has the correct approach now will get the most medals most likely.

Answer 10

You know since his response seems like the FIRST best response.

Answer 11

That's what the time limit is for @myininaya

Answer 12

People will still be able to post "correct approaches".

Answer 13

Sometimes I post responses, and I make tiny little mistakes that I observe on my own

Answer 14

besides a time limit maybe also a limit to how much a person can edit?

Answer 15

No, that would be too much. The time limit would be sufficient enough.

Answer 16

Yes, of course @lgbasallote. That's exactly the reason why I am suggesting the edit button. Typographical errors while using Latex. I thought @myininaya would support me on that.

Answer 17

If there is a time limit placed on it and a student has posted in incorrect response, theyre not going to change their response because they'll think that they have posted the correct response anyway.

Answer 18

I didn't say I was totally against it. I was just thinking of some ways it could be abused.

Answer 19

And after two minutes, they won't be able to change their response.

Answer 20

And I addressed that already. People who abuse it will be reported. And perhaps number of edits can be tallied and monitored.

Answer 21

a problem with a short time though is that if a person cannot find the error in his latex quickly he wont be able to change it...but then again he can just copy-paste the whole code..

Answer 22

I would appreciate if a mod fully supported me for once. It seems like every time I make a suggestion, there's always some discouragement against it. The discouragement has a huge advantage against making what I believe to be a necessary change. Maybe you feel differently @myininaya because I rarely see you make mistakes with Latex.

Answer 23

im still fearful of how much a person can edit though...it might lead to confusions

Answer 24

a solution to my worries though might be for some way for everyone to know that a post has been edited and for them to see what the previous post was...(if it's a completely different post then they can be reported) so to avoid confusions. also the asker should be notified that a reply was edited and for him to see it as well

Answer 25

When you make a pro's and con's list, hero, do you ever write one single con? Just curious.
I have been for this idea but I'm just saying that is the one way it can be abused. I can't think of any others right now.

Answer 26

I have one con for this so you almost have my full support so don't say mods never support your ideas.

Answer 27

The Pros outweigh the cons in this case.

Answer 28

can i edit other peoples responses, or only my own?

Answer 29

@satellite73, is that a serious question? You're a mod, right?

Answer 30

What if you had instead of a time limit, you could edit it until someone else responds?

Answer 31

yes it was serious, no i am not a mod

Answer 32

@LoveYou*69 I think that is better actually. :)

Answer 33

See, @LoveYou*69 knows how to provide good responses

Answer 34

i would be happy if there was some way simply to number the responses so you could say for example "refer to answer 4 above"

Answer 35

or you could say "in response 3 i made a typo, it should be thus and such"

Answer 36

@Hero I provide good responses when I can think of them.

Answer 37

@satellite73, you can still do that without the need to number anything. Just count the number of boxes.

Answer 38

but then the recipient would havve to count boxes too =))

Answer 39

sometimes threads get long
for one or two responses no problem, but when a few people are involved and the problem gets complicated, it is often the case that you end up repeating something from several lines earlier
only reason i mention it is that it seems like this would not be complicated to achieve
then again i could easily be wrong

Answer 40

it would be fun if you could copy reply boxes too..so you wont have to repeat

Answer 41

I honestly think it would be more helpful to be able to edit rather than having it numbered, although with the problem that if it had a limit so you wouldnt be able to edit after someone else had responded than it would be helpful for the numbered posts... So i don't know because doing both would sorta be a waste...

Answer 42

Another good point made by @lgbasallote

Answer 43

If this were implemented, it would probably be a good idea to retain an "edit history" to prevent confusion.

Answer 44

So, @Hero, you really need to get out of this mindset that responses that point out a hole in your plan are bad responses. Those are the best responses. They give you the opportunity to address the problem before anything is implemented. We exhibit the same process at OpenStudy when we're brainstorming. We are occasionally surprised by things, but because of this we're very rarely surprised at how the features we implement get used or abused, and when that happens we've already put measures in place to deal with those occurrences. Our willingness to poke holes in the feature idea allowed us to be prepared in the event someone abuses it.

Now, onto the idea of the edit response button. I'm not entirely opposed to this idea, but if we implemented it then it should be incredibly restrictive to combat against abuse. There would be a 30-60 second window after posting, and the full edit history would be available to everyone. Also, I'm tempted to add that you would be required to provide a summary of your edit, much like you would on Wikipedia. Also, under this scenario, I suspect that we would remove the ability for regular users to delete replies as the whole purpose of reply deletion was to allow for mistakes to be corrected.

Just my initial thoughts. More later, most likely.

Answer 45

Since I never make a mistake, i see no need for an "edit my mistake" button ;)

Answer 46

amistre only makes "tests" after all

Answer 47

lol @amistre64 is probably the only person who can say that and I know that he's just joking.