Editing comments
Danyl Strype
Public
Seen by 44
The conversation was originally about a feature to avoid repetition of the notification when the same user changes the context box multiple times to correct typos or add missed details.
The discussion has segued onto the topic of editing comments. There have been a number of opinions:
- users should be able to edit their comments whenever they like and be trusted to use this power responsibly
- users should be able to edit their comments during a given time window (eg 5min or 24 hours)
- users should be able to edit their comments until another comment is posted on the same thread
- users should be able to edit their comments whenever they like, but all changes are recorded in an edit history
Ben notes:
- it's important to have an accurate record of a discussion where changes aren't hidden from view
- it's not nice to get notifications about minor edits and typo fixes
- it would be good for groups to be able to enable/disable comment editing
"Overall I'm hearing that people feel it would be good to have a way of fixing mistakes in comments, but it's important that this doesn't damage the integrity of a discussion."
Everyone seems to agree that the 'delete and repost' method of fixing typos we currently use needs replacing, with some method of comment editing. Some of us want the ability to edit limited, to protect the comment thread as an accurate record of deliberation (how the issue was shaped, and a decision arrived at), and feel an edit history creates more problems than it solves in this regard. @josefdaviescoates pointed out that 'delete and repost' annoys those who receive all comments as email, so the edit function needs to somehow deal with this.
Richard D. Bartlett Mon 10 Jun 2013 9:54PM
I think it useful to have a notification in the thread that the context has changed, to draw your attention to the changes. I just think the current implementation has plenty of room for improvement.
I started looking at this problem last night actually, referencing issue #649. What I'm working on right now is just collapsing multiple repetitions of 'Strypey changed the discussion description' into one notice'.
Danyl Strype Tue 11 Jun 2013 8:15AM
@richarddbartlett Yeah, that would definitely be an improvement. I often end up editing the Context Box three or more times to correct typos or whatever, which creates a lot of unnecessary duplicate notes on the comment thread.
BTW If you look at the history I originally started this thread to ask for a history for the Context Box ;) It was only after I started it, I realised you folks were streets ahead of me. Keep up the great work!
Danyl Strype Tue 11 Jun 2013 8:18AM
PS It would be really nice to be able to edit my comment after posting it for the same reason (typos etc). Obviously you don't want people editing the history of the discussion by changing their comments long after the fact, but to ways to prevent this include:
* a time limit (5 mins/ 10 mins)?
* ability to edit stops when you navigate away from the page
* ability to edit stops when you logout
I know this is the wrong place to mention it, but it is related to editing...
Richard D. Bartlett Tue 11 Jun 2013 9:09AM
@strypey this feature should be out in the next few days (see here). I'm really stoked with it, it's my first feature that I've built by strict test-driven development practices. I didn't even fire up the server to look at it!
Re: editing comments - I desperately want that feature and I'm not sure if we need to limit it. e.g. Facebook lets you edit comments indefinitely, and it just marks the comment as "Edited". If we implemented it like that, perhaps social pressure is enough to keep people from maliciously editing the history?
Another option is to provide a revision history for edited comments, like we do with the context.
Danyl Strype Mon 17 Jun 2013 4:21AM
@richarddbartlett You're right that an edit history would prevent unaccountable history re-writing, but it would also add:
* technical overhead (think about page load times!)
* use overhead; imagine checking the histories of multiple comments on a long, controversial discussion vs just scrolling down.
A time limit (an 'algorithm of limitations'?) on comment editing should provide for our obsessive need to fix our typos and missing words, and add PS sentences, links etc without adding all that overhead.
Can you think of a use case where someone would legitimately need to change a comment after a day, rather than just adding another one?
Poll Created Mon 17 Jun 2013 4:48AM
Edit comments Closed Tue 25 Jun 2013 4:00AM
Comment authors can edit their comments for up to 24hrs after posting.
Edited comments are simply marked as 'edited'.
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Agree | 33.3% | 3 |
|
| Abstain | 11.1% | 1 |
|
|
| Disagree | 55.6% | 5 |
|
|
| Block | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Undecided | 0% | 267 |
|
9 of 276 people have participated (3%)
Danyl Strype
Mon 17 Jun 2013 5:02AM
Considering that people seldom engage in realtime back-and-forth conversations on Loomio (although it happens), a day seems about right.
Benjamin Knight
Mon 17 Jun 2013 5:16AM
Useful!
Nicolas Wormser
Tue 18 Jun 2013 6:43AM
I think something like 2-3 minutes would cover most cases without taking the risk of disrupting too much context of the conversation. Beyond that you need a history, and I don't think this is relevant for comments.
Nicolas Wormser · Mon 10 Jun 2013 2:26PM
Well, that would make a lot of sense. We also need to add colours/visualisation tweaks to the revision history so we can easily see what part of the context has changed.