Unable to edit any of my own posts

Vernon · 2020-09-19 19:44:20

Hi, I just tried to edit post
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=24754#p24754

and received

    Logged in as Vernon Last visit: Today 15:36:52 

    Topics: Posted | New | Active | Unanswered 

Info

You do not have permission to access this page.

message. Has something changed?

Update: I can edit this post but none of my others.

Last edited by Vernon (2020-09-19 19:47:27)

yeti · 2020-09-19 19:52:59

Ahoy!

Same for me: A fresh post can be changed, older ones cannot.
Maybe there is a limited time to cure typos and what(k)not and afterwards it gets sealed for eternity...

Yarrrrrr!

Last edited by yeti (2020-09-19 19:54:43)

golinux · 2020-09-19 19:59:14

Ralph has been tweaking the timeout limits on editing and deleting posts because there was a user who recently deleted all of their posts. Please suggest time limits for consideration.

brocashelm · 2020-09-19 20:17:16

Looks like there's an issue with the current session failing to update the threads I've just read. This happens sometimes. I'm using Pale Moon.

Vernon · 2020-09-19 21:15:46

golinux wrote:

Ralph has been tweaking the timeout limits on editing and deleting posts

Are timeouts set on a per forum basis? I can still edit my post on this forum made over an hour a go (Forum Feedback) but couldn't edit

https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=24754#p24754

less than two minutes after I posted it.

Regardless, any timeout changes should be published so as not to catch posters by surprise.

zapper · 2020-09-19 22:41:49

Vernon wrote:

golinux wrote:
Ralph has been tweaking the timeout limits on editing and deleting posts
Are timeouts set on a per forum basis? I can still edit my post on this forum made over an hour a go (Forum Feedback) but couldn't edit
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=24754#p24754
less than two minutes after I posted it.
Regardless, any timeout changes should be published so as not to catch posters by surprise.

I wish it could be somewhere between an hour and a day that you could modify it. But obviously not delete after an hour.

golinux · 2020-09-19 23:31:06

I can still edit my posts on the debian forum even from 2015 but there's no longer a delete option. It is possible to have different timeouts for those 2 functions. We need to find the sweet spot for each of the options.

ralph.ronnquist · 2020-09-19 23:58:54

The timeout is a day, or 86400 seconds, since the creation of the post.

@Vernon, it shouldn't have stopped you from editing that post so I'm not sure what is happening there.

'edit' and 'delete' are treated the same based on my reasoning that editing lets you remove all content, and a blank post is basically the same as a deleted post.

Altoid · 2020-09-20 00:27:23

Hello:

golinux wrote:

... suggest time limits for consideration.

I think that posts which have not received an answer should have no time limit for edition by the OP, who should also be able to delete it if deemed necessary.

But, if a post has received an answer the OP should not be able to delete it.

With respect to editing a post that has received an answer, I'd say that it depends on the forum.

I have had a forum member (not here, of course ...) edit his original post and in doing so make my answer look out of place.
ie: like if I was replying to something that he did not write, to the extent of making me doubt for a second as to what I had read.

It's only happened to me once in more that 20 years of participating in different fora, but I found it to be rather unsettling.

I'm sure that here at Dev1 it could be allowed (with the provision of automatic edit notices) for as long as it takes for a second reply to come in.
From the on, that particular post would be closed to editing.

Make sense?

Cheers,

A.

Last edited by Altoid (2020-09-20 01:53:27)

golinux · 2020-09-20 01:01:02

ralph.ronnquist wrote:

The timeout is a day, or 86400 seconds, since the creation of the post.
'edit' and 'delete' are treated the same based on my reasoning that editing lets you remove all content, and a blank post is basically the same as a deleted post.

IMO, that time is too short.

People edit for many reasons, not just to delete. I have sometimes edited content days, weeks, even years after posting. There should be a more conservative time limit for deleting the first post of a thread. That should only be allowed if there have been no responses. My .02 . . .

Vernon · 2020-09-20 03:22:16

ralph.ronnquist wrote:

The timeout is a day, or 86400 seconds, since the creation of the post.
@Vernon, it shouldn't have stopped you from editing that post so I'm not sure what is happening there.

Still can't edit my post and it has been less than a day. Here are the screenshots.

Post

Edit Attempt

Does this help you figure out what is happening? Note that I can edit posts on this topic. Are there different edit timeout settings for each subject?

Last edited by Vernon (2020-09-20 03:30:09)

ralph.ronnquist · 2020-09-20 05:14:16

Thanks. Yes. It looks like a code bug; that the edit code picks up the topic's timestamp rather than the post's timestamp.
This might have been fixed now by my spurios replacing of a 't' with a 'p'; otherwise it'll require thought.

brocashelm · 2020-09-20 11:46:32

golinux wrote:

I can still edit my posts on the debian forum even from 2015 but there's no longer a delete option. It is possible to have different timeouts for those 2 functions. We need to find the sweet spot for each of the options.

Don't they use phpBB? By default, you can only "delete" your post if no one else followed up in the thread, and the previous posts which haven't had anyone else contributing are candidates for self-deletion. If you edit your most recent post in a thread (provided no one else replied), there won't be a brief note saying that you edited your post.

yeti · 2020-09-20 11:57:37

I an other forum where I can edit all my posts at any time, I sometimes prefer to add to my last post (after a timestamp as separator) as long as it hasn't got a reply to keep information tighter together. I'm only fixing minor stuff like adding links to newer messages (if the message's info is too outdated), updated download locations or new versions sometimes in older messages or at the top level post, depending on the thread.

Not being able to edit my posts at any time and age feels scary and I'd revolt against it if I were a frequent writer here. Luckily I'm not! :-P

Re: Changed context after reply

If you reply to stuff, always quote the relevant parts. That way you cannot get tricked by an evil "editor" and the quoted context survives even if the original writer commits ™forum suicide™ by emptying all messages.

rolfie · 2020-09-20 12:49:38

I must admit that I am not happy with that decision. It should be my responsibility how to deal with my posts. Gives me a strange feeling of being controlled/limited?

I still belong to the working class, I am not sitting on the computer all the time. I reserve the right for me to think about my threads for more than a day. I consider myself to be a sensible guy, under normal circumstances I wouldn't try to delete my complete history or pul away useful information from others, but .... no I can't accept that approach.

Devuan was something about freedom, and if this forum is cutting of from my personal freedom I must consider to retract. I am sorry,

rolfie

Edith: added some of my thoughts about the dicussion.

Last edited by rolfie (2020-09-20 16:01:56)

HevyDevy · 2020-09-20 12:53:21

Nothing is ever deleted from the net, no matter if you edit it now or 1 year from now, unless you are a 1%er. There are probably crawlers creating snapshots here daily.

yeti · 2020-09-20 13:17:51

HevyDevy wrote:

Nothing is ever deleted from the net, no matter if you edit it now or 1 year from now, unless you are a 1%er. There are probably crawlers creating snapshots here daily.

Sure my typos are cached, archived and whatnot at wherenot, but why should I not be able to correct myself at every time I feel the wish to?

Altoid · 2020-09-20 13:20:06

Hello:

yeti wrote:

Re: Changed context after reply
... always quote the relevant parts.

Always do that and (of course) never top post.
So I instantly realised what had transpired.

Cheers,

A.

HevyDevy · 2020-09-20 13:48:27

yeti wrote:

HevyDevy wrote:
Nothing is ever deleted from the net, no matter if you edit it now or 1 year from now, unless you are a 1%er. There are probably crawlers creating snapshots here daily.
Sure my typos are cached, archived and whatnot at wherenot, but why should I not be able to correct myself at every time I feel the wish to?

Fully agree on editing posts through the ages.

Edit: but it is prone to misuse.

Last edited by HevyDevy (2020-09-20 13:53:56)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2020-09-20 14:53:01

rolfie wrote:

It should be my responsibility how to deal with my posts.

These boards are a community resource so users should not be allowed to vandalise the posts even if they wrote them.

We had a similar situation over at forums.debian.net after I managed to piss off another user with my (in)famous interpersonal skills to such a degree that they started blanking their old posts (of which there were thousands, many of them very useful) and we had to ban them to stop it.

HevyDevy · 2020-09-20 14:59:36

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

rolfie wrote:
It should be my responsibility how to deal with my posts.
These boards are a community resource so users should not be allowed to vandalise the posts even if they wrote them.
We had a similar situation over at forums.debian.net after I managed to piss off another user with my (in)famous interpersonal skills to such a degree that they started blanking their old posts (of which there were thousands, many of them very useful) and we had to ban them to stop it.

Yeah, you are just a cunt.
Edited.

Last edited by HevyDevy (2020-09-20 15:02:06)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2020-09-20 15:02:03

lol.

yeti · 2020-09-20 15:23:17

And while we're at it: Where is the delete-my-account function hidden?

golinux · 2020-09-20 15:33:13

yeti wrote:

And while we're at it: Where is the delete-my-account function hidden?

It is not possible to delete an account if you have posted. Users with 0 posts can be removed at their request. A user who recently deleted all their posts (about 30) is what started the quest to find a better solution that would not break threads. There are still quoted references to this user that now have no antecedent.

Vernon · 2020-09-20 15:55:51

Edit: Updated with archive.org suggestion

ralph.ronnquist wrote:

Thanks. Yes. It looks like a code bug; that the edit code picks up the topic's timestamp rather than the post's timestamp.
This might have been fixed now by my spurios replacing of a 't' with a 'p'; otherwise it'll require thought.

Thanks. I have now been able to edit my post.

Reasons to allow unlimited time for editing.

Posted issues take an indeterminate time to solve. By setting an edit time limit, you don't allow posters to change a topic subject to [solved]
I am a very poor typist and make many typos and grammatical errors which I may not notice until days later when reviewing my posts. And yes, I do like to go back and review my posts and admire them
I may discover additional issues that I should have discussed originally in a HOWTO days later or weeks later. Edit timeouts could prevent me from updating the HOWTO

Alternatives to Time Limits

Quote posts you are replying to. Even if the original poster modifies or deletes a post, the post is still in the quoted reply
Use rdiff-backup to take daily snapshots of your forum. rdiff-backup is like a version control system for files and only stores deltas for text files like CVS. If a post gets deleted, it can be restored with rdiff-backup. Note that rdiff-backup works on many different file systems and platforms including MAC OSX
Submit a discussion thread URL to archive.org.

Last edited by Vernon (2020-09-20 17:14:58)

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