A Vote To Reverse the "No Modify After..." Decision

[Denver Road Doug]

And yes, I realize I don't have a vote.   But personally, this stinks.   I get it that you mods have day jobs, but is this REALLY some major problem?   Did something happen recently?

 

I have several posts that are "project" posts that I treat almost like a blog.   An example is my FWWR diesel post, where I'm building a Bill of Materials as I go.   Also the post about the BLMA beer cars where I was documenting the announced road numbers, etc.    And I'm not the only one that does this...reference the Railbox thread where data was being collected and added to a table.

Anyway, I get the impression this isn't gonna change, but I wanted to express my viewpoint about this "solution without a problem."      

[Dave V]

I get it that you mods have day jobs, but is this REALLY some major problem?   Did something happen recently?

Yes and yes.  Not just something, either...several things happened.

It may seem draconian, but it's the best we can do for now.

[pwnj]

I'm not a moderator here, but I am elsewhere (and have been for 17 years) and completely understand why this would be necessary (especially since they do have "day jobs").  Blogs are much better suited to what you want to do, in so many ways. If you need help setting one up, let me know, glad to help.

[Philip H]

I'm not a moderator here, but I am elsewhere (and have been for 17 years) and completely understand why this would be necessary (especially since they do have "day jobs").  Blogs are much better suited to what you want to do, in so many ways. If you need help setting one up, let me know, glad to help.

Actually . . . would be helpful is a tutorial on how to create content that can be written once, and then used across multiple platforms.  yes, I know there's copy and paste (!) but what I want to do is create something in a single space, and then use it for a blog, to post here and then drop into one or two other fora - sort of what MC seems to do so well.  I've sort of got, but any ideas would be appreciated - in another apply named thread.

[Denver Road Doug]

I'm not a moderator here, but I am elsewhere (and have been for 17 years) and completely understand why this would be necessary (especially since they do have "day jobs").  Blogs are much better suited to what you want to do, in so many ways. If you need help setting one up, let me know, glad to help.

Quite honestly, most model railroad blogs are seldom looked at, and you rarely get the feedback you do here.   Had I started that Railbox thread, for example, in a blog...we wouldn't have near the information gathered in one spot that we do here.   Now, I get it that it's really a matter of a lot of replies to replies to quoted replies to get where we are at otherwise...just a lot more messy, a lot more threads/posts to muddle through.  And heaven forbid there's incorrect info discovered after 4 hours....well it lives on in infamy and perpetuates itself via Google.

It is what it is.   But still very disappointing.   There's still one forum I belong to that allows edits so I'll just do my updates there and let these die a natural death.   I have had intentions of revamping my blog anyway so I'll probably go that route too and try to stay on top of it.   It's not the end of the world, just forcing some change that I would prefer to avoid at the moment.   I'll survive.   

[pwnj]

Actually . . . would be helpful is a tutorial on how to create content that can be written once, and then used across multiple platforms.  yes, I know there's copy and paste (!) but what I want to do is create something in a single space, and then use it for a blog, to post here and then drop into one or two other fora - sort of what MC seems to do so well.  I've sort of got, but any ideas would be appreciated - in another apply named thread.

Well, if you use a standard location for your images (flickr, for example) and write your post using standard BBCode formatting (used here, on nscale.net, trainboard.com, and many other model railroading forum sites), you can copy the source BBCode from one and paste to the others and end up with the same formatting across the board.

[peteski]

Doug,
I also don't care for this restriction and I have already voiced my opinion in https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=30771.0

My opinion is that we are all being "punished" because of a bad behavior of just few members. I guess we are all just guests here (but without us all, this place would not be very interesting).   

[Denver Road Doug]

Thanks Peteski.  Yes, I noticed that thread but it was locked.  I'm not sure why it got locked, but I felt I had to let them know that I thought the decision was a bad one.    Yes, we are guests, and this ain't a democracy...and maybe they don't want our feedback but I'm giving it.   

[basementcalling]

How will the edit limit affect posts in the for sale board?

[tom mann]

How will the edit limit affect posts in the for sale board?

My guess is that the assurance that the prices set in the original post have not been modified will create stability in the marketplace, leading to possibly higher prices in the future.

In all seriousness, I'm considering reverting back to the way things were, since I recognize that I created more dissatisfaction that possibly wasn't warranted.  However, I want to avoid having to deal with the actions of folks who get mad and try to change recent history.  I actually like the way things are now, which is why we still have the 24 hour modify rule in place.  I'm all for other options, though...let me know...

[Scottl]

If the issue is about the revision of multiple posts, maybe put a time out on people editing a second post to let them cool off, say 240 minutes...  Not sure if that is possible, but trying to think of a way to serve both needs here.

[packers#1]

It was probably voiced in the other thread, which I did keep up with but don't have the time to read through now and won't for a good bit, but is there a way to allow certain threads, like the two DRD mentioned or Gary's Sss index, to be edited without a time limit, but keep the rest how they are. I imagine there would have to be a certain manner to follow to approve which posts this is necessary for, which would create more work, if the software even supports this function, but would solve the most pressing issue here

[Ian MacMillan]

We are looking into some options, but for now until that point this is how we are going to have it. There is the old saying; one ruins it for many.

We are not trying to punish everyone, just trying to keep that occasional douchebag that we get from messing up the whole forum when they take their ball and go home. We understand the pain the a$$ this is for right now, but give it some time and you will get used to it, until we can get to a possible permanent solution.

I have been perusing and reading the SMF (our software) support forums to see if there is something that would allow you to have the OP available for edits, say for "updates", yet lock the other replies after a certain amount of time. It will take some work as sometimes there are options out there that have what we want but they are across 3-4 different mods and we have to see if we can combine them all into one. I myself, do not have the time anymore to sit and write up a specific sql query and php mod for this forum.

[pnolan48]

. . .  I myself, do not have the time anymore to sit and write up a specific sql query and php mod for this forum.

Don't even try it, Ian. That type of mod will bite you badly in the next upgrade. Or beforehand.

Many forums are facing the problem of someone picking up his ball and going home, while mutilating threads on the way. I've suggested, in the past, that posters above a certain number earn "trusted" status. Guess what? It's the "trusted" posters who can cause the most havoc. There's really no way to judge when, why, or how someone will go "sour" on a forum. And there's really no way to argue, when someone goes sour, who owns the posts. The forum can make the argument that, once an author starts participating in a thread, the author's post becomes part of a greater whole. The author, on the other hand, can claim absolute ownership rights under current copyright law.

I think this will not be resolved for 30 years or so, until it makes it to the US Supreme Court--if ever.

There are a million or more "What-Ifs" attached to this. I think the suggestion of a limited editing time is quite reasonable.

[roundman42]

My first post.
There are various options, from unlimited to a few minutes on the different Train sites.  And most may/will allow a change to a post/blog if it's approved by the administrator. I have no issues with any of these methods.  If I had a vote I'd suggest keeping your current time limit. Pete points are IMO correct.
Thanks
See ya