Issue with editing people's comments...

[Asmor]

If you want to see an example of this process in action, check out the most recent Order of the Stick thread...

Daniel's explanation: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=195766&p=3506535
Edited post: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=195766&p=3506483
Edited post: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=195766&p=3506487

That's actually specifically triggered this post... Not the first time I've felt this, I feel it every time I see an edited post, just decided to say something this time.

There's no question that the mods here have, in my experience at least, shown great discretion in their usage of their powers, but all the same it makes me very uncomfortable whenever I see it. If nothing else, these mods may be great, but what about the new mods a couple years down the line, or when Morrus has to stop running the site, etc...

It's kind of the same argument for not giving your government too much power... You might love and trust the hell out of the guys in power now, but who knows what's coming after?

 

[Jdvn1]

That's actually specifically triggered this post... Not the first time I've felt this, I feel it every time I see an edited post, just decided to say something this time.

And that specifically triggered my post too.

I'm glad the mod took the initiative to edit the post. I didn't realize there was a problem with my post, and rather than have possible legality issues and wait for me to come back around (neither of us could guarantee when that would've happened), he not only fixed the problem but made it clear not to do it in the future.

And now that I know, I won't.

If the post were simply deleted, the issue would be more likely to come up again.

 

[Morrus]

It's kind of the same argument for not giving your government too much power... You might love and trust the hell out of the guys in power now, but who knows what's coming after?

Fortunately, we're not a government, and nobody's actually likely to be harmed no matter what buttons we press on the site!

The whole issue isn't an "EN World" issue, it's a "how messageboards work" issue - it's the same on every one of the hundreds upon thousands of messageboards on these here intraweb.

What we do is remove offending material - material which the poster has agreed not to post. They didn't have permission to post that material in the first place (whether it be an insult, obscenity, politcs, or what-have-you), so it shouldn't be there.

What we don't do is rewrite anything.

I guess feeling that it's disrespectful is a valid opinion; but it's no less direspectful than deliberately posting something prohibited in the first place. Of course, it's not alwsy deliberate - some people do it by accident, which is cool (these things happen), but that doesn't mean that the text should remain there.

 

[jaerdaph]

"This post has been modified to fit your screen."

 

[Umbran]

If nothing else, these mods may be great, but what about the new mods a couple years down the line, or when Morrus has to stop running the site, etc...

New mods are carefully considered, and operate under oversight of Morrus and the other mods - it isn't like they set us loose without watching what we do. So, there's considerable enforcement of continuity of practice. If a new mod were to abuse his powers, he'd get ousted by Morrus right quick.

And, if Morrus handed the site off to someone else, any rules Morrus had set up for us mods could go out the window anyway, and would thus be useless as a guarantee for the case.

 

[jaerdaph]

If you guys need a new mod please consider me! You can let me know later tonight - I get back from court-mandated anger management and sensitivity training class at 8 PM.

 

[LightPhoenix]

New mods are carefully considered, and operate under oversight of Morrus and the other mods - it isn't like they set us loose without watching what we do. So, there's considerable enforcement of continuity of practice. If a new mod were to abuse his powers, he'd get ousted by Morrus right quick.

Man, you just ruined my dream of dropping out of school and becoming an ENWorld mod running amok with the banhammer and a forty of malt liquor.

 

[Umbran]

Man, you just ruined my dream of dropping out of school and becoming an ENWorld mod running amok with the banhammer and a forty of malt liquor.

We already have Rel for that.

Except he quit drinking alcohol and now stays drunk on pure power. Plus he's dead sexy.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

We already have Rel for that.

So, how long until that post get's edited by Rel?

Back on topic, I also agree with mods deleting or chopping but not rewording. As has been stated earlier ... a post may contain good info and only one part that is spoiling the rest. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!

To the OP, don't think of editing as necessarily a bad thing. It isn't always because people intentionally stepped out of line. Sometimes, like the example above, the mods are there to protect people who don't know any better. [No offense indended, Jdvn1] It's true what they say ... "The mods protect the fools and the innocent."

Sometimes posters do stuff wrong innocently. Piratecat stepped in and corrected me once, and I wasn't aware that I was doing anything wrong. Now that I know, I haven't done it again. That's the innocent part. Sometimes people's posts deserve to get edited because their having a "bad-poster" moment. That's the fools part. That's the mods take out modding stick part.

So long as I see the mods in the light of "protecting the fools and the innocent" and keeping the site functioning like a well-oiled machine, I give them the props they deserve.

And yes, I expect to see one of the various mods pick up my "The mods protect the fools and the innocent" quote, get a swelled head, and insert it into a sig somewhere.

 

[Plane Sailing]

And yes, I expect to see one of the various mods pick up my "The mods protect the fools and the innocent" quote, get a swelled head, and insert it into a sig somewhere.

Tempting, sooooo tempting

Almost as tempting as wishing that nifty Piratecat a spiffy 40th birthday!