# Editing function



## kata2

I wonder whether the poster can edit the contents but also the "title" of the thread afterwards.

Your consideration would be highly appreciated.


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## siares

Yes you can. There is a button Thread Tools on top - next to the buttons Unwatch Thread - Previous Thread - Next Thread, for some time after posting - I don't know how long time. There is a drop down menu, where Edit thread title appears.


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## kata2

Thanks for your information. 

I have successfully edited the title of the relevant thread.


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## Gemmenita

Hi,

As far as I know, the maximum time for editing the title is 4 minutes, and if you miss this deadline there is still one more way :
you can ask the dear Moderators of that forum via 'Report' button.




*ADDED:*


kata2 said:


> I have successfully edited the title of the relevant thread.



 But I see that _siares_ have replied to you after almost _two hours_! Does it mean that you have been able to edit your title after at least two hours or more (regarding the time of your recent posting) and that the deadline was extended??? But, I think that it is impossible, because of the importance of _a title_ which should not be changed after hours!!!
Given the importance of deadline, would you please clarify the situation?


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## Gemmenita

Hi,

Fortunately I posted recently a question, so I had the opportunity to investigate the deadline myself.

Now here is the result for those who are interested in this subject: It is extended from 4 minutes to 24 hours!!!

That's very good since, as a member, I am in favor of all _long_ deadlines for all kinds of Edits  but I don't know whether such a long deadline is really needed or useful for a case such as 'Title Editing', or whether it is approved by Moderators or is  just accidentally extended while fixing a technical issue!

Anyway...By this post I wanted mostly to update the information that I gave in my previous post.


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## Barque

The editing window has been 24 hours for as long as I can remember. But if you edit a post within five minutes, that "Last edited" note in the bottom won't appear. I think that's the feature you were thinking of.


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## Paulfromitaly

One point:

We strongly discourage people from systematically editing their messages.
The EDIT feature is only meant to let people fix typos or make minor changes in their messages.
Foreros should not keep editing their posts (adding or removing whole chunks of text), especially when some else has already posted a reply.
Major message changes often make following replies look nonsensical.


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## Gemmenita

Barque said:


> The editing window has been 24 hours for as long as I can remember.(...)I think that's the feature you were thinking of.



Oh, no, sorry Barque, but that's not what I was talking about ! From #1 to #3 of this Thread, we were discussing the deadline
of 'Editing the *Title *of a Thread' which was always 4 minutes and is extended to 24 hours! (And not Editing the contents of a post or a message!)



Paulfromitaly said:


> (...)
> Foreros should not keep editing their posts (adding or removing whole chunks of text), especially when some else has already posted a reply.
> Major message changes often make following replies look nonsensical.



Yes and this is not moral as well. That's why when a major change or even a minor but an important one is necessary, the member should mention it in coming posts!


>>> And, as a Moderator, what's your opinion about a deadline of 24 hours for just editing the *Title* of a Thread???


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## Paulfromitaly

Gemmenita said:


> >>> And, as a Moderator, what's your opinion about a deadline of 24 hours for just editing the *Title* of a Thread???


Same as above - it's OK if people edit their thread titles only to fix spelling mistakes or make minor changes.


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## Gemmenita

And if people change totally the whole Title that they have found completely wrong following the replies inside their threads _after some hours_
and only with the aim of making a suitable Tiltle which would match better with the content of their thread, would it be OK?
(That's what sometimes Moderators do -following & regarding the replies inside the Thread -for moderating a Tilte.)


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## Paulfromitaly

Gemmenita said:


> That's what sometimes Moderators do


Moderators, not users.
There's always a reason if and when we edit titles, so people should not edit them any more.
If they don't understand why their messages/titles have been edited they can always get in touch with the mods and ask for clarification.


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## Gemmenita

No, I don't mean Editing the Title chosen by Mods but the Title that a member has created himself!
(of course the title chosen by Mods is the best one  and of course it should not be changed _one more time_ by a member!)

So I explain again: If a deadline of 24 hours is allowed for Editing the Title, it would be probable that after one hour or more, a member (and not a Moderator!)
changes completely _his own_ _first Title _with the _positive_ aim of making a suitable Title which matches better with his question inside his Thread.

Is doing this OK for Mods? Do they approve this kind of Editing?


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## Gemmenita

Oh, I think that I should give some examples:


1. A beginner learner of English reads this sentence: 'Better late than never', he is confused by the usage of 'late than' and asks himself why it is not 'later than'
(since he sees a 'than' of comparison), therefore he posts a new Thread with *this* *Title*: 'late than'
But after some replies to his Thread he understands that this sentence is a proverb and means: it is better to do something late than not to do it at all.
'Oh, what a wrong Title I had chosen for my question!!! ' He says to himself at this moment...
Therefore he changes his Title into 'Better late than never' to make a more exact and correct Title for his question with the aim of a better usage for other members too!

2. Again a beginner learner of English who knows only the verb 'to have' in the meaning of 'I have a car/ She has a book/...' doesn't understand the meaning
of 'have' in a sentence that he chooses as the *Title* of his Thread: 'She has to go there.'
And then after some hours and after reading the replies to his Thread he understands that the 'main verb' of his sentence was 'Have to'.
So in this case,  this member may change his Title into : Have to + infinitive.

They were two very simple examples just to clarify what I was meaning. Of course, there should be other cases in advanced levels of any language with other kinds of total changes in the whole Title by a member but good changes and only with the aim of making *a more correct Title* than the first one!

Here is my doubt:
I always appreciated the deadline of 4 minutes for Editing *Title* and thought that it is _enough_ for fixing spelling mistakes and also thought that this deadline was chosen deliberately by the staff to avoid other big changes which may happen within a long deadline and which might cause problems for Moderation!
But now that the Title deadline is extended to 24 hours and since a deadline of_ 24 hours _may envolve _the above *Title* Editings_ too - besides spell fixings- , I wonder whether _this_ _kind of Editing_  and therefore _this_ _long_ _deadline_ for Editing Title would be confirmed by dear Moderators!


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