The Edit Feature

I didn't see this in the "Don't post" sticky.

I would like the edit feature changed in two ways, both of which are easily configurable on a vBB.:

1) Edits are allowed for up to 1 minute without an edit mark appearing. This will give a person enough time to correct typos and such.

2) Edits are NOT allowed (nor are post deletes) (except by mods+) after 10 (or possibly 5) minutes.

The second suggestion is more important. A lot of scammers will cover their tracks later by editing their original post. For example, somebody will put up a link to a phisher or keylogger. Somebody else reports them. The original poster then deletes the post. Or somebody puts a referral ID in their URL link. They get called on it an hour later, the link gets edited or removed. Others may try some sort of guide scam or break the rules in other ways. They get called on it, the post gets edited. Some post ripped guides, some make bogus claims, and when others bust them for it, the original post gets deleted.

The point is that it's too easy to cover everything up when caught.

I know that vBB does allow for edited posts to be saved in a history file, but sifting through all of that creates a lot more work for the already busy moderators and admin, whereas it's very easy to just look the original post.

Just my two cents.

 

That would be a good idea but a lot of people use the delete post option to re-post and bump their threads.

 

But what about MM threads where editing is nessisary?

 

Not needed, not wanted.

Reasons being:

1. Edits by admins and such, they have the option to turn off "last edited by". It doesn't really affect anything having it, but it's just a perk. Not having it isn't important at all.

2. That's what the report button is for. If you report someone, it quotes them, and posts it in the spammer lounge. This means that EVEN if they edit it, it's already been reported, and proper action will be taken.

You're not supposed to "call" someone out on breaking the rules, it's called backseat modding. Simply tell a moderator, or report it. If the person changes it after you call them out, and you wanted them punished... it's your own fault for not keeping your mouth shut.

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Well, mods can see deletions and such. If a person does that too much, they will be infracted. Guaranteed.

 

I must be missing some key point here.

What you're saying is that we're not supposed to say a word when the opening post contains a link to a phisher or keylogger. Just report it and wait what might be days (if ever) for a mod to get around to taking care of it.

We're supposed to let 20 or 30 people download it and get screwed instead of pointing it out and saving people a lot of grief. We wouldn't want to be guilty of "backseat modding" by alerting people to the scam.

Is that what you're telling us?

 

Yes, actually. You're not supposed to post on threads that break the rules.

If there's porn on a thread, and you post on it, you're flagged for spamming.

 

If that's the rule, then so be it but it doesn't make sense to not alert others that the link contains malware. The wannabe hackers are getting more clever by the minute, not everybody knows how to detect malware, and the mods may be too busy to get around to the report before many people have been screwed.