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Old 09-20-2004, 03:08 AM   #4
HerenIstarion
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Importance: In the past long forgotten and in recent threads, I've met posts edited beyong recognition by their authors after some comments made by other participants. In all the cases I refer to (without names, o'course ), the censoring took place after some days, and it was very strange to read comments about things no longer there.

To give you a crude example:

Poster#1, post#1 On the road to Mordor, Sam was carrying two pound worth of carrots
Poster#2 post#2 What carrots, can you provide a reference
Poster#1, post#3 Have not my books handy, but I'll try
Poster#3, post#4 Yes, yes, sure, I remember carrots too!
Poster#4, post#5, No carrots, obviously, I know it for sure
Poster#5, post#6, provides a quote with a proof there were no carrots
Poster#6, post#7, Bur surely there might have been some carrots? Hobbits like carrots, you know?
Poster #5, post#7, Nonsence, I already proved there were no carrots. No potatoes either.

Now suppose poster #1, for some reason, edits the initial post where carrots where mentioned. All of the following is immediately rendered meaningless. What carrots-sess, my precious-ss, what carrotses-ss? It is not ethical to edit in this way at all, but, if you do it, be so kind at least to provide some reason. Something like 'carrots discussed below where deleted for cause...'

Besides, when dates of initial posting and editing stand some days apart, one can't help wandering - why? Maybe something vital, interesting, or, converesely, insulting, was deleted? If something were published, and than changed, what exact changes were made should be known by the public, I believe

This thread is not about spelling. We have a plenty of those. This one is about reader's right to know, 'bout 'ethics'.

Edit:

Quick search of the boards on the net revealed the same idea expressed into far less words:

Quote:
Please do not delete/radically edit post content without an explanation, even if it is a simple typo. To edit a post in a way that changes its content is considered dishonest. Please add a simple note of explanation to any edited post, even if it was only to change a mispelled word
I believe it is a proper way to deal with your fellow board members

cheers
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Last edited by HerenIstarion; 09-20-2004 at 06:32 AM. Reason: mispellings again. See, it's easy :D. Contents edit explained in the post itself
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