Slashdot Mirror


Facebook No Longer Clearly Labels Edited Posts (mashable.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Mashable: Have you ever made a cringeworthy mistake in a Facebook post? Don't lie, the answer is yes. If you have a sense of shame, Facebook at least allows you to go back and correct your gaffe by editing the post, a feature that certain other social media networks still haven't added. But evidence of your slip-up lived on with the tiny "Edited" label on the bottom of the post, signaling to your followers that you cared just enough to correct yourself on the internet. Sad. Apparently, however, that's no longer the case. It seems that Facebook has removed the on-post edited label, making it much more difficult to know when someone actually took the time to fix their mistake. In order to actually know whether or not your eyes were playing tricks on you when a friend's rant no longer has 15 spelling errors the second time you see it, you'll need to do some digging. Here's how the new editing looks, courtesy of my colleague Raymond Wong and his doubts about how cool the upcoming Nintendo Switch actually is. I noticed that he added a comment about the Switch, so I checked out the post information, via the drop-down menu. To see what happened, I have to view the edit history. When I look at his edit history, I can see all the changes that were made. In most cases, this type of editing isn't a big deal, but the move to hide post edit labels takes away one of the few features that provided any transparency for our online behavior.

53 comments

  1. Clearly Slashdot is Suprier. [eom] by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 3, Funny

    [eom]

    1. Re:Clearly Slashdot is Suprier. [eom] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      Actually, Slashdot's editors can be even worse!

      Take this story from a few days ago.

      In the summary it now uses "[...]", but originally those were "[sic]".

      That's why there are a number of comments like the ones linked to below, which mention "sic" or "[sic]" or some variation on that theme:

      At some point after the original story was posted, and after those comments were posted, one (or more?) of the Slashdot editors must have gone back and fixed the fucked up summary to use the more sensible "[...]" instead of the incorrect "[sic]".

      Although such edits are minor, from what I can see there's nothing indicating that the summary was modified by the Slashdot editors well after it was posted, and well after other comments about it had been posted.

      It's actually kind of confusing now, with all of those comments mentioning "[sic]", but the summary no longer using that wrong convention.

  2. No by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    "Have you ever made a cringeworthy mistake in a Facebook post?"

    No, because I don't have a fucking Facebook page.

    And holy crap, did lil ol' me manage to get a 1st post?

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re:No by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 0

      No.

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    2. Re:No by rikkards · · Score: 0

      No but you are quick enough to point it out (almost like a sense of pride), guess what no one cares...

    3. Re: No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No but head over to Disqus and knock yourself out.

    4. Re:No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since Twitter and Facebook posts end up in the garbage heap of history, who really cares if they get edited. This is not journalism. It's just nonsense and a waste of time.

    5. Re:No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Negative, Ghost Rider.

    6. Re:No by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1, Funny

      Don't you wish you could go back and edit that?

    7. Re:No by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 0

      No.

      The story of my life...so close, and yet so far. :(

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    8. Re:No by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 0

      No but you are quick enough to point it out (almost like a sense of pride), guess what no one cares...

      I can't reply to you because I'm too busy crying. Maybe later.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    9. Re:No by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Don't you wish you could go back and edit that?

      Oh believe me, lots of people including myself have suggested this innovative yet impossible-to-implement feature on slashdot.

      Apparently this remarkable "edit-after-posting" feature has been attempted by software engineers for decades but alas, no one has ever managed to get it working.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    10. Re:No by rtb61 · · Score: 0

      The reason why no editing is gaming the system. Early on people were writing bait posts, to get people to respond and than alter the post to make the responders look foolish and targeted them with a response. This then creating the ludicrous situation of continuous altering comments. Why do Facebook want it, to force people to monitor comments, keep them checking, hook them in to watch more ads and corporate fake news propaganda. Drop Facebook like all social fads, that network has run it's had it's moment in the sun and the harder they try to squeeze the absent profits from the ludicrous valuation, the more users they will lose. Inevitably another social media platform will dominate and be replaced by another media platform, again and again.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    11. Re:No by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      The reason why no editing is gaming the system. Early on people were writing bait posts, to get people to respond and than alter the post to make the responders look foolish and targeted them with a response.

      Then just quote the parent post in your reply, problem solved. Or put in a 2-minute "grace" period when a post can be edited and then lock it.

      Literally millions of other forums and comment sections do this and the world is still spinning...there's no legitimate reason that slashdot couldn't do it as well.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    12. Re:No by queazocotal · · Score: 1

      Because sometimes important people post on facebook.
      https://www.facebook.com/Steph...
      This is a post by Stephen Crab - who was at the time the person in charge of UK disability allowances, complaining about an incident of vandalism at his office.

      The edited post is " A decision was taken by MPs to change the benefit awarded to a specific group of people who receive Employment Support Allowance. These people are in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) and they do have a disability or illness but are considered able to work with support in the future."

      The original post is "There has been a lot of miscommunication about this vote which I want to put right. A decision was taken by MPs to change the benefit awarded to a specific group of people who receive Employment Support Allowance. These people are in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) and they do have a disability or illness but are able to work. "

      The original version is a completely wrong statement, and especially with the line about 'miscommunication' makes it especially illuminating. This post lead to people looking at other tweets and social media, which revealed that MPs making a critical vote about removing disability payments likely believed that the group in question was found able to work, when this is not so.

      An example (somewhat contrived) of the people who benefit is being removed from in this case might be someone who can slowly wheel themselves 200m several times a day in a wheelchair, understands only short sentances, can talk to people only a couple of hours a day, is blind but can read braille, can just about understand how to use a washing machine, who shouts out randomly. They have not been found 'able to work'.
      They have failed to pass the most stringent criteria in order to have no requirements as to things they must do to be able to work in the future placed on them, and there is no requirement for them ever to be able to realistically work in the future.

    13. Re: No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because of this...

      JustAnotherOldGuy an hour ago

      The reason why no editing is gaming the system. Early on people were writing bait posts, to get people to respond and than alter the post to make the responders look foolish and targeted them with a response.
      Then just quote the parent post in your reply, problem solved. Or put in a 2-minute "grace" period when a post can be edited and then lock it like Hitler locked Jews in ovens. I hope Trump does exterminates them too. Heil Drumpfler!

      Proof read or live with it.

    14. Re:No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quoting the parent and having the parent then be edited makes it look like you are misrepresenting the parent.

      And just because a bunch of other forums allow editing doesn't make it 'right'/correct.

      If you can't be bothered to review a post for content, grammar & spelling I see no reason to allow someone to edit it afterwards. If you're embarrassed by your grammar or spelling too f'n bad. If you're embarrassed by the content of a post because it was easily misconstrued or didn't reflect what you really meant then a person has an opportunity to 'correct the record' by posting a follow up or different wording of their original post, if that means you have to apologize or make it seem like your 'backing off a position',. again too f'n bad. People complaining about grammar or spelling are idiots anyway so all that editing a post really does is promote people posting without thinking & then altering the record after they're taken to task for some stupid shit they posted.

  3. Eastasia by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We've always been at war with Eastasia.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    1. Re:Eastasia by the_skywise · · Score: 0

      +click+ +click+ +click+ +click+
      Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday January 13, 2017 @05:07
      We've always been at war with Oceana

    2. Re:Eastasia by networkBoy · · Score: 0

      +click+ +click+ +click+ +click+
      Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday January 13, 2017 @05:07
      We've always been allies with Eastasia

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
  4. Fantastic. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does anyone know if FarceBook's API would make it possible to write a browser plugin to restore the ability to easily identify prolific redactors?

  5. There are Pros and Cons by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

    I've thought about this issue over years as I use both /. and Reddit.

    There are pros and cons of not having an edit button:

    = Pros of Edit =

    * I don't have to worry about spelling or grammar mistakes -- since I can fix them later
    * I can expand to include additional thoughts post submit (I use this feature all the time on Reddit.)

    = Cons of Edit =

    * I can be lazy and just type stuff up not worrying about grammar and flow knowing that I can fix it "later"
    * Posts can be redacted after the initial submit making it hard to know what the original version said. It is nice knowing a post hasn't been "tampered with"
    * You usually can't see a history of edits to see what was changed and why. This is one area StackOverflow does well.

    For every argument for having an edit button, I think a case could be made against it.

    However I think there is an argument that swings it to the "edit side". The thing about having an edit button is that you don't have to use it. It solves "most" of the issues.

    C'est la vie

    --
    Region Locking is Price Fixing

    1. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The problem with the edit button is you can change entire posts after a long discussion has had about what you originally said. This is extremely damaging to open discussion because the second someone starts to "lose" and argument one of the first things they might think about doing is editing the original and subsequent posts to remove errors in logic or completely change the meaning. This can make the "correct" respondents look like the idiots or assholes when they were actually correct.

      The edit button also helps power users be who go back and check on their posts be "louder" while harming the voice occasional posters who don't go back and edit.

      Anything you are needed to edit can be done in a subsequent post or if the information needs to be removed - remove the entire post. There is little justification for an un-tracked editing feature other than to allow minor to major abuses.

    2. Re:There are Pros and Cons by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      I think, for me at least, having edit capability within, say 10 minutes of hitting the post button would be an acceptable compromise.

      After that 10 minutes is up, you can't edit it any longer. That gives you enough time to fix stupid markdown/markup tag problems, typos and other stuff... or just to delete it within that window. Yes, yes, I know, you need to proof read your post before hitting the submit button... but sometimes you miss stuff even if you are trying to be careful.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    3. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      The solution is simple: don't allow changes once the post has been replied to (or if a reply is pending).

      You made a typo and spotted it straight away - go for it.

      You made a typo but were too slow spotting it - tough titty.

      You want to post "kittens are cute", and then change it to "systemd cures cancer" after people have agreed with you - fuck off.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:There are Pros and Cons by quantaman · · Score: 1

      The one issue with an edit button is I find it really common to edit a FB post within 5 minutes of making it. Either because I noticed a typo, I decided to change my wording or tone, or I forgot that enter == submit.

      But afterwards when a lot of people have read and even replied to it... I think edits should be labelled. Otherwise you just end up confusing people who clearly remember "a" but are now seeing "b".

      --
      I stole this Sig
    5. Re:There are Pros and Cons by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      Agreed.

      Here are the things that if an edit button is included that should also be done:

      * Allow a "grace period" of ~15 minutes to edit the post
      * Optionally, if someone posts a reply, disable editing
      * Clearly show a post has been edited
      * Allow the viewer to see the _first_ original version AND with the _current_ version.

    6. Re:There are Pros and Cons by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      The problem with the edit button is you can change entire posts after a long discussion has had about what you originally said. This is extremely damaging to open discussion because the second someone starts to "lose" and argument one of the first things they might think about doing is editing the original and subsequent posts to remove errors in logic or completely change the meaning. This can make the "correct" respondents look like the idiots or assholes when they were actually correct.

      The edit button also helps power users be who go back and check on their posts be "louder" while harming the voice occasional posters who don't go back and edit.

      Anything you are needed to edit can be done in a subsequent post or if the information needs to be removed - remove the entire post. There is little justification for an un-tracked editing feature other than to allow minor to major abuses.

      Mercifully we have been given a "Quote Parent" button here at /.

      It's supposed to be pretty rare for a post to go away, much less be edited here, but things can happen...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    7. Re:There are Pros and Cons by networkBoy · · Score: 1

      hence why ./ disallows, afterall we all know systemd causes cancer.

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    8. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I decided to change my wording or tone, (...)

      That's still revisionism.

    9. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Imrik · · Score: 1

      However the quote parent button allows you to edit the quoted text, making it unreliable as evidence.

    10. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Imrik · · Score: 1

      Doesn't fully fix the problem as the edit could happen while someone is preparing a response to the original. I would prefer a note at the bottom saying it had been edited along with access to the edit history.

    11. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Imrik · · Score: 1

      I think the last two would be sufficient, though on a site like /. you should also include undoing any positive moderation.

    12. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Raenex · · Score: 1

      I think, for me at least, having edit capability within, say 10 minutes of hitting the post button would be an acceptable compromise.

      I'd be fine with that, even as a default option, but only if your post didn't appear to anybody else until the grace period expired. If being able to edit your fuckups is that important to you, then you should be willing to wait, right?

      Personally, I'm glad Slashdot has maintained its no-edit policy. Now unicode, on the other hand...

    13. Re:There are Pros and Cons by Joviex · · Score: 1

      I've thought about this issue over years as I use both /. and Reddit.

      Nice straw?

      Haveing an edit button is not hte issue -- marking edits as EDITED where they are, in context, IS.

      Perhaps a "Reading Comprehension" button would be great for places like Facebook.

  6. They shouldn't have it at all. by aliquis · · Score: 1

    People should be free to change their mind, correct themselves, regret what they have done, ..

    It's stupid the old content is shown at all. If I wanted it left I could had kept it.

  7. Editing and removing posts by phorm · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The whole "non-permanent" status of posts has been a long-term source of amusement for me. Even when it showed posts as "edited", deleted posts would just disappear.

    So an ex of mine had a post about her big drooly bulldog. I can't remember my exact post, but I essentially posted something about my dog. Her husband - who rather dislikes me - pops up and posts something to the effect of
    "well, you're probably just as stupid and ugly as that dog"

    So I delete my post, and suddenly all that's left is her original post, and him replying "you're as ugly and stupid as that dog"

    Good times :-)

    1. Re:Editing and removing posts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's fucking awesome, I never noticed it worked that way, I'm gonna do some of these on purpose.

      - Alice posts some Breichbart garbage fake news propaganda
      - Bob comments "I love Trump!"
      - I comment "What do you think about Joe Biden?"
      - Alice comments "He's a weak pathetic old loser!"
      - I delete my comment and watch hilarity unfold

    2. Re: Editing and removing posts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      I enjoyed watching hilarity lose!

    3. Re:Editing and removing posts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is why you quote posts ...

    4. Re:Editing and removing posts by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      FYI Facebook can still send an email to recipients as soon as you post something, so everyone might still know what you did. Can still be funny though, I guess.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  8. I see nothing Wong with this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But I don't use Facebook anyways.

  9. Sometimes important people post to facebook. by queazocotal · · Score: 1

    https://www.facebook.com/Steph...
    This is a post by Stephen Crab - who was at the time the person in charge of UK disability allowances, complaining about an incident of vandalism at his office.

    The edited post is " A decision was taken by MPs to change the benefit awarded to a specific group of people who receive Employment Support Allowance. These people are in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) and they do have a disability or illness but are considered able to work with support in the future."

    The original post is "A decision was taken by MPs to change the benefit awarded to a specific group of people who receive Employment Support Allowance. These people are in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) and they do have a disability or illness but are able to work. "

    The original version is a completely wrong statement. This post lead to people looking at other tweets and social media, which revealed that MPs making a critical vote about removing disability payments likely believed that the group in question was found able to work, when this is not so.

    An example (somewhat contrived) of the people who benefit is being removed from in this case might be someone who can slowly wheel themselves 200m several times a day in a wheelchair, understands only short sentences, can talk to people only a couple of hours a day, is blind but can read braille, can just about understand how to use a washing machine, who shouts out randomly. They have not been found 'able to work'.

    They have failed to pass the most stringent criteria in order to have no requirements as to things they must do to be "work ready" placed on them, and there is no requirement for them ever to be able to realistically work in the future.

  10. ...takes away one of the few features... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    ... that provided any transparency for our online behavior.

    Which we need because ...

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  11. This is scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This means Facebook can edit other people's stuff and no one would ever know.

    1. Re: This is scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You think facebook couldn't edit a post without showing it was edited?

  12. So write a browser fake-news detector by davecb · · Score: 1

    Find the tiny print, recognize the text and add a bright magenta banner that says "Advertisement".

    --
    davecb@spamcop.net
  13. cringeworthy? by the-matt-mobile · · Score: 1

    Have you ever stopped reading a cringeworthy Slashdot summary after the first two sentences? Don't lie, the answer is yes.

  14. Facebook at least allows you ......? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Facebook at least allows you ......? Why do we just accept this stuff.

  15. Um, no. by WillyWanker · · Score: 1

    The whole editing history thing is stupid. I never use the editing function unless it's to fix simple typos. Anything other than that I delete and repost.

    There is nothing to be gained by being able to see someone's editing history other than to use it against them.

  16. i edit almost all my posts at by llzackll · · Score: 1

    least once something wong with post?