Moderator Edits and User Notification

[JosBoaz]

I have noticed that some of my posts have been edited by moderators. Presumably, moderators only edit posts when there is a specific reason to do so for example, when certain content (sourcing) is considered impermissible. However, I have also noticed that I do not receive any follow-up message explaining what was edited, why it was edited, or what specifically was not permissible.

I think it would be more reasonable to also inform the user when a post has been edited and provide a brief explanation of the rationale behind the edit. This would help prevent the user from making the same mistake again in the future.

At present, these edits are made essentially in “silence.” While the content is corrected, the user is not necessarily made aware of what they did wrong or what rule they violated. As a result, the edit itself does not directly contribute to modifying the user’s future behavior. A brief explanation would make the moderation process more transparent and, more importantly, educational.

 

[blig-blug]

inform the user when a post has been edited

The notification, if sent (that depends on the mod who edits it), will be sent when the edit is made. So whenever you got your notification, that's when it was edited. There's also a small message underneath saying "edited by moderator at XX:XX".

provide a brief explanation of the rationale behind the edit

Yes, I agree with that. Unfortunately there's a character limit and only a single line is allowed, so it's difficult to add much information. I normally just add a brief sentence mentioning the reason, there's really no space for more. I think other mods try to do the same, but maybe someone forgets to do it sometimes, I don't know.

the user is not necessarily made aware of what they did wrong or what rule they violated

Note that if your post just got edited, it means it was nothing too serious. If it's more serious you'll get a warning, and with that you very likely will get a warning message explaining in detail why your post was against the Attitude guidelines.

I try to edit comments in a way that it doesn't alter their meaning (unless absolutely necessary) and that makes it obvious that they were edited, providing a single-sentence reason. 90% of the time it's related to mentioning sourcing, buying, selling, etc.

I do think it would be a good feature for the users to be able to see the before and after in their edit, so they can see what was removed and what was added. Currently only mods can see post history diffs. I don't know if Xenforo makes that possible.

For the time being: if you get some post edited and don't know why, ask any mod. They can see the edit and the reason provided, and will most likely know the reason even if they didn't make it themselves. If they do disagree with the edit, they may bring it up to the other mods and a different edit (or no edit) can be made.

 

[Transform]

I'll only ever edit for the reasons @blig-blug has already stated, and for particularly egregious or eye-twitching spelling errors to improve the flow of the forum. For infractions I will always provide feedback reasons, for minor spelling I feel it would be a waste of everyone's time to even mention it.

I'm all ears and ready to help if there's specific instances where further information or assistance is required (as long as it makes sense and seems reasonable).