It has been brought to my attention that editing one's own post is bad practice. In this case it was the first post of a thread that I edited to add missing data.
Is it because informations added later must be marked as such?
The problem arises when you edit a post to correct deficiencies or errors pointed out by forum members in subsequent posts.
Editing the original makes the thread very hard to follow, if not nonsensical.
Thanks for the reply.
OK, it was not explained as such.
If I clearly indicate in the edit that it is to correct the lack of the following data, wouldn't it help? So that a new reader has the whole thing from the beginning, and still knows why some replies ask for said data?
Editing your posts other than correcting spelling or very minor changes is discouraged because it can cause confusion to those who subsequently read the topic only to find that later posts refer to things that have been changed or do not refer to things that have ben added
A good example is posting code then going back and changing it after having been given advice. The advice will now be referring to code that is not there. At best this is confusing and it can make nonsense of comments made before the code was changed
Generally, if you make changes to code as a result of advice given or because you tried something else you should post in in a new reply explaining what you have done
The same goes if you are asked to provide more information such as a schematic or details of components or how the project is powered.
Marking changes can be helpful to anyone reading the whole topic but what about those that have already read the post that you changed but don't know that you have done it ?
If in doubt add a new reply and explain what you have changed or added and why
IMO - It's should be OK to "tag" it with:
EDIT -
Or, sometimes I go back and write P.S.
You can also strikeout text like this:
[s]strikeout[/s] Of course, all this goes without saying. I'm not talking about changing, as you say, some code.
In this case, it was simply to add the hardware with which the issue lies, nothing more. And that was also added in a reply to the user pointing out this information was missing.
If in doubt add a new reply and explain what you have changed or added and why
That is indeed what I did.
When I make a post, I consider that post locked if there is a post after mine; other than spelling and similar.
1 Like
The issue is that I first did not mention the hardware. I replied to specify it, then added it in the first post. I didn't at the time add a tag, it's been corrected now.
What I had in mind was a new reply giving the details requested in that reply. That avoids the need to go and look for it elsewhere
Understood. Correct that oversight in a later post, and people reading the thread (even years later) will understand the entire thread, without your added confusion.
1 Like
Yup, me too.
In the end it goes something like this:
post #1 I have this issue [...] Edit: with Uno R4 WiFi
post #2 With what board?
post #3 I forgot: with a Uno R4 Wifi (I'll edit the first post)
I think it's reasonable.
I don't always bother even with those changes, except anything I catch before it would be marked as an edit, dunno if there's a two minute "oh no" window or like that.
I don't seem to be able to proofread unless I've published. 
Hours old typos and grammatical errors are water over the damn.
a7
1 Like
So let's see what sparked this thread, @Maaatth is not the innocent well meaning member he purports to be in this thread. Or may be you think he is?
arduino led matrix should on only turn on led and off all the others
Look especially at the editing of the first post, and his attitude to being given the information he is seeking.
Also notice his claim here that he was not given a reason why this was bad, is just an outright lie.
2 Likes
Your reply was pure overreaction. You still haven't given any valid reason.
This thread confirms you were wrong.
You're not helping the Arduino comunity and company with your attitude.
This thread is you overreacting and throwing a tantrum because you refuse to acknowledge the valid reasons given and accept that you are wrong.
You are not helping the Arduino community and company with your attitude.
2 Likes
Where is it written?
How is it a tantrum?
Also, this thread precisely explains why the edit I made was perfectly valid.
No reply yet to support your accusations.
So in the end: edits are not purely and simply forbidden nor discouraged, they are not mentioned in How to get the best out of this forum contrary to what was stated, and they are even encouraged by the badge:
Editor
This badge is granted the first time you edit one of your posts. While you won’t be able to edit your posts forever, editing is encouraged — you can improve the formatting, fix small mistakes, or add anything you missed when you originally posted. Edit to make your posts even better!
Yes I apologies for that you are right it is not mentioned in the current forum guide lines.
However, they used to be in the old forum guide lines which got wiped when they changed the software over to the "discourse" based system we have today. Maybe this needs to be put right.
However you are not a person I would like to here from again, let alone help. We have a system called an ignore list and you are now on it. Your attitude is repugnant to me and I would devote my time helping present people. This post is now on mute, so I will not see any more notifications from it so don't bother to reply to me.
Good bye.
2 Likes