C'mon Ancestry.com ! Overhaul this forum software and join us in the 21st century.

Last time they revamped the Message Board software a couple of years ago (in order to add pop-up links to silly Ancestry Surname/Locality Books by keyword, and to add advertising space), the beta testers requested an editing feature, at least in the form of allowing a 'preview' before posting. The 'preview' button never was made functional.

The problem with 'editing' posts after they are posted is that there may be responses to an item stated. If the original poster deletes that, the follow-up post(s) may become unintelligible.

If the original poster changes their mind about something or wants to make a change or correction, for any reason, it can be done by an additional post in the thread.

I agree, an editing function shouldn't be allowed on published posts; but a pre-post preview function might be nice - at least for those who can't take the time to read their posts twice.

Errr.. wait, they do that anyway if they read a preview screen, looks like no preview is needed either!
;)

Um...there already is a preview screen. Am I missing something here?

As to an example of where an "edit" capability would be useful...

http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.new...

That being said, the great preponderance of forums, at least in my experience, accomodate members with this feature. There's a message born of experience there I think.

Preview pane is not the same as an edit post capability. As previously noted a true edit capability was considered at one point during beta testing years ago, but was never included in the final public version of the boards (along with many other good and bad features that were also considered and discarded). One concern with an edit capability for posts you have made was the possibility that changing your post could have an adverse effect on replies attached to your original post. The consideration was that edit would only be permitted if no replies were attached to a post -- limiting its usefulness.

Joan

"One concern with an edit capability for posts you have made was the possibility that changing your post could have an adverse effect on replies attached to your original post."

Joan and all, we're not writing the Magna Carta here. It's a forum for goodness sakes, and "forumdom" appears to be alive and fluorishing elsewhere without that level of hand-wringing, most if not all incorporating an "edit" accomodation for the members.

And a forum is like an archive in that it records what was said/written at a specific time and date. If something changes or there are corrections to be made--posting a reply on a new date and time accomplishes that purpose.

Joan

Then why do ancestry.com bloggers delete some responses from their blogs (or in one case, acutally edit their own response after the fact)? The result is a reference by post # to a message that does not exist. But, since they renumber the responses, the reference becomes meaningless, if not totally inane?

Why? Because it is *their* blog to do with as they wish. Has nothing to do with the message boards, where the threads are initiated and conducted nearly always by site users rather than by Ancestry.com staff.

In your own blog you can do the same, including editing in any way you like, sensible or not.

I've participated in a forum where there was an edit function. At the bottom of the entry, there was a little notation that it had been edited.