Okay, I have a confession to make (that I've already made before, I'm sure): I'm pretty emotional and quick to anger. I'm trying to control that; there have been some recent issues that have both been indicative to me that I'm both getting worse in some areas and getting better in others. Anyways, that's a complicated topic that I'm really not wanting to discuss in this thread.

What I want to discuss: Bad posts and editing. I make a post that's pretty inflammatory or something I really shouldn't have said, and right after go, "D'oh!", and try for some quick damage repair. There have also been times that, thinking in terms of other forum's rules, I bring up hot topics (politics or religion) within a post just to remember which forum I'm posting into. Such things are regrettable, since if the edit button doesn't work or I get disconnected, then I'll have to stick with what I said with no damage repair.

How many people here edit their posts right after they post them?

I'm curious about this, and included a poll.

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"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right." -- Thomas Paine

Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor. -- Heinlein

Creationists make it sound as though a "theory" is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night. -- Isaac Asimov

I edit my posts when I realize I forgot something I wanted to say, or come up with a better way of saying it. I don't think I've edited a post yet to tone down my comments, but then it takes a lot for me to get upset.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Your avatar is very fitting.

And I would consider that a compliment.

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"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right." -- Thomas Paine

Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor. -- Heinlein

Creationists make it sound as though a "theory" is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night. -- Isaac Asimov

I try by all means to avoid hot-blooded posting. I used to be an explosive guy back in my youth, but I´m making progress in taming myself lately [the doctor: cool down or die].

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If you're careful enough, nothing bad or good will ever happen to you.

No poll thingy.... [ edit : Ah, there it is]

I mostly change my posts because always the first thing I notice after submitting is a typo. I don't know of an searing, aggressive posts by me that could have got me warned /banned, but rather than risking that I would have edited it to tone it down even after submission.

As far as I know, correcing the "tone" of your post is not a problem per the rules (No. 11: Edit your posts with care. There's no problem with editing a post later to change the tone or to correct spelling and the like). I don't know what happens if a flame attack is discovered before it is corrected for damage control. I think the act of editing out the ad hominem part of a contentious post quietly before someone is taking you up on it is not disreputabl behaviour. Maybe a moderator will ask you to have the "D'oh" experience during the preview, not after hitting submit.

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Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

Same for me. Actually, in person I can be emotional, but the act of typing slows it down - probably why I like BBs. My editting is, more often than not, to fix spelling or grammer. If it changes content in any way, even adding info, I'll try to add a "reason for editing".

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At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

One Earth, One Sky - IYA 2009

I frequently edit to fix a typo immediately (and I mean immediately) after posting. Sometimes I'll add a comment to the bottom of a post soon after posting. I never edit the content or tone of what I've already written.

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

I wish I could edit my vote in the poll. I voted 3 when 1 is more acurate.
case in point.

My editing is usually to fix spelling or grammar typos. If the edit would change the tone or information of the post, I generally will keep the original passage in, but indicate with an edit, why it no longer applies.

As far as inflamatory posts, I usually write my posts on a text editor or in word, then copy it to the forum. If, after writing, I still find it inflamatory or non-polite by board standards, I continue editing until I find it acceptable. In some cases (when I'm really, really, really frustrated), I scrap the post entirely. In person, I can be very sarcastic and sometimes that slips through in my posts, even after editing.

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Some try to tell me, thoughts they cannot defend,... - Moody Blues.

I'll waffle out on a post if I've realized I've posted cranky, which happens from time to time. Sometimes I'll clarify a point within a few minutes, or add a bit, or throw in a late wisecrack. I'm likely to fix typos upon detection, even if it's been there a while.

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In Fallout 3, 'happiness' is a warm junkyard dog and a loaded gun. It's mostly the loaded gun.
- Moose's one-line review.

"your going to regret that one. You are now a colonoscope...
- Chrissy, corrupting PraedSt's wish.

What Tensor and Moose said...

Plus even in serious posts about science, etc., I always try to add what I hope passes for a little humor.

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I edit often, but usually for spelling and grammar. I tend to write fast, then notice typos later. Also, the part of my brain that writes and the part of my brain that reads seem to have somewhat different vocabularies. It isn't unususual for me to find errors only after I proofread. Sometimes they are consistent errors.

There are a few times I've edited for tone, or thought better of something that, in hindsight, was off-topic or might lead the discussion in a direction that I didn't want to take it, but that's pretty rare. Usually, if that sort of thing happens, I end up cancelling the post half way through.

Usually, if a subject is really bothering me I'll either walk away or wait awhile before posting. That gives me a chance to get my "mad" down. I don't always manage to do that, though. Hey, I'm human!

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Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Typo correction is pretty much it for me, too. I don't even end up doing that very often, because I usually spot 'em as I go. However . . . .

I'm very good at controlling my temper. I have to be. My personal rule here is to be more polite than I would be in person, and since I'm usually fairly restrained in person (unless I really can't stand you!), it works out well on the board.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

There is always something wrong with my posts.

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Yep, same here. Virtually all of my edits have been to correct typos.

Yes, often. . .

I tend to keep thinking about my response to a post, even after I've submitted it. That often leads to me coming up with a new sentence that would fit well in my just-submitted post, or a refining a sentence in that post.

I need to learn to use the Preview button.