One quirk of Lemmy is that edits and deletions may not propagate properly to every server, meaning you’re never guaranteed anything past the initial posting.
So how do you handle when you say something you’d like to amend, correct, or delete?
Do you:
- Edit your corrections directly into the original?
- Delete it?
- Add an Edit:?
- Put the original comment behind a spoiler tag or strike through?
Or something else?
If I’m fixing a minor spelling/grammar/formatting issue and no one has pointed it out, I just edit it
If it’s something like that that’s been pointed out I put a strikethrough through it and fix it
If I’m correcting myself for something that’s factually wrong, something I misunderstood what was being asked, I did my math wrong, etc. then I strikethrough through it, and edit in a note explaining why it was wrong
I haven’t had to do any edits beyond minor typo corrections so far, but this is essentially what I’d do. I prefer crossing things out so people can see what the context would have been for any older comments.
I try to see it from the POV of someone else reading the thread: if I think they’d care about the edit (e.g., if it affects the context of a reply), I’ll call attention to it; otherwise I’ll avoid adding the distraction.
Depends on the comment. If it’s just something grammatical that nobody has commented on yet, I don’t write anything extra and just fix it.
Otherwise I usually indicate that there has been an edit and what it was for (usually a factual correction someone else has pointed out). I’ll usually strike out the edited text (type ~ twice at the beginning and again at the end of the text to put a line through it on Lemmy and Mbin, probably works elsewhere too).
I usually “ETA” or “Edit” if it’s more than a typo or more than a couple minutes.
Earlier this week I used a reply to myself because I thought it would land better, but I think I confused the OP of the post.
You must snarkily reply the correct spelling or grammar from a sperate account
*separate
Yeah like that but meaner ↑
That was the tone it was written in.
Just basic internet etiquette, I would like to believe people are aware and follow it, but I know that in reality the majority don’t. The fedivers doesn’t really have rules other than the local community rules.
Grammatical mistakes, just edit it, no one really cares.
Changing the content or adding content, a quick edit explanation is polite but not required.
I think edit etiquette was a side effect of karma.
So while the question is interesting, on Lemmy, there isn’t much riding on the answer anymore.
Maybe we are more free?
Yes, but people are much more likely to block people who are acting like jerks, because there are fewer of them and so you can clean your inbox quite nicely.
If it’s within a few minutes after the original post, ninja edit. Beyond that, “EDIT:”. or “ETA” if I’m feeling froggy.
I’m a human being, so occasionally I’ll misunderstand what I’m replying to, or realize after the fact that I’ve pissed someone off or been unfair. I’m not above just hitting delete in some of those instances.
realize after the fact that I’ve pissed someone off or been unfair. I’m not above just hitting delete in some of those instances.
On reddit when you would do that, the comment would appear in the persons inbox, but they could not reply or report it because it no longer existed, so that would be the absolute worst thing you could do in that case.
I don´t know what the possibility tree is on Lemmy for deleted comments, though; I’ve gotten replies to comments that I deleted almost immediately. For that reason, I’m leaning more to editing comments than deleting them, leaving the original insult/display of stupidity intact usually.
I can only assume, with federation, that a deletion takes time to propagate out everywhere. If my comment ends up in someone’s inbox, yeah, the damage is done there. Deletion is somewhat of a last resort, so I’ve really only done it a handful of times.
