Edit history for messages

(#1332) Feature Under consideration messaging moderation

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Comment by @frenzeldk
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @frenzeldk on GitHub 10 replies
I can only support this. It creates transparency while still allowing for a smooth reading experience. Both Facebook (I know, I know) and Discourse support this feature. Not supporting it allows for some nasty surprises, where Mallory writes a message, Bob replies, and Mallory changes their message to make Bobs reply look bad. One addition could be to allow edits with the first 5 minutes (time frame subject to discussion) where the edit is only visible to instance staff, community owners and/or moderators.
Comment by @Tagette
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @Tagette on GitHub OP
Even apple text messaging has this now haha. image
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Comment by @DitherDude
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @DitherDude on GitHub
Slightly different to what Frenzeldk - I propose that you can edit at any time, but edits within the first five minutes do not show in edit history
  • If I accidentally send a secret etc. I can still retract it within 5mins
  • I can't frame someone later as edits after 5mins show the prior message/s
Comment by @Tagette
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @Tagette on GitHub OP
Can always delete the post to hide the secret while you rush to change it but I see your point. Someone might not realize people can see the history and the password is still being shown. Perhaps instead the new history entry is hidden for a delay before it is revealed in the list. I think the best solution would be to have a dedicated "I leaked a secret" button or something like that. So when it happens Fluxer can hide the history for a set amount of time so they have a chance to change their password or w/e. Moderators can override this with an audit entry in case they need to resolve some situation in a hurry. Though, that's a lot more than this task was supposed to be. Honestly, people will get used to it over time and learn to delete their message instead of editting it to hide a secret. Or even better, stop sharing passwords over chat... P.S. There have been times where I have editted a message for good reasons many days or months later.
Comment by @Tagette
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @Tagette on GitHub OP
Haha, yeah.. I know.. people will do it anyways.
Comment by @Float-as
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @Float-as on GitHub
Also most of the time I just edit my typos, markdown or something else so there is no need to fill database with my drafts. So yeah "3 second rule" is nice 😅
Comment by @frenzeldk
RexSystem 1 vote edited originally by @frenzeldk on GitHub
@DitherDude you are of course right, but I would honestly always expect anything that I type into an input field to be logged and stored server side even before hitting submit/send. But I am of course a developer / power user / privacy activist and as such my expectations don't match those of the average Joe/Jane.
Comment by @DitherDude
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @DitherDude on GitHub
The question is also how to release this feature - like in GCs/DMs fine everyone can see all edits, but in a Guild - may only Admins see edits? Or everyone following a specific constraint (and Admins can still view regardless)? Can guilds ban message editing (this is a tangent ik)?
Comment by @omstr
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @omstr on GitHub
Slightly different to what Frenzeldk - I propose that you can edit at any time, but edits within the first five minutes do not show in edit history
  • If I accidentally send a secret etc. I can still retract it within 5mins
  • I can't frame someone later as edits after 5mins show the prior message/s
this is the best overkill solution, if this feature is implemented past the simplest way of doing it. the tooltip for the basic edit time info should be there regardless as well. As for moderation I think it'd be best that the behaviour stay the same, it's not like other platforms collapse for a lack of "moderatable" edit history.
  • if something is going on in a group where someone is being accused of continually posting weird messages and then disappearing them - which is probably the reason for the barad-dur-moderators arguments - then the solution should just be to have some mod tool have the capability to treat the edits as "offences" and temporarily/permanently disable their ability to edit messages instead of having everyone's potential mistakes auditable or smth
Comment by @DitherDude
RexSystem 1 vote originally by @DitherDude on GitHub
"the tooltip for the basic edit time info should be there regardless as well"
The timestamp of the last edit is already part of the message blob - when this value is set is how a client knows to print "(edited)" next to the message