

Ask HN: Why does HN not allow you to modify your comments after 1 hour? - wyw

I don't know of any other sites that do this. Just wondering what the rationale is.
======
pg
You need to be able to modify comments for some amount of time to correct
typos, but if you can modify them for too long you can rewrite history. The
current time limits are arbitrary but seem roughly correct, judging from the
fact that users complain roughly equally about missing typos till it's too
late, and people they're arguing with rewriting their comments.

~~~
wyw
It seems the assumption is that after you make a comment you are actively
checking the thread for some time afterwards. Perhaps this works here because
of a correct assumption about how people use HN but a time-constrained
lifestyle might prevent this in some other groups.

~~~
jacquesm
All lifestyles are time-constrained, it is just a matter of scale.

------
stijnm
I think the main reason is to keep the context of a discussion in a thread.

Turning your question around: Why would you want to modify a comment after one
hour?

Read your comment before posting and be happy with it at that time of posting.
If you come to new insights later then post another comment. There's no shame
in that.

~~~
wyw
I might want to modify it after one hour for the same reason I might want to
modify it after one minute.

Perhaps I'm not checking HN regularly that day and make an offhand comment. In
that case, if I come back a few hours later and recognize a boo-boo, it would
be nice to be able to correct my mistake to avoid a permanent record of my
foolishness.

~~~
stijnm
I think your last sentence "and recognize a boo-boo, it would be nice to be
able to correct my mistake to avoid a permanent record of my foolishness"

How can you make a mistake in a comment? If you don't mean what you write
don't post it... And don't worry about people calling you foolish (I am sure
there is a famous quote for that to put it more eloquently).

Also, note that there is no post preview when you submit so being able to
modify after you post fills that functionality gap.

~~~
russell
Sometimes I come back later to find that people have misinterpreted my comment
due to tone or incomplete or misstated argument. Within the hour I can add an
"EDIT" to clarify what I meant. I suppose I should take the time to make is
sound in the first place, but often the time isnt there.

Perhaps a reasonable compromise would be to have the ability to add a
timestamped addendum, without being able to edit the original. I would still
want the one-hour free edit though.

------
jacquesm
It's to make sure that history does not get 'revised'

As it is there is already plenty of that going on.

I'd be fine with locking a posting or only amending it after it gets 1 comment
or upvote (or downvote).

