Well my friend, thanks to the designers at WordPress, who -in their infinite wisdom- have once again come up with totally unnecessary changes, I just threw your comment into the spam-abyss by accident. I suppose they are trying to check if I pay attention? And the answer to this question is a heartfelt, “Heck, No.”
I am a creature of habits and don’t like to be rattled in my routine. I am one of these old dogs, who learns new tricks ONLY if they make sense to me and THIS one doesn’t make any sense.
I read a comment from my friend Joanne, who is automatically approved -like most of you- and clicked the second icon to the left and voila…she was gone. I screeched and went searching for her. Sure enough, I found her in my spam folder, where she was in good company with many others of my readers and friends.
I searched for my reading glasses, found them -used them- and sure enough, the order of the comment icons had changed. (Probably two weeks ago and I just didn’t notice.) Now the second icon from the left -what was LIKE before- is for SPAM, and the LIKE icon is now the fourth and is at home right there where SPAM had been living before. What kind of wicked, evil force came up with that crap?
But hold your horses, there is more and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Now we have an EDIT-button, and of course, I couldn’t help but click on it. The comment opened and I was speechless. Does that mean now I can alter a comment IF you leave one not to my liking?
Holly Mackerel, this can’t be? Of course, I tried -had to- they made me do it.
I could alter my friend’s comment, and without her permission or consent, I show her original comment here:
And now the altered one:
Yeah! Finally, we have fake comments. That was about time, some of the stuff you guys wrote was tough. How could you dare and not agree with me? Haha, now have the “power” to change comments, left by friends and stranger as I please? Yeah, Baby! A nightmare to come true.
Sarcasm and reading glasses aside, I find this unbelievable sad. In a world where we have to fight against made-up news and alternative facts, now we have alternative comments in the blogging world.
How frightening this is. What an invitation to mess with the written word. We have enough “control” over our blog with the SPAM and TRASH button and can easily get rid of SCAM and vulgar comments -more is not needed.
I hope this “change” and invitation to censorship will be undone asap. In my eyes it’s an ethics violation, but what do I know.
Feel free to comment, I promise Joanne was the first and last edited comment on my blog. I am really saddened by this!
I do pay attention!
Fake/edited comments… it was inevitable
I am not sure where you are reading the comments you receive. I have always been able to edit comments. It is part of the admin page. Perhaps when comments need to be approved before being posted?? Not sure if comments on your blog post automatically. I will see in a moment.
Ahh. Maybe that is it. When comments go in for approval they can be edited.
You mean altered!
I’ve had a friend ask me to correct a type-o before. Altered/edited . . .
Well if I DID become spam, might serve me right, given what I’m about to “say”
I realize you don’t ‘do’ awards and that’s just fine, BUT
I am supposed to notify you that I’ve nominated you for The Mystery Blogger award. This doesn’t require any action on your part, unless you’re interested in participating. If so, you can go to my post:
http://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2018/03/18/award-time-2/
and see what I’m talking about. Thanks for providing me with such interesting reading material all the same! 🙂
It’s very kind of you; thank you but I will not participate -what you already knew.
Oh! I always assumed I could only edit my own writing on my blog and I could either approve or disapprove (or trash or spam) others’ comments. While I can understand a blog owner might need to be able to remove information from comments for all sorts of reasons, I think being able to add to or change a comment renders them rather pointless. So blogs are really just a giant work of fiction… My next novel? Feel free to edit this and I’ll tell you if I get notified.
There was always the option to edit… I use the old original way to post, not the “New Version” they keep asking me to, and there has always been that option. In truth it NEVER occurred to me that anyone would edit something I have written- the people I follow and comment on I consider friends, and maybe call me naive, but why would they want to edit something I have written?
You are not naive, you are wonderfully normal. 🙂
I often divert the mouse at the last minute
I’ve always known that it is possible to edit someone’s comment, but would never do it. It’s a matter of integrity: if someone wants to comment on what I’ve said who am I to change their words if I don’t like them? I can debate with them, if I choose to do so, or as I once did I used a screenshot of a comment as the basis for a post, so that others would see it. Editing comments would destroy the mutual trust that exists between my readers and me, and with other bloggers whose posts I comment on – like you!
Exactly, Clive. I’ve known you can edit others’ comments and have only done so once to correct a ‘glaring’ mispelling that I thought they might appreciate. It is an integrity thing. Unless, of course, someone gets abusive, then they get deleted. Never had that happen. 🙂
I’m in two minds about even that, to be honest. I just leave the comments as written – I feel safer that way! I’m glad you haven’t had any abuse – that’s only happened to me once, by someone who didn’t follow my blog anyway. It became the subject of the post I mentioned in my comment 😊
I’ve been able to edit comments on WordPress since I started, and I’m really glad I can. I don’t use my hubby’s or children’s names on my blog, even though my friends and family read it. Some friends accidentally skip up and use their names. I go in and remove the name. I’d much rather take the name out and leave the comment than not be able to approve it. And I know they mean well, so I don’t bother to remind them “please don’t use my children’s names.” It’s just better for me to take the name off myself and respond the way I would have. It keeps everybody happy and unoffended.
Wow. Ad perhaps worse is that (I think, you can edit this if it’s wrong…lol…) once a person has been labeled spam their comments might automatically go to spam going forward. I think we (I did anyway) always had the ability in WordPress to edit a person’s comments. I only think that because a friend of mine commented once, and then thought better of something she said, feeling like it exposed where she lived and that her husband wasn’t home at the time, and asked me if I could change it and I figured out (years ago) how to edit it. I don’t remember how now though. Guess I should go look at comments on my own WordPress blog and make sure I’m not spamming people! 🙂
Well I never did!!!! That is, I never edited any comment, although I knew is was possible.
To answer your question – no, I didn’t get a notification that you had modified my comment.
However, I was always under the impression that we could edit comments. I’ve read posts in the past where a commenter has asked for something to be corrected in their comment and the blogger did. I admit I’ve never tried it though. Maybe they just made it more obvious that we could?
I agree with Cindy’s comment – it would be a cool way to annoy trolls by re-writing their comments. mwahahahaha … I never said I was nice 😉
… but yes, I did notice they rearranged the location of the *like* button. WTH!
Yes, it is more obvious right beside the “like” button. Now it’s an invitation to “edit” and I have a feeling many will use it.
Imagine how much easier it will be to “sell” a book(let) if you alter the comments from critic to praise. 🙂
I think the fact, that the writer doesn’t get a notification when a comment gets edited, that bothers me the most.
But it matches with the time we live in I suppose. Sad! 🙁
I agree, Bridget … not getting a notification of a change is rather worrisome and I don’t understand their logic. But then again, they’ve done SO MANY things I don’t understand.
There was always the option to edit… I use the old original way to post, not the “New Version” they keep asking me to, and there has always been that option.
Actually, I just wrote them and said that if this is true–and it is, based on their writings–then I will indeed never make another comment to anyone and will go back and delete the ones I have made. What #$%^*&%^&&*( on their part–disgraceful. And yes, I typed a bunch of characters instead of cursewords. Thanks for pointing this out. This is terrible.
Have you seen my latest post about the spam filter here and that it wipes anything out that it doesn’t like…? If not, it might help. This weird ability to change someone else’s comment pretty much means i will no longer comment or take part in anything, and may have to go back and wipe out my old comments. What a disaster, if this is their policy now.
I feel the same way. Why bother to leave a comment if “bad” bloggers will edit it?
I just made a post to the effect. If they don’t change it back, I will probably delete my blog with them and will never comment on anyone except maybe you, out of the literally 600-700wordfpress blogs that I follow and read most days of the week.
They won’t care. You don’t make them money.
I pay them a hundred bucks or more a year for the site!
You are private blog with a few followers and readers like me. The blogs with millions in traffic that’s the ones who make WP the money. That’s when they can sell the advertisement space high.
Their bogus reply to me is (uneditted): ” Melissa S (Automattic)
Mar 17, 19:06 UTC
Hi,
Why can people edit comments? If this is true, I will NEVER MAKE ANOTHER
COMMENT AND WILL GO BACK AND WIPE ALL THE HUNDREDS I WROTE IN THE LAST MONTH OR SO.
Site owners do have the ability to edit comments on their own site, so they can remove any spam links, private information, and more. Are you having an issue with editing your comments?
Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
Ciao,
Melissa S
Happiness Engineer”
I think it’s too bad that it’s an issue that divides people. I’m not going to read wordpress reader anymore, since it seems some people are getting worked up over why fake news is fine, so I’m just letting it all go. Best wishes–maybe I’ll follow you and half a dozen others by email, and ditch the other 700–
Actually, the settings button disappeared as of today for me with my elderly laptop, so I can’t even change it to be email follows.
:O !!!
Should I edit this into an approving smile I wonder?
I’ve been able to edit any and all comments on my blog since I signed up for WP many years ago.
Mostly I just edit out any misspellings — though I usually don’t even bother with that — or if someone asks me to edit something out. But for as long as I’ve been on WordPress, it’s always been a thing.
And, as far as I know, other than the (edited) thing on the comment itself, there are no notifications.
You edit misspellings???? What gives you the right to do that? A good reason not to comment on your blog, knowing that you might correct to your liking.
In case you haven’t noticed it either, the edit button has now been added -right beside the LIKE button- when you click on the notifications (the bell.) It HAS NOT been like that before and you know it. Yes, I assume we could edit comments before but only as WP admin on the dashboard, where we manage our blog.
I have never edited a comment -even though some ask for it- so I wouldn’t know. I either trash or mark as spam.
I think I have been in WP’s bad girl file forever, which I take some perverse pride in. I never was a good suck up. I think they just ignore me and hope I’ll go away. Editing people’s comments? This is just too rich! So instead of blacklisting trolls, I can just make them talk nice???? WOW!!! I have to admit this has some appeal!
Guess who else in the bad girl file? See me waving at you 🙂
I am still speechless and surprised -not in a good way. I am dying to know if Joanne got a notification when I edited her comment or if I could do it without her knowledge.