Add "Reason for editing" field on edit entry page

[zaluzianskya]

Title:
Add "Reason for editing" field on edit entry page

Area:
entries

Summary:
You know that "reason for editing" field we have when we edit comments? It's awesome! I think it would be even awesomer if we had it for entries, also.

Description:
This idea came to me when editing a list in another journal I share with someone; every time one of us edits the entry, we also include the date it was edited and the reason at the bottom of the post. But, well, I am a ditz and sometimes I forget. I think it would be a lot easier to remember if there were a separate field where a reason could be put in for editing the post.

Poll #4643 Add "Reason for editing" field on edit entry page

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 76

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
23 (30.3%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
34 (44.7%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
9 (11.8%)

(I have no opinion)
9 (11.8%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (1.3%)

Comments

[0jack]

I would like it if something like this were opt-in. Some of my journals, I don't care if I edit, because it's for my own benefit. Others, where I provide information to people, it's important to note if I've made a mistake and changed it. If I have posted and then find out that I've written in the wrong herb, in spite of my error checking, I'd like people to know that I made a mistake. I would love some form of errata notification and documentation.

[sophie]

I don't understand what you mean by "opt-in" here. If you don't want to include an edit reason, you'd just keave it blank, the same way you do for comments now, I think?

[0jack]

Meaning that I would like to have a "click to include EDITED notice" or "set blog to include edited notice in updated posts".

All edited comments show that they have been edited. I would like to NOT have that shown publicly on some of my posts --specifically on posts on my persona/casual blog -- because it would be more edit than post some days.

Does that help?

[matgb]

Yes. And that's included in the original proposal.

it would be a lot easier to remember if there were a separate field where a reason could be put in

I'd also hate it if it were to be compulsory, but even the comment editing reason isn't compulsory.

[0jack]

Doesn't the fact that the comment was edited show up even if you don't put in a reason?

I would like for the fact that something was edited not to show up in some of my blogs. (Though it might be handy to have it show up only to me, IDK.)

I'm very sorry if I am being obtuse, I have a migraine and it's affection my capacity for rational thought.

[sophie]

Yep, gotcha. Thanks. :)

I think the easiest way to do that would just be to have it not show the notice if you don't enter a reason.

[ratcreature]

I'd be okay with this if it wasn't the same as the comment editing field, i.e. as long as the editing of entries can also be invisible, so that there was no editing notice with an editing date like with comments when you edit them. I want to be able to fix typos and such without a date notice in entries.

[ninetydegrees]

+1

[zing_och]

+1

[larissa]

+1

[travelingmonkey]

This.

[faithofone]

+1

[archane]

+1

[dingsi]

Yes, this.

[nafs]

+1

[eruthros]

+1

[syderia]

This

[owl]

This.

[kerravonsen]

+1

[zaluzianskya]

This is a good point.

[elf]

+1

Ohyegods, I do *not* want to have to enter a notification every time I update or fix the HTML on a linkspam post.

I don't mind a "why this was edited" box being included, and I'd mostly use it, but I definitely like the option to update without telling people I've changed stuff.

[musyc]

Agreed.

[moonvoice]

Another +1

[sarken]

Yeah, this. Maybe a "show date/time edited" ticky box or something next to the "reason for editing" field, so if you left the box unchecked and the field blank, it wouldn't display anything.

[turlough]

+1

[kyrielle]

+1

[delladea]

I like this idea.

[aliya]

+1!

[cheyinka]

Yeah, exactly.

[instantramen]

+1

[thorfinn]

+1

[exor674]

+1

[kahtyasofia]

I agree that it needs to be an opt-in feature. If I edit for a typo, I don't care to advertise that, nor do I want journals I read cluttered by distractions like that. It's a useful feature, though, when need-to-know info is affected or the status of something from the original post has changed.

I really hate the editing field in comments. It's far too 'in-your-face'. Or more accurately, it seems to be frighteningly prominent in certain journal styles, while perhaps not quite as much in others.

[travelingmonkey]

I agree with ratcreature, as long as we can choose whether we want to use it, and whether we went it to display, then yeah, not a bad idea.

[pauamma]

How many should be kept, if not just the last as for comments? (You sound like you want/need more than that.)

Would they appear inside the text of the entry (in which case there's no limit to how many are kept, other than the entry size limit) or as metadata, like they are for comments? (The "edited on" and "reason for edit" field labels are only translatable if the history is stored as metadata, so the "inside entry text" option also has downsides.)

[zaluzianskya]

In my particular case we would only need the last, but that's a good point; what if people do want to keep a record of all of their edits, or the last five or whatever? Hm. (I do not have an answer for this, so useless comment is useless.)

I think it would make the most sense to have them as metadata, but on the other hand I think it would flow best going underneath the rest of the entry. I wonder if that's possible?

[kyrielle]

I think the last one would be sufficient in most cases and 'all of them' would be difficult. However...if the box could hold a sufficiently long reason, the edit page could show "edit info to date" and give you something to click to toss it into the edit reason, and then you could add on to it? Still...bleh. I'm not sure that's a good idea. I think at least an optional edit reason box (storing just the most recent) would be good tho.

[azurelunatic]

It strikes me that my proposal from Community administration - edit entry of an owner/admin accessible, security-editable wiki-type changelog would apply in this situation as well.

[matgb]

aye, wordpress has a similar version history feature, I've never used it but it can be useful for some.