After we create a How Deals thread, up to how many days after we create the thread are we allowed to change the hot deal item to a different one or to change the rebate for the item to a newer one? Also, are we allowed to do this when someone else has already posted the item or the deal with the new rebate?

I am asking because I have noticed on more than one occasion where Selma has changed old posts of hers which resulted in people who posted before she made the alterations then appearing as though they were reposting..

For examples of this, please see this zip file -
http://rapidshare.com/files/3316520/showthread.zip.html

or NSX_Racing2004's thread (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=342120) and this thread (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=319981) (edited after the new thread was submitted)

or KitKat953's thread/OP (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?p=2870434#post2870434) that was merged w/ this thread (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=245861) (after the mother's day info was edited out)

or Scampster's thread (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=375707&highlight=partition+magic) and this thread (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=374091&highlight=partition+magic) (edited after the new thread was submitted. from Google's cache (http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:7ZVeS1AtsfIJ:forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php%3Fsduid%3D0%26t%3D374091+site:slickdeals.net+norton+partition+magic+selma&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a))

mod teams instructions are going by edit time. if edit is after the new post, then we close the old thread and keep the new post as is.

we are human though, so sometimes we overlook the edit time. so please call our attention to it so we can split it.

mod teams instructions are going by edit time. if edit is after the new post, then we close the old thread and keep the new post as is.

we are human though, so sometimes we overlook the edit time. so please call our attention to it so we can split it.
thanks for your reply, arjunsr.

so then, up to how many days are we are allowed to modify an old post of ours with new items or with new rebate information, even when someone else has posted this?

thanks for your reply, arjunsr.

so then, up to how many days are we are allowed to modify an old post of ours with new items or with new rebate information, even when someone else has posted this?
My suggestion would be - make a new thread, or post a post in the end of your own, bumping it, and edit your main post after you make the new post (makes it easier to track time).

Making a new thread always brings more attention though IMHO.

My suggestion would be - make a new thread, or post a post in the end of your own, bumping it, and edit your main post after you make the new post (makes it easier to track time).

Making a new thread always brings more attention though IMHO.


it is sometimes pretty hard to find the old post or if you post daily to go through all the post.
sometimes the search does not work or it works

it is sometimes pretty hard to find the old post or if you post daily to go through all the post.
sometimes the search does not work or it works
Search works much better than ever before these days. Since about a week ago. I have been able to find most reposts when I catch one judging by the title (the "I've seen this before" kind of thing).

But this is not really about search, this thread is about editing posts post-factum, and I think Arjunsr already hit the nail on the head. We know about the issue, and we usually try to judge by the edit times, but sometimes we miss them too, but fix such errors once made aware of them by the OP or anyone else.

My suggestion would be - make a new thread, or post a post in the end of your own, bumping it, and edit your main post after you make the new post (makes it easier to track time).
Thank you for your input, redsolar.

I understand the logic behind your suggestion. However, if members are allowed to alter their posts to include information for a different item or a new rebate (information that someone else already posted), then i think this makes it difficult for all of us. The moderators will need look carefully to try and determine what the original item and/or rebate was in the modified old thread. They would also need to scrutinize post and edit times to judge whether a new thread is a repost or not of the older thread. Furthermore, members who create new threads may feel frustrated when they have done their searches and posted what they feel is new information, and later see that their thread was merged with someone else's after he/she altered his/her old thread.

Making a new thread always brings more attention though IMHO.
Creating a new thread with any new, not previously posted information sounds like the better suggestion, in my humble opinion.

We all want to contribute. I think that if we can find a way to deal with this issue, then it will make it easier for everyone to participate here.

It does make it more difficult, and we do try to look carefully at edit dates. And since there is no way to know what exactly has been changed in the original post, we usually give the benefit of a doubt to a new poster, unless there is evidence against it. Such evidence would be a new post in the old thread by the old thread's op, and a later edit of the original post (situation I described above)

We can not disable OP alterations, since they are often updated as deal progresses by proactive OPs. The date stamp remains, and it's what we have to base our decisions on. I realize, that's probably not what you are asking, since you hinted you would rather have edit be time-limited, but for now that's the best there is.

If any member believes his/her post was wrongfully merged, we would gladly look at the merge and see if we may have made an error merging it. Hopefully it's not a merge of 2 monster threads :).

So here is how I would deal with the issue.

Search all forums, not a single forum (such as Hot Deals or Freebies)
When not found, post deal
If something is merged, don't assume it's always right, and double check. Mods are people too (yes!)
If there is suspicion it should not have been merged, let us know (modalert is preferred to PM, since we all see Modalerts). Please provide the reason why you think it should not have been merged.
We will look into it on a case by case basis, and fix or leave as is, with a short comment in the modalert field.


To the OP, who wants to change the original post with new information, here is what to do:

Post a new post in your own thread, with new information, with it

Get proof of you being first in posting
Bump the thread to the top

Update your Original Post with it
Change your post title (Edit/Go Advanced) to reflect new information


Sounds good?

And if you find that you have made a repost, don't hesitate to modalert.

A few personal comments to add:

Don't give :thumbdow: to posters who made a first post or made a repost just because. We are all human, and not everyone is as lucky with search.
Be respectful, and if it's a repost - modalert it rather than expressing your hate of reposts. I would rather merge a repost than miss a deal.
Better luck next time :)

Mods, thanks for your advice.:) This advice can go for all forums.

Thank you granolagirl and all that responded to this thread.

Mods, thanks for your advice.:) This advice can go for all forums.

Thank you granolagirl and all that responded to this thread.


:iagree:

We can not disable OP alterations, since they are often updated as deal progresses by proactive OPs. The date stamp remains, and it's what we have to base our decisions on. I realize, that's probably not what you are asking, since you hinted you would rather have edit be time-limited, but for now that's the best there is.hi redsolar

i think editing a post is certainly reasonable for a given deal when the changes made are for that particular deal as it progresses.

However, what i am questioning is the ability of a member to alter his/her post to enter information for what would be considered a different deal (a different item or a new rebate), or even with information from new threads created by other members that was not previously contained in his/her old thread. Are such actions allowed?

So here is how I would deal with the issue.

Search all forums, not a single forum (such as Hot Deals or Freebies)
When not found, post deal
If something is merged, don't assume it's always right, and double check. Mods are people too (yes!)
If there is suspicion it should not have been merged, let us know (modalert is preferred to PM, since we all see Modalerts). Please provide the reason why you think it should not have been merged.
We will look into it on a case by case basis, and fix or leave as is, with a short comment in the modalert field.


To the OP, who wants to change the original post with new information, here is what to do:

Post a new post in your own thread, with new information, with it

Get proof of you being first in posting
Bump the thread to the top

Update your Original Post with it
Change your post title (Edit/Go Advanced) to reflect new information


Sounds good?A few personal comments to add:

Don't give :thumbdow: to posters who made a first post or made a repost just because. We are all human, and not everyone is as lucky with search.
Be respectful, and if it's a repost - modalert it rather than expressing your hate of reposts. I would rather merge a repost than miss a deal.
Better luck next time :)

certainly sounds good; however, unless these are rules, they cannot be enforced. And even if these were rules, it seems that rules have been broken here before, and some experience no consequences regardless of how many times they break rules. It would be reassuring to know that rules are enforced equally for everyone.

I thank you providing these measures that we can all take to make sure that when we are participating here, we are being as fair and considerate to others as possible. I appreciate the time and effort you took to create these guidelines.

I am hopeful that your guidelines can be made into rules for all of us to follow, and that they will improve the SD experience for everyone. From my own personal observations and from what i've recently learned from other members, this is an issue that has been affecting and frustrating several of us for a while...

hi redsolar

i think editing a post is certainly reasonable for a given deal when the changes made are for that particular deal as it progresses.

However, what i am questioning is the ability of a member to alter his/her post to enter information for what would be considered a different deal (a different item or a new rebate), or even with information from new threads created by other members that was not previously contained in his/her old thread. Are such actions allowed?

Many times the original post is updated with a truly genuine information, and disallowing adding new things to the same post would probably be a bad idea - it hinders deal creativity.

As I mentioned, we do try to look for plagiarism like that when we moderate threads, specifically when merging them, giving the benefit of a doubt to a new thread, if the original was altered clearly after the new thread was posted.

certainly sounds good; however, unless these are rules, they cannot be enforced. And even if these were rules, it seems that rules have been broken here before, and some experience no consequences regardless of how many times they break rules. It would be reassuring to know that rules are enforced equally for everyone.

I thank you providing these measures that we can all take to make sure that when we are participating here, we are being as fair and considerate to others as possible. I appreciate the time and effort you took to create these guidelines.

I am hopeful that your guidelines can be made into rules for all of us to follow, and that they will improve the SD experience for everyone. From my own personal observations and from what i've recently learned from other members, this is an issue that has been affecting and frustrating several of us for a while...
I still think this is more of a guideline than a rule, since it may be not bulletproof enough to be a rule, but I suppose only time will tell.

If anyone finds something that you believe should not have been done, please let us know, and we will try to remedy it to the best of our ability. In fact, you can PM me directly. And I will see what I can do about it.

Many times the original post is updated with a truly genuine information, and disallowing adding new things to the same post would probably be a bad idea - it hinders deal creativity.I understand that using some creativity and thinking "outside the box" by adding an item to a pre-existing deal can often make a deal better. I am not questioning that nor would i want to hinder anyone from doing so.

I believe i could be phrasing my question more clearly. I will try to better explain what I am asking by using this example:

Before Selma edited her thread here (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=319981) for a deal on the Ultra 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub, her post indicated "Sale valid until 09/13/06". Despite her claim that Nsx_racing2004's thread (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=342120) (which included the same products) was a repost, it was determined by a moderator as not being a repost since his thread included a new rebate that expired on 10/11/06.

Selma removed the "Sale valid until 09/13/06" from her old post. Since he had already created a new thread w/ the new information, I cannot appreciate why her older thread was altered and bumped after his new thread was already submitted.

What I am asking is if these types of alterations are allowed. Several instances of such alterations have affected not only NSX_Racing2004, but me and several other members as well, and I am certain that we would all like to know if this is allowed to be done.

I think you may have misunderstood what I meant.

What I mean is we do not allow things like that to happen most of the time. We respect everyone's right to post a deal, and going back and adding things based on someone else's post usually does not go unnoticed.

As you mentioned, in your example, posts were not merged for an obvious reason, and they usually aren't.

But, we are all human, and make mistakes merging things here and there where they probably should not have been merged. We are getting better at it, but still not perfect.

That's why I asked that anyone who sees something that should not have been merged contacts us (or me) and explains what we did wrong. We will fix the wrongdoing.

I hope this makes it more clear.

What do you suggest we do besides that? Lock the old thread and prevent it from being bumped?

I think if someone revamps their old post and makes it totally different (except adding things mentioned in the thread to the OP for helpfulness) that it should be locked if they do that and try to claim repost on someone else's thread.

Incidentally, the forum listing currently shows redsolar as the originator of this thread, but with the current starting time and date.

I get the impression the servers are feeling a little queasy...

I think you may have misunderstood what I meant.

What I mean is we do not allow things like that to happen most of the time. We respect everyone's right to post a deal, and going back and adding things based on someone else's post usually does not go unnoticed.actually, i have been reading your replies as carefully as i can, and i believe that i understand quite well what it is that you're saying. Still, I appreciate your clarification.

As you mentioned, in your example, posts were not merged for an obvious reason, and they usually aren't.

But, we are all human, and make mistakes merging things here and there where they probably should not have been merged. We are getting better at it, but still not perfect.

That's why I asked that anyone who sees something that should not have been merged contacts us (or me) and explains what we did wrong. We will fix the wrongdoing.I realize that threads that would be better left unmerged sometimes will inadvertently be merged. I have always appreciated the moderators and felt sympathy for the difficult job that they perform here on a site of this size.

What do you suggest we do besides that? Lock the old thread and prevent it from being bumped?
I think if someone revamps their old post and makes it totally different (except adding things mentioned in the thread to the OP for helpfulness) that it should be locked if they do that and try to claim repost on someone else's thread.Melissa2, that's a great suggestion :nod:

edit: never mind. this issue is more clear to me after discussing it w/ other members.

What about those that take a post they made yesterday and modifying it using info from a new post someone else made today and then add a little bump to make their post most current. Seems a little shady so that they can get credit for the 'new post'


When a repost is reported the Mods so also not only check who made the duplicate post but also when the OP was edited lasted especially if the person reporting the repost made the OP.

What about those that take a post they made yesterday and modifying it using info from a new post someone else made today and then add a little bump to make their post most current. Seems a little shady so that they can get credit for the 'new post'hi Scampsters,

just wondering, in the case that you describe, did the OP give credit to the person who posted the new info?

hi Scampsters,

just wondering, in the case that you describe, did the OP give credit to the person who posted the new info?


Nope no credit at all was given they simply edited their post with the new info and bumped their post to make it the most current.

Nope no credit at all was given they simply edited their post with the new info and bumped their post to make it the most current.

If a member uses information that another member has already posted to "sweeten" their deal, then i think that should be allowed. credit/thanks should probably be given to the person who contributed the new information.

However, i cannot appreciate the need for any member to (1) alter the first post in his/her old thread and basically put in the same information already posted by another member in a new thread and (2) bump his/her old thread.

I totally agree with Scampsters and Granola Girl. That's pretty crazy that someone wants to "hog" the freebies forum to the point that they alter posts with information that others have provided! :eek:

I totally agree with Scampsters and Granola Girl. That's pretty crazy that someone wants to "hog" the freebies forum to the point that they alter posts with information that others have provided! :eek:

Crazy as it may be, it's being done and done with realtive impunity. When I have mod alerted similarly egregious behavior by the User in question, I have gotten batted down with an "oh gee they contribute SO much to the forum etc etc" blah blah blah ad nauseum or a "oh, please do tell us if you see this again" (RE: mining old posts to repost 6 months to the day they were posted in the first place) ...Riiiiiight. That would risk me flooding the Mods with alerts every time I signed on and getting hassled for it. No thanks. Been there - done that.

Go ahead - mention the user abusing the system in a variety of ways by name and see which Mod(s) leaps to their defense. We regular Users are powerless over the situation, IMHO. It's been permitted to go on for so long with little or no action, why shoudl anyone elieve otherwise?

I've given up trying to stop the abuse in it's myriad forms. Good luck to those of you who still feel you can get something done. GranolaGirl was brave to even bring it up. I do hope she isn't treated badly for asking an honest question.

This sneaky, steal somebody else's deal and claim it as your own thing is just so petty, so beyond the pale, and so unecessary. It's just one more example of why the Freebie forum now resembles the old DealCatcher freebie forum - mess of junk, flotsam, phishing scams and reposts that it was.

Why Users like this aren't warned, warned again when they re-offend and finally banned is the real question. Believe me, no one User is SO valuable that deals won't get posted if they go bye-bye. Others Users will simply have the chance to post more deals and other energizer bunny Users will show up with remarkably similar personalities to the old ones but hopefully better manners and attention to posting guidelines, at least for a while.

Gee Nuala'sMom I hope the member referred to is not me. I have a question in a similar vein, but instead of starting a new thread I am adding it here. Lets say you find a deal/freebie & you search, there are no other threads for the freebie (lets say freebie its just easier) for the past 6 months. Then someone says its a repost because so-&-so edited their over 6 months old post with the new information? Or if the freebie is under 6 months but when you do a search and see it is not pertinent and post & then they edit?

The second question is just for my own clarification. I am not pointing fingers (& I am not accusing anyone else of this). I just want to know the best way in your opinion (or according to defined rules) to approach the situation. Thanks. Isis

again, we go with the edit times. if the 6 month post is edited newly, and bumped, then that's considered the op. we'd rather them start a new thread..


if they edit after you, then we close theirs.

Don't worry Isis - I have NEVER seen you behave in the manners described here. You may be an energizer bunny, but you are NOT:
1.So obsessed with rep points to to the point of editing old posts to take credit for new deals
2. immune to being warned or corrected by virtue of private relationships
3. Prone to rampant reposts, junk postings, bare link postings, posting offers you know to be fraudulent for possible personal gain etc etc

That's the kind of thing regular longtime users such as myself and many others get disgusted by. Whenever we try and get action, we get ignored, rebuffed or threatened.

I only ducked into this thread just now because someone brought it up to me privately. I have been off Slick Deals for weeks due to travel to deal with the death of a very dear friend. I am still tied up with that so I won't be logging onto slick deals much for a while.

Please rest assured isis that many people value your tireless hard work at posting QUALITY deals so selflessly. You are one of the most generous users I have ever encountered on Slick Deals. You give credit to others when you feel you should even if it's something small and you work hard to keep your offers up to date. Many users are saving goodly amounts of money on account of youir work. Please know how much people appreciate you. You embody eveything that is GOOD about a site like Slick Deals.

Whoever is doing that is indeed pretty pathetic. I don't understand why people give a crap about receiving rep points (except maybe the extra mailbox space after 100)....after that who gives a rip. I just don't get it. It's not like you're getting paid/getting something special for so many rep points.

I have a quick question about editing your post.. Theres a space for "Reason for Edit" .. i was wondering if there are any rules where you have to fill out that information prior to an edit to your post? thanks in advance~

I have a quick question about editing your post.. Theres a space for "Reason for Edit" .. i was wondering if there are any rules where you have to fill out that information prior to an edit to your post? thanks in advance~
No, there aren't any rules where you have to fill in the 'Reason For Edit' line. You can leave it blank. However, if you are editing it for a good reason, then it couldn't hurt to say so. For example, if you're editing it to fix a dead or broken link, you can just say 'fixed broken link', etc. (Or you can just mention it in your post when you edit it.) But you don't have to do so.

No, there aren't any rules where you have to fill in the 'Reason For Edit' line. You can leave it blank. However, if you are editing it for a good reason, then it couldn't hurt to say so. For example, if you're editing it to fix a dead or broken link, you can just say 'fixed broken link', etc. (Or you can just mention it in your post when you edit it.) But you don't have to do so.

It's optional.

PS: What ever happened to g.g.?:(