Newly registered users are intentionally unable to edit their posts.
That is incorrect. They are not unable.
At the current moment (and during the last years), edits are (and were) allowed for new users - in some subforums, like the main 'Ask For Help', like I have demonstrated
here (I tried it, it's true), and can also be seen in the already referenced example topic
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=108452#p482483 in which I have re-approved the initial two posts after they were edited. See posts
- new user edit.png (10.88 KiB) Viewed 2232 times
and topic logs. There are tons of other examples.
they should not be able to edit anywhere, in order to prevent bait-n-switch / bait-n-wait spam.
Such behaviour is currently prevented because edited posts still need to be re-approved after each edit, as long as they are made by a
new user. As long as re-approval is pending, these posts are
invisible for the general community, but still can be seen by staff as you and me (but we will also see the approval dialog). I have personally re-approved myriads of edited posts by new users in 'Ask For Help' during the last 3.5 years, and I am surely not the only staff member...
But if you really think that this should not be allowed, I can only tell you, that it is currently possible in the main 'Ask For Help'. I would say it is not a problem, as long as edited posts need to be re-approved, like currently, although it sometimes confuses non-staff members if a post suddenly dis- and reappears because of an edit.
What is confusing for the new users, and also for us staff members, is that we don't know which rules are active in which subforum, at least as long as I don't try it out myself with my test account
greg_test (which is a new user account). Suggesting to use the pencil button feels kind of dumb, if I find out later that there was never such button available for that particular user in that specific subforum.
Why is editing allowed in 'Ask For Help', but not in 'Ask For Help > Gaming', although they have otherwise the same approval requirement?
(My guess: Remnant from the past, when posting in 'Gaming' wasn't restricted for new users - new posts would still show as unread, like any other post, so it could be checked.)
Anyway, I think I have fulfilled my reporting duties and will just resort to guessing again, if a new user has a question about this. At least I don't intend to spend much more time on this topic. Thanks for reading!
- I actually remember that the forum showed a rare "database error" when I approved that, and I was surprised that it got through nevertheless.
Did you now deactivate the moderation queue for that subforum?
