When we recently upgraded the software for The Batavian, the ability for users to edit comments disappeared.
That was one of a few bugs that crept up with the upgrade that we've been working through.
We've always had the ability for users to edit their own comments. An option rarely available on news Web sites. I know it's a popular feature, but it's also a feature that has been abused by a few people looking to not just correct spelling and grammar, but alter the history of what they've written. For that reason, I've sometimes wanted to limit the ability of people to edit comments particularly the here-and-there, occasional commenter, which are the ones most likely to remove a comment or substantially alter its meaning.
Also, all this software support is expensive. The Batavian needs the support of readers, and not just advertisers, to really thrive.
When it came time to get comment editing back again, I decided we're going to have a change in policy: Comment editing will only be available to those who have paid to join The Batavian Club.
The Batavian Club helps us pay the bills. We need your support. In exchange, membership more than pays for itself with the $300 in gift certificates to local businesses you receive. If you love The Batavian and love saving money, there's really no reason not to join.
So, join today!
(BTW: If you're a member and can't edit comments, send me an e-mail, howard@thebatavian.com. I may not have properly tagged your user account.)
UPDATE: We also just launched a new search function on the site. It's faster and offers some additional features to help return better results. I forgot to mention earlier as well, we also upgraded the thumbs up/thumbs down in response to reader request. Instead of an aggregate result of positive or negative votes, you see the total of how many ups and how many downs each comment gets.
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