3 ms·

I think you're missing the point. You're talking about transparency, which is important, but it's not user experience. We know how to make edit buttons that ha

by npunt 5y ago

I think you're missing the point. You're talking about transparency, which is important, but it's not user experience. We know how to make edit buttons that have transparency, just have an 'Edited' link and make the edit log accessible. Easy. This is not an engineering problem. The problem with the edit button is the abuse vector, what the low friction path is, the effect of the feature on the community, the whole user experience. It wouldn't even be right to compare Facebook's edit feature to anything Twitter does, because the communities and the mediums are wildly different.

captn3m0 5y ago
As an example of unintended consequences, viral tweets are often embedded on articles. Editing them via an account takeover or rogue Twitter apps (if not handled correctly) would lead to a lot of crypto ads reaching Buzzfeed.
- sangnoir 5y ago
  This will absolutely be a self-own by Twitter: publishers will switch to screenshots rather than risk inadvertently showing Goatse to their audience. Free business idea to HN: create a WordPress plugin that autogenerates Twitter screenshots & includes the alt text for embedding. Perhaps the @picaso_me bot can grow into this niche.
  - antifa 5y ago
    I wish there was an npm library that made an entirely self-contained SVG from a tweet.
adrianmonk 5y ago
I agree that's the real challenge, but it seems pretty doable. For example, display added text in italics and deleted text in strikethrough. (Like some legislatures do: https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislative-staff/research-editorial-legal-and-committee-staff/types-of-markup-used-in-bills637032129.aspx https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislative-staff/res...) And show this view by default, so that users must read through the old text when looking at the new text. Things get more complicated with multiple edits to a single tweet. You could possibly extend the approach, or you could allow only one edit.

by npunt 5y ago

captn3m0 5y ago

As an example of unintended consequences, viral tweets are often embedded on articles. Editing them via an account takeover or rogue Twitter apps (if not handled correctly) would lead to a lot of crypto ads reaching Buzzfeed.

sangnoir 5y ago
This will absolutely be a self-own by Twitter: publishers will switch to screenshots rather than risk inadvertently showing Goatse to their audience. Free business idea to HN: create a WordPress plugin that autogenerates Twitter screenshots & includes the alt text for embedding. Perhaps the @picaso_me bot can grow into this niche.
- antifa 5y ago
  I wish there was an npm library that made an entirely self-contained SVG from a tweet.

adrianmonk 5y ago

I agree that's the real challenge, but it seems pretty doable. For example, display added text in italics and deleted text in strikethrough. (Like some legislatures do: https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislative-staff/research-editorial-legal-and-committee-staff/types-of-markup-used-in-bills637032129.aspx https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislative-staff/res...) And show this view by default, so that users must read through the old text when looking at the new text. Things get more complicated with multiple edits to a single tweet. You could possibly extend the approach, or you could allow only one edit.