Delete post button on duplicates

February 6, 2018 7:30 AM

Could we have a delete post button on the preview page when a Mefi post has duplicate links in it? At the moment you have to click new post again to delete the draft.
posted by ellieBOA to Feature Requests at 7:30 AM (10 comments total)

So, two points about why it isn't set up this way:
First, we don't want to give people the idea that duplicate post checker is an automatic "no"... For one thing, maybe you're making a post with five links and only one of them is a dupe. Plus, many previously-posted links would be okay to post again -- for example, if it was most recently posted 8 years ago, or if there's a bunch of new content, or if it forms part of the background for a post on something else. It's a judgment call for the poster, and the dupe-checker is just a quick first-pass check that the poster can use for a little more info.

Second, the reason we put in a "draft" system in the first place was so people would be less likely to accidentally lose a draft they were working on (especially an issue for people who make longer posts) -- it's a sort of verrry basic backup system. For anyone who doesn't know how it works: you need to click "preview" to "save" your draft, it doesn't autosave; a person can only have one draft at a time, and clicking "new post" in the header will delete the existing draft. Basically since this is just a kind of safety net, and it's not taking up space or getting in the way of anything, highlighting a way to delete the backup has never been a priority.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:53 AM on February 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

(I should add: it's a totally reasonable question/suggestion! Our setup is a little idiosyncratic, as it so often is.)
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:47 AM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

We need an "advanced options" dashboard for frequent posters. :)
posted by zarq at 9:02 AM on February 6, 2018

Thanks LM! Totally reasonable!

This occurred to me today as I was in my Mefi Instapaper folder and went to page 2, and had two articles I wanted to post that had substantial posts on them already! In case anyone missed them as I did:

Silicon Valley's Irrational Ageism

La Dolce Far Niente
posted by ellieBOA at 9:35 AM on February 6, 2018

if it was most recently posted 8 years ago

I know nothing is totally hard and fast here, but do we have a guideline for how long ago a post with the same link should be to not be considered a double?
posted by Chrysostom at 10:50 AM on February 6, 2018

If the duplicate hits you're getting aren't the central thing you're posting (e.g., a single-link article or video) and are further background on the topic, they act as a flag that it's worth including a "previously" or two in your post.

I had included a couple of links to information about Vera Rubin in this post, but when I hit "preview" to check my tagging the first time through, a couple of those links came up in previous posts, which turned out to be one-stop shops for a lot of information about her so I just rewrote the last bit of the post so it was pointing to those posts as previouslies. And from those posts I learned a whole bunch more stuff about her. So win-win.

The draft system is wonderful, BTW.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:59 AM on February 6, 2018 [3 favorites]

No hard and fast rule on timing, it depends on all kinds of contexty things. Like, cool photography project? Probably fine to post again after a few years; sooner if there's very significant new content. Whereas if it's some jerk Dawkins essay that we had a big flamewar about in 2004, I might delete that as a double because we sure don't need to have that fight over again.

But yeah, for fun/nice/cool/nonfighty stuff, in general we're much looser about doubles than we used to be. Basically, in such cases I'd say it's worth giving it a shot if it's been over a year or two. Might get deleted, might not. If it's been over say 5 years, even less chance of getting deleted.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:03 AM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

(is the draft thing only on mefi and not askme? i asked this a while back in another meta and got no answer.)
posted by poffin boffin at 12:20 PM on February 6, 2018

Yup, Mefi only.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:24 PM on February 6, 2018

boo
posted by poffin boffin at 12:43 PM on February 6, 2018