In the Steem 19.10 release a change was included to support unlimited content editing. Prior to this change, the blockchain would reject attempts to edit content older than seven days.
Changes to posts and comments older than seven days can only be included in a block that is processed by a witness running 19.10. The transaction will also only be propagated across the peer-to-peer (p2p) network by nodes that are running 19.10.
Currently the 19.10 release has been applied to some nodes, but not all.
What this means is that if you submit a change to content older than seven days it will be delayed until a block from one of the witnesses running 19.10. There is also a slight chance that it will get rejected by the p2p network before it makes it to a witness node running 19.10, and will not make it into a block.
@roadscape (one of the Steemit developers) developed a change for condenser (PR 2826) to enable the editing of posts/comments older than seven days on steemit.com. Steemit is waiting to apply this change though until more witnesses have updated to 19.10.
Their decision to wait makes sense, since the slight potential of lost transactions as well as there being significant delays when editing old posts would likely lead to a bad user experience.
I know a lot of people are really eager to start editing old posts though, so I spun up a local condenser instance with this change applied so that people can start using it today!
There are some disclaimers though:
- This site is "use at your own risk". I do not guarantee that anything will work or that the site will be error-free.
- The pull request for the change has not been fully tested/approved and merged into the official repository yet. Based on this, there are risks with using it.
- Image uploads do not work via the site. If you want to use images, you will need to upload them through a different interface (such as steemit.com or imgsafe.org) and plug the URL of the image into the post.
- When you submit a transaction to edit an old post, it may take up to a minute to process.
Based on the risks, it is highly encouraged that you:
- Only use the site to edit old posts.
- Backup a copy of your post before you make any edits, so that you can rollback if needed.
- Save a copy of the new version of your post before submitting, so that if the transaction fails you don't lose all your work.
Users who are using the site should ONLY login with their private posting key. Do not login with your master password or active/owner keys. To get your private posting key, go to your wallet permissions tab:
Ok, with that fun stuff out of the way - here is a link to the site:
https://condenser.timcliff.com
I have tested it and confirmed that you can edit posts older than seven days :)
Have fun and let me know how it goes.
This is great. I don't have any old posts where I care enough about fixing a typo or such to go back and edit now, but it is comforting to know there is the option. Especially if there is something more significant like a bad link.
👍We have added unlimited content editing on eSteem Surfer as well! Post history revision viewing coming soon
Nice!
Those year-old typos drive me nuts. 😅
For evergreen content, this change might be really important if there was a mistake in the original post, or something that was valid then but is no longer.
Hi again, Tim,
I've just exercised your provisional condenser offering, and here is a "first blush" user report:
This is the "old" article that I edited:
I had no trouble with the edit. I was careful to follow your recommendations and to "color within the lines" of the limitations you mentioned in this article.
I have confirmed that the edited article appears properly in my blog, both when accessed from a computer and from a smart phone.
Tim, I must say that I am pleased beyond words... Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
You happily derailed me from completing my current article, which will now appear containing additional praise for you and your kind efforts.
With great appreciation,
- @creator
😄😇😄
Huzzah! Now all we need is a way to view our old posts in the Steemit feed!
i know that would be nice...
I've been slacking on creating something I plan on doing to take advantage of being able to edit older posts!!!! Guess I know what I'll be working on tonight :)
Glad to see this get more traction.
Wow. Wow! WOW!!!
What an example of going "above and beyond!"
Tim, I am beyond gratified to see you provide this workaround, even with all its disclaimers and caveats... THANK YOU so very much!
I was just in the middle of a write-up about this issue, hopefully to appear today, when I discovered your article. Now I can include it by reference in my own article, with great appreciation!
😄😇😄
Great job @timcliff.
It is terrific that we have people like you on steem. Even though not part of the steemit team, your endless work to improve the conditions of the steem ecosystem from a technical point of view is of great help. I know the task is enormous for all involved...to move this blockchain to the next level technically requires the effort of a ton of people.
Thanks for the update and this is invaluable for all those interested in going back and editing posts.
I did it! I was able to edit This post. I added a picture to it that I had edited the other day for a different project. At the time, I had wished that I could add it to my old post. Prayers answered.
@timcliff what would be the reason for allowing edits after 7 days? I understand it can be nice to update a tutorial post or something, but doesn't it go against the blockchain principle of once posted that it stays the same (even though the pre-edit posts can be found back on a block explorer)
Not a lawyer, but I think it's also a good way to prevent copyright issues and potential lawsuits. Imagine getting a cease and desist order, somewhere down the line, from someone saying they own the copyright to a picture or video you posted and would like you to take it down. This way, users can resolve the issue with a simple edit. It also makes sure that Steemit, Inc. cannot be blamed if its users publish plagiarised content because no one can say that Steemit's system is preventing them from removing the plagiarised content after the first 7 days.
The only drawback is that the original post still remains on the blockchain (as it should) but most people don't look that deep so hopefully those copyright laws will catch up...one day?
True. That always seems to be the case, though. With the laws trying to catch up with technology and the individuals like us dealing with the inconvenience in the mean time.
For laws to exists there has to be a need for them first :)
That's true. It would be nice if it didn't take them too long to catch up. And it would be better if the laws catching up didn't include lawmakers overreacting to everything they don't understand, yet.
I think we have a better chance of finding unicorns.
That is a good point!
There are a lot of forms of content that benefit from updating beyond seven days. Tutorials that become out of date are one example.
The full history of posts is always available on the blockchain. Even when you edit a post within the 7 day window, the previous version is not removed. It just creates a new version.
Does it also resets the payout window?
No
I just want to ask. whether the post that we edit will get reward if there is a vote. thanks timcliff
Having evergreen content like this will help for that though. If an author makes a change, they can simply note it in the comments. That comment will then be eligible for rewards. Not ideal, but a feasible workaround.
No. Posts older than 7 days are not eligible for additional rewards.
Hi @timcliff . Hi @timcliff . Does devs consider allowing rewards for old posts? (since some of them are still of great value for today's readers).
b.b.
It is not really being considered at this time.
It worked :)
So we did get a hard fork? Are some curation rewards going to the rewards pool now?
This was technically not a hardfork change. We are still on hardfork 19.
Thanks for creating this @timcliff.
is there any estimated time when this change will fully available?
When more witnesses update. It is technically optional at this point in time. When hardfork 20 occurs (which will most likely be soon) then it will become mandatory, since the hardfork 20 code will include this change.
Thank you for the extra information @timcliff. 😊
You should have two top witness spot!
hehe, thanks :)
Thank Tim for the one of a kind condenser! Do you recommend that all witnesses update to 19.10?
It is a decision that each witness needs to make for themselves. I have upgraded my node.
It's really great changes thank you for your support of the content
You are really making a great effort for us
The temptation to go back in time and rewrite history.....
A very relevant thought... However...
Not really a problem, as "history" is permanently recorded on the blockchain. Anyone who may object to revisionism can point to evidence thereof.
The importance of this change has much more to do with correction of unnoticed errors, updating stale links, and maintaining current indices to Steemit content. I believe the capability will primarily be used for those (very positive) reasons, especially since re-writing history can be so readily exposed.
Thanks for making me realize we can even do wasn't aware about this at all before I read this blog thanks once again well explained.
@timcliff, Thank you so much for this update and truly this update was needed to make our work clean because sometimes we find some error and mistakes to clear it we need the option of the edit which is now fulfilling on Steemit platform.
And your advices are really appreciable because you've shared all the risks associated with it and in my opinion when we release an update we should give the Do's and Don'ts.
And this update can sound small for someone but we have to see the big impact means, we will going to see the aspect of Content Refreshment on large picture.
And i want to appreciate you and all other team members who contributed to this update and development and we hope that more good things are hold for the future.
Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂
I happened upon this post thanks to @creatr
You're a rock star in my eyes @timcliff!
Thank you for being awesome
that's a pretty awesome thing for you to do, Tim! Thank You!
Wow! I was just wondering about this yesterday. Thanks for this workaround. I've been wanting to edit my very first post since I published it 3 months ago. Thanks again!
OUCH. Any update on what the future holds regarding this?
The site is just my own local instance of condenser. I’m hosting it as a temporary work-around until Steemit enables the unlimited content editing via steemit.com. Image hosting is a major undertaking. I wasn’t planning to support it via my instance.
That's a nice feature for including links to ongoing article series for example. So i can make posts more informative with more references to newer posts. Thanks for this information!
I'm still wanting this personally:
https://github.com/steemit/steem/pull/2483#event-1639574698
Hardfork 20 :)
Yes, it's like "Patience, my friend". :-)
AMAZIN job @timcliff.
It is terrific that we have people like you on steem.
I was about to say it has not been implemented yet, but I noticed I have to go to an external page to try it out. Anyways, I will try it out when its fully implemented on all the Nodes.
It is implemented in most of the "nodes" but not the frontend (https://steemit.com) right now. The fact that the "nodes" have it enabled makes it even possible to edit old posts. It still requires that the witness that signs the block of the edit is on 19.10.
Oh, now i understand, thanks for the clarity.
Very interesting information! Thank you for sharing!
Is this intentional? If not, you can edit the condenser
config/default.json(orconfig/production.json) to contain:"img_proxy_prefix": "https://steemitimages.com/", "upload_image": "https://steemitimages.com",instead of
"upload_image": false,Doesn't this require Steemit's "secret key" to work?
It does not
I had already set
img_proxy_prefixto "https://steemitimages.com/" in order to get all the images from existing posts to display properly, so this part was done.I just tried setting
"upload_image": "https://steemitimages.com", and it still gives this error when I try to upload an image through the site:Im guessing something recently changed. I am having issues in my dev env now also. I'll update if I find the fix.
@timcliff I just tested this by using "https://cdn.steemitimages.com" and all is good to go. Make sure you do not include the trailing '/' on the
upload_imagedirective in the config."upload_image": "https://cdn.steemitimages.com"(The trailing slash NEEDS to be on the
img_proxy_prefix)"img_proxy_prefix": "https://cdn.steemitimages.com/"Thanks for information @timcliff, I´ll be work on it
Regards
I loved your content
hola querido amigo un placer para mi recibir tan interesante post saludos desde venezuela muaaacks