Yes, I volunteer myself. I would need feedback on the best solution—as the one I previously outlined was just one way it could be done. Right now, below each post are the following options: Vote up, Vote down, Comments (#), Save, and Report. They could easily add “Mark a typo” or “Report a typo” that could pop out a new window in which you can alert the author of a typo that needs fixing.
In terms of effort vs. gain—you pose an interesting question. I would argue that it is worth the effort. This is a website about rational thought, so it seems fitting that it should have a smooth user interface that they’re constantly trying to optimize. I also think any effort into finding a better way or creating a better system is always well spent because it creates an environment that nurtures innovative thinking and progress. So even though programming a new function would only have an incremental benefit to users, I think little things like this have a positive impact on the way people think. Web programming is such a flexible medium, allowing improvements like this—and just like people on this site put extra time and effort into the pursuit of truth and rationality, I think we should also put extra effort into optimizing our systems of interaction, making them as efficient as possible. Efficiency is the sister of rationality.
You should consider other solutions, since the first one you think of is unlikely to be the best/cheapest to implement. The “Edit” functionality already exists. Users above a certain karma level could be allowed to edit posts, as in the case of StackOverflow. The major cost is that there would need to be a way to revert changes to prevent vandalism. Morendil pointed out that DM are a bit harder to send than comments. If desired, that could be fixed cheaply. There are surely other solutions.
The new functionality wouldn’t allow users to edit the post, but rather alert the author that there is a typo that might need fixing—does that help clarify my previous comment? I agree that allowing users to edit posts without the approval of the author could do more harm than good.
Imagine that there is another link below each post that opens the text of the post in a new window in which you are able to highlight typos (this could be programmed in a variety of ways—I would want to do more research on it to determine the best one). Once submitted, highlighted typos will automatically be Direct Messaged to the author in a automated format (see example below) and a little red dot will appear in the margin next to a line for which a typo alert was submitted—helping make sure authors are not flooded with alerts about the same typo. If a dot in the margin is too hard to program, here is an alternative: When a user clicks on the link to create a typo-alert, the highlighted text from previous typo-alerts submitted by other users is displayed in the pop-up window.
i.e.
Dear [Name]
User [Name] has found the following typos in your post.
[copy of sentence with highlighted text from typo-pop-out box inserted here].
You can correct any typos in your post by using the Edit function.
Thanks,
The Typo-Alert Generator
This may not be the best system, but through collaboration I think we can figure something out. Until there is some kind of efficient system in place that leverages the fact that web programming can be easily changed to suit a site’s specific needs, I think we should just ignore typos and allow the highest level users to edit any glaring mistakes for clarity as they see fit.
That sounds like a decent solution. I have no idea how hard the little red dot would be to program, but I think it would be distracting for the people who don’t care about the typos. The highlighted text from previous typo-alerts makes sure that only the people who care get the information.
That sounds like it would require considerable programming effort without all that much gain. Do you volunteer to do it yourself?
Yes, I volunteer myself. I would need feedback on the best solution—as the one I previously outlined was just one way it could be done. Right now, below each post are the following options: Vote up, Vote down, Comments (#), Save, and Report. They could easily add “Mark a typo” or “Report a typo” that could pop out a new window in which you can alert the author of a typo that needs fixing.
In terms of effort vs. gain—you pose an interesting question. I would argue that it is worth the effort. This is a website about rational thought, so it seems fitting that it should have a smooth user interface that they’re constantly trying to optimize. I also think any effort into finding a better way or creating a better system is always well spent because it creates an environment that nurtures innovative thinking and progress. So even though programming a new function would only have an incremental benefit to users, I think little things like this have a positive impact on the way people think. Web programming is such a flexible medium, allowing improvements like this—and just like people on this site put extra time and effort into the pursuit of truth and rationality, I think we should also put extra effort into optimizing our systems of interaction, making them as efficient as possible. Efficiency is the sister of rationality.
You should consider other solutions, since the first one you think of is unlikely to be the best/cheapest to implement. The “Edit” functionality already exists. Users above a certain karma level could be allowed to edit posts, as in the case of StackOverflow. The major cost is that there would need to be a way to revert changes to prevent vandalism. Morendil pointed out that DM are a bit harder to send than comments. If desired, that could be fixed cheaply. There are surely other solutions.
The new functionality wouldn’t allow users to edit the post, but rather alert the author that there is a typo that might need fixing—does that help clarify my previous comment? I agree that allowing users to edit posts without the approval of the author could do more harm than good.
Imagine that there is another link below each post that opens the text of the post in a new window in which you are able to highlight typos (this could be programmed in a variety of ways—I would want to do more research on it to determine the best one). Once submitted, highlighted typos will automatically be Direct Messaged to the author in a automated format (see example below) and a little red dot will appear in the margin next to a line for which a typo alert was submitted—helping make sure authors are not flooded with alerts about the same typo. If a dot in the margin is too hard to program, here is an alternative: When a user clicks on the link to create a typo-alert, the highlighted text from previous typo-alerts submitted by other users is displayed in the pop-up window.
i.e.
Dear [Name]
User [Name] has found the following typos in your post. [copy of sentence with highlighted text from typo-pop-out box inserted here]. You can correct any typos in your post by using the Edit function.
Thanks, The Typo-Alert Generator
This may not be the best system, but through collaboration I think we can figure something out. Until there is some kind of efficient system in place that leverages the fact that web programming can be easily changed to suit a site’s specific needs, I think we should just ignore typos and allow the highest level users to edit any glaring mistakes for clarity as they see fit.
That sounds like a decent solution. I have no idea how hard the little red dot would be to program, but I think it would be distracting for the people who don’t care about the typos. The highlighted text from previous typo-alerts makes sure that only the people who care get the information.