Why can't some posts be edited?

Being a forgetful person, who also has the disadvantage of occasional impulsivness, I quite often end up editing posts, because I posted the post, and then remembered what I had forgotten.

Now this works out alright... Mostly. I've now twice had the notification "You do not have the Authority to edit this post", after having edited the post and klicking on "Repost" (I do like the occasional repost, you know ).

So why? I can't see any reason for this. I press "Edit" directly after I have posted the message, edit it, and mostly I can re-post it. Just the twice, it has said I am not allowed to edit what I have just written... Seems strange to me.

Is this a bug, or a feature?

I'll take the liberty of answering on Ed. Bills behalf

see:
I Want To Come Out And Play!

any post can be edited but there is a time limit

Thx for the info mack.

I've obviously been taking too long with my ambles

I'd like to take advantage of this thread to plead for a longer time frame to edit posts.

I can't see any obvious disadvantages of a longer periods, although I'm quite prepared to be corrected by Editor Bill, if there is some reason.

A work orientated forum I use extensively has a 1 hour limit for edits, which I find fairly realistic - if too long goes by I simply comment the post, or occasionally post a separate comment to make it clear that I have modified the post.

I have been caught out here many times by the 5 min. limit - evidently I either don't type fast enough, or I'm too long winded - i.e., I start well within the 5 mins, but before I'm finished, it's timed out - you can get thoroughly p****d off after the third or fourth time.

If, for some reason an hour's too long, how about 15 minutes?

The edit timeout is there primarily to prevent people from going back and changing what they wrote, which can sometimes disrupt the flow of a thread. Particularly within a fast moving "discussion" (read: "flamewar").

In my opinion the only edits you should need to make to a post are corrections of minor typos and spelling mistakes. I normally spot mine pretty much immediately after posting, so 5 minutes is more than enough.

If you need to add something significant to the post, it's best to make it in a new one. (Note that in most cases when I see 2 consecutive posts from the same person I merge them together).

Anyway, I've increased the limit to 15 minutes. That should be more than enough...

Thanks!