Hello all,
Some of you will have noticed that CHOICE.community moderators can and do sometimes edit your posts. When this happens you’ll get a notification and you’ll be able to see who made the edit, and the before and after state. The editor may also have written a reason for the edit, in which case you’ll see that too.
Edits so far have been minor changes for clarity. For example, I will fix glaring typos and formatting errors. A lot of us are still getting to grips with the formatting controls, so sometimes a URL will be broken or text will get garbled - especially lists and quotes. I fix those when I see them. I’ll also add paragraphs when someone has written a giant wall of uninterrupted text.
We don’t edit to change the meaning or intent of your words, or to moderate what can sometimes be over-excited speech on topics people care about. We also don’t currently edit posts that violate community guidelines. Instead we flag, hide or delete those posts. If a valid contribution is marred by a passing personal attack or insult (which are simply not allowed here) then we will hide the post and message the author asking if they are willing to change or remove the offending portion. Usually on reflection they will agree to do so.
Moderators are not the only people here who can hide posts, by the way. If a lot of users flag a post then it may automatically be hidden - especially if the poster is new and the flaggers have earned a solid reputation as contributors. If you see a post that you think may violate community guidelines please do flag it for review, to help the community stay welcoming and helpful.
Unlike the CHOICE letters page we do not edit for brevity, though I confess I am sometimes tempted. And some of my own posts could surely be improved by being shorter 
Finally: We freely edit topic names so that they describe the whole topic as it evolves, not just the content of the first post.
All of this is up for discussion, with the shared aim of creating an unrivalled place for civilised discourse about the topics that matter to Australian consumers.
