Hey guys, this is
John with a quick followup on backdating posts:
We've gotten a lot of requests for backdating posts over the years, especially for users who are moving their posts to Xanga from another site (which we always love). So it's definitely something we've had in mind for a long time. But as davidian pointed out, there's potential for abuse:
there's a certain ethical question involved with [backdating entries]. for example, if there is an accusation of plagiarism that stems from something posted on xanga, a backdated entry could make things quite confusing. backdated entries should be denoted as such. or have a different color timestamp or something. otherwise, it is ethically-ambiguous.
That's a fair point, and we'll look into finding a way to indicate when a post has been backdated (and maybe even displaying when the post was actually added to Xanga). Some people have mentioned that anything we display might be hidden with CSS; we could address that by creating a page on Xanga where you can input a link and see when it was inputted into the database. Would that address the issue?
Comments (91)
Xanga for the goddamn win!!
I think just a flag or something that tells the reader "this was backdated" would be useful.
It might be useful, although less justifiable on practical grounds, to do the same thing for future posts "this post was written as a future post" something to that effect.
p.s. -- you guys rock ^__^
I like that idea. I am one of the people who are just looking into moving entries over from another site and I'd hate to have that option taken away just because plagiarists are running rampant.
the backend database would need to be secured pretty well to use that method. it would somewhat address the issue, but people would want to see it upfront instead of having to go through additional steps to look into it.
If you're going to add a backdate feature that would be GREAT!!!
Wow, I never thought of that. (Of course I haven't had any other blogging site). But I think its a great idea to mark the backdated posts somehow. With something like a little BACK Badge. Then you could click on the badge to see when the post was added.
Y'all do rock!
Perhaps something to make it easier to find these backdated posts as well. Because if some one adds posts from two years ago, we'd have to sift through two years of stuff we've already seen to get to the new stuff. Just a list of all the posts that are backdated so that it si easier to get to them.
One question though. Why do I have to write the post, save it, then go back and edit it, then click on the "editor not working?" in order to change the time stamp?
Good thing I don't write anything worth plagiarizing.
I cannot foresee a time when I would need to use it but this seems like a pretty good way to go about doing it. Nice work, Xanga.
I don't know much about how it would be done, but maybe some sort of flag indicating backdating would be a good idea. Something that can't be hidden with programming. I also assume that Xanga itself has records of when each post is initially posted to the internet? At any rate, I think it's definitely important that if backdating is allowed, something be put in place that shows that it has been done.
@japanika - It's already included in their future posting option. Read about it here: http://weblog.xanga.com/TheXangaTeam/655730561/new-feature-future-posting.html
that sounds great! thanks for addressing this issue.
You definitely need to have some way to mark backdated posts, otherwise timestamps become completely meaningless, except as an organizational tool for the author (to determine the order of the posts - it would have no other meaning beyond that). I understand the desire to move posts from other sites, but as far as I know no other blogging site or software allows backdating.
It doesn't matter quite as much with future posts - many popular bloggers I read use that s a tool to schedule a bunch of posts for a certain time (for example, running a few posts each day at the beginning of the day). But backdating... I think you should either drop it completely, or make it completely obvious when a post has been backdated and what the original date of posting was.
As someone pointed out on the other post, this exact type of thing was suggested by Google as an April Fools joke - backdating emails. I understand the desire to move over old posts... but it opens up a can of worms just for that one case.
@NQbass7 - I don't know about other sites, but Livejournal has offered the backdating feature for a few years at least.
I didn't even think about the plagiarism issue, and I can see how that can be an issue. But it's a very hard situation to imagine.
Anyhow, I hope you guys can get it sorted out soon.
@NQbass7 - i actually have used blogger before and they allow backdating.. it is useful for moving one blog to another, especially if your readers are following you, that way they don't get confused by you posting something today, that you posted about a few weeks, months, years ago ... but i agree somehow it needs to be noted that it was a backdated post, and the actual original post date..
I would love to backdate entries because sometimes I don't make to Xanga before to 12:00 am in whatever timezone, but the entry doesn't "belong" on that day. I hope you find a way to make it work.
hi im emmy(:
"Date of Addition 05/07/2008 4:13pm for Entry Dated 07/03/2005 12:01am"
I am so going to tell Xanga about this awesome idea I had where they backdate posts so can transfer this entry as soon as they use the idea. Awesome.
Just kidding guys. The abuse question in regards to plagarism is a big thing, but perhaps a time/date stamp from what you were discussing (as above in quotes) might do the trick. Certainly free Xanga from any legal wrangling. You will need to modify the terms of use though, just to keep it all legit.
Hey guys - Yah, most blogging platforms allow you to backdate posts... but that's ok, most blogging sites don't have the sort of close knit communities that we have here.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback above! We'll work on the fixes we mentioned above, and also monitor this post for additional comments and thoughts...
John
@EilisAngelos -
@makeovervixen -
I stand corrected. Just out of curiosity, how do those sites deal with it? Are backdated posts marked?
And I understand it can be confusing to repost old material - but it's not difficult to deal with it. One blog I read (ERV) has been doing reposts, and she just marks them with an intro saying so. Again, I understand the problem, but backdating seems like (a) it's overkill for the problem and (b) it introduces all kinds of new problems. It seems like a feature that will get far more abuse than actual use.
Years ago, when I posted a lot of poetry and photos on Xanga, a few people plagiarized my work. The only way that I was able to prove that it was originally mine was because I had posted it first. So, I see it as a VERY valid concern.
That said, I can see why people who are moving content from another blogging platform to this one would like to have the option to backdate. Still, how many people REALLY need to backdate their posts? Are there that many who would even utilize the feature? I don't get the reason someone would use it other than the aforementioned transfer of blog posts.
The copyright question brings up whether or not there should be a notation anytime someone edits a post and doesn't update the time date stamp. As it is, someone could modify a post they did previously and use that in a plagarism case and the date would show as if they had not entered the modifications. If we need to tag/flag one form of backdating, shouldn't we tag/flag the currently available format?
I am thinking of putting up some of my old handwritten entries into Xanga and backdate them...I have no issue if the actual date of entry is also recorded. I think the issue of plagiarism is an important one to address...so keeping a date on when an entry is first entered will be a good feature for me to have.