So you want to edit tweets? Jack Dorsey says the option is 'definitely needed'

Unlike Facebook, Twitter lacks the option to edit what you have posted in order to correct typos or other mistakes. It's something that has been the subject of complaints and discussion for years now, and Jack Dorsey is finally starting to listen.

Writing -- on Twitter, funnily enough -- just before New Year, Dorsey said that an edit function is "def needed. But for everyone, not just those w badges". At the moment it is not known whether the feature is due to arrive, but it's clearly something that Twitter is considering. Dorsey makes it clear that he understands the pros and cons of making tweets editable.

He reveals that tweet editing is "our most requested feature (today & always)", but recognizes that there are key considerations if and when the feature is implemented. One of the strongest arguments against the idea of tweet editing is that it would make it possible for people and companies to change what they have said. Dorsey realizes that this is an issue, but proposes a two-tier editing system.

This is our most requested feature (today & always). Mostly to quickly fix mistakes. Anything beyond would need to show revision history https://t.co/fHtGNjkuEx

— jack (@jack) December 29, 2016

This would provide the best of both worlds, and hopefully keep Twitter users happy whichever side of the argument they sit on. The ability to quickly fix a typo is something that would be welcomed by many people, but placing a time limit on editing, after which time a revision history is displayed, would help to allay the fear that some have that editing could be used to try to re-write history.

Gizmodo suggests that even with this limited window for history-free editing, there is a danger:

With the rise of fake news, trust in things posted online is at an all-time low. So why would Twitter add a feature that might make a user second guess what they're reading? If your tweet has a typo or an error, there's a super easy way to fix it: just delete it and repost the tweet. If you were able to edit a tweet even minutes after sending it, you could easily trick a lot of people. More specifically, tweets with breaking news can be retweeted hundreds of times in just a matter of minutes, so if someone was to change a tweet after it has been retweeted 300 times, things could get messy.

This argument does not really work. Sure, it is possible to delete and re-post a tweet if you discover that it has an error, but as the author William Turton points out, it is possible for a tweet to be retweeted very quickly -- surely it is better to have an edited tweet completed with revision history retweeted rather than deleting a post that has already been shared by others.

As there are no concrete details coming out of Twitter at the moment, this is nothing more than speculation. What we do know, however, is that Twitter at least seems to be listening, and Jack Dorsey appears to be giving the problem some serious thought.

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