If a user does indeed try to stop the submission process in order to fix the node up a bit more, then it means that the first one posted is more likely to be less-approved of (by the author and others). In which case, wouldn't it be better for a double-submit to actually replace the first submission with the second?

As for how to detect a double-submission, there are a few ways I can think of: do a database query based on author, title, and perhaps content length? It's the last part that makes me itch. You can't really match on the actual text, because it might change if the user modifies the node before re-posting. You can't just count on author and title, because the same person might post two replies within the same thread in a short period of time. Also, anonymous monk replies would be harder to detect as well.

So I propose... why not just another form value (a simple auto-incrementing value in the database. Once a node has been posted with that integer value, don't allow the same form value to be posted. Still, this will frustrate the heck out of those who are simply trying to fix a mistake or two (spelling, grammer, code errors, etc etc). So another proposal: why not also allow editting of all root nodes? I'm sure that such power wouldn't be abused... in fact, it might make things look nicer around here :)

On a final note, I do agree that over the last week or so, there have been way too many duplicate posts. I imagine we are cluttering the database up with many unnecessary reaped nodes. Sometimes I wonder why the 'reaped nodes' idea was invented, rather than the 'delete the actual database entry'. I'm not completely stupid: I'm sure there's a reason the node contents are still kept around... is there a chance that anybody would enlighten me on this subject?

Update: It seems that mowgli touched on most of the same thoughts as I presented :)

If the above content is missing any vital points or you feel that any of the information is misleading, incorrect or irrelevant, please feel free to downvote the post. At the same time, reply to this node or /msg me to tell me what is wrong with the post, so that I may update the node to the best of my ability. If you do not inform me as to why the post deserved a downvote, your vote does not have any significance and will be disregarded.

In reply to Re: Double double Post post by Coruscate
in thread Double double Post post by dws

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.