Having posted on the Internet for some time, and before that, CompuServe, going back to the late 80's, I can certainly say that I've made some horrible posts.

However, having once started a conversation, I think it's unfair to return later and significantly modify or delete something that has been a) read and b) replied to. With CompuServe, once you'd posted, it was there forever. My Canopus posts from ten years ago are all online, and man. was I ever a pompous ass sometimes.

Going back and deleting all posts on this site is a little pathological, but I remember one case in the almost three years that I've had the privilege to hang out here. It was reversed.

And I feel it's a problem because even an innocent reply can help someone understand something that's been stumping them for years. There are many monks whose replies I read with great care because they know so much about Perl I can probably ruminate over a five lines of code for some time.

It's fine to go back and edit a node, to include a correction. I have started to use the strike and bold styles to mark my corrections so that it's clear what's old and what's new. I'm not happy when I make mistakes, but I'd rather leave the garbage (marked as such) behind when I make my changes.

It's not OK to delete node contents wholesale. That's my vote, anyway.