Indicator for Edited, Revised and/or Overridden Replies to Discussion Posts

[SophiaLatini]

Is there any way a student reply to a Discussion Post can be altered without there being an indicator of it?   In other words, can a reply be overridden or replaced by a user (instructor or admin)? 

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @SophiaLatini,

I don't know of any way a discussion post/reply could be edited without leaving behind an indicator.  Admins, teachers, or others *may* be able to edit discussion posts/replies depending on the permissions your school/institution has chosen, but there would always be an indicator below the text (screenshot example attached).

Hope this helps.

-Chris

[SophiaLatini]

Thanks Chris.  I did read somewhere that these indicators go away after a period of time elapses, just as the timestamp for an original reply disappears. 

[chriscas]

Hi @SophiaLatini,

I haven't noticed that these indicators ever go away, but at the same time I cannot find an old example to check on in my Canvas (as discussion post editing is a super rare thing to have happen here).  If you could link to any documentation you found saying the indicator would go away, that could really help.  The student guide specifically says: "Canvas displays an Edited by label on the edited post. The label displays your name and the date and time the post was edited. This label cannot be removed."  That statement should also apply to instructor/admin edits as far as I know.

P.S. You're right that the timestamps for discussion posts/replies seem to disappear from default view at some point, but if you hover over the date, you'll see a tooltip come up showing the full date/time.  Canvas is generally very good about retaining information in its databases, even if it's not necessarily displayed.

-Chris