Post History

## Yes

I have been thinking about this for a while, even before Codidact existed and I think the hard reality is that it is almost impossible to have a "one size fits all" (what SE is basically trying) that works fine for everyone involved. Most of the time, it is a huge gap between newbies and experts and it is very difficult to ensure a satisfying experience for all.

Lundin has provided a way better explanation to support this idea in [this post](https://meta.codidact.com/posts/281546) that I can possibly can to sustain this answer. So, if you did not read that post, please do read it.

SE itself has a working version of this idea by using a [Sandbox on Worldbuilding](https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/639/how-does-the-sandbox-work-how-do-i-use-it). I have tried it myself and it was a good experience (i.e. improved a question and asked it on the main site). However, the sandbox mechanics involves a few manual steps which are not that easy for an inexperienced Q&A user.

My proposal for such a "sandbox" (or similar, maybe "staging area" would sound better) is the following:

- allow a question to be _moved _to the "sandbox" when being closed. Maybe add a checkbox in the close reason window. Anyone who can flag can also have such a checkbox to signal that the question should be moved to the "sandbox"
- define the sandbox as a special question category that is accessible to all members. Maybe put a link in the right column, but not to be mixed with the "normal categories"
- moving a question to the sandbox will also: remove all votes from it (maybe even disable voting for sandbox items, temporarily or entirely), notify the OP and the folks that left some comments. Existing answers do not make much sense in the sandbox, but they should be restored when the questions comes back to its normal category.
- we can have more freedom in regard to the comments in the sandbox area (e.g. partially answer to [this request](https://software.codidact.com/posts/281528)). 
- the OP or another user with enough privilege can flag the question for it to be _copied_ to its original category. Comments should not be copied. Votes start from 0/0.

The advantage such a system has over WorldBuilding's Sandbox is that the platform will natively support the sandbox concept. Another advantage is that the (typically newbie) user would not have to do any special action to follow this flow (these steps will be ensured by curators helped by the platform).

The only significant disadvantage I see is the development effort:

- move/clone functionality for a post and related entities
- customizing of voting behavior (partial or total disable of voting)
- proper notifications for everyone involved