# "Body too Similar" Compares Posts and Message

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/body-too-similar-compares-posts-and-message/231089>\
**Category:** Bug\
**Created:** [June 25, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/body-too-similar-compares-posts-and-message/231089 "2022-06-25T12:57:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

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**Author:** ![mlgtechuser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/mlgtechuser/32/262708_2.png) [@mlgtechuser](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mlgtechuser)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/body-too-similar-compares-posts-and-message/231089/1 "2022-06-25T12:57:31Z")

</div>

_ **“Body is too similar to what you recently posted”** _

I use a message-to-self as a drafting buffer for elaborate posts that I’d like to publish privately before posting. (The main reason being that the preview pane doesn’t always render the same as the published post/message, so I have to publish to see the final form. Publishing in private also allows me to avoid the “edit window” time limit before emails are sent out after a post or topic is first published.)

When I tried to paste the body of the message into a forum post, I got the “ ~~Stop spamming everyone with the same content~~ ” “ **Body is too similar to what you recently posted** ” message. Given that a user can delete a message, this seems like an unnecessary check. Also, I might send a message to someone and then want to convert it to a reply post (maybe I asked them to proofread it, for example).

I’m _ **not** _ talking about converting a message into the first post in a topic. I’m talking about appending a message to an _ **existing** _ topic. I don’t know squat about the Discourse DB structure and how different a post and a message might be. Since it’s possible to strip a message of its ‘messagey’ attributes and dress it up as a topic, it seems like a similar process would be possible to convert it to a reply.

At the very least, I’d like to be able to reuse the message body in a post.

There might be a mention of a workaround [HERE](https://meta.discourse.org/t/need-an-ability-to-move-a-private-message-to-a-public-category/40573/2) but I’m not able to parse the OP’s process clearly enough to know.

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/body-too-similar-compares-posts-and-message/231089)._