The process usually goes like this:

1. Someone writes a node with a poor title (non-specific, misspelled, misleading, or single-word, etc.)
2. A senior monk considers it for retitling.
3. Time passes and other senior monks vote.
4. If the vote is significantly to the affirmitive, and if the consideration suggests an appropriate alternative, eventually a Janitor feels a mandate to change the title.
5. The janitor retitles the thread either manually or using one of the thread retitling tools. Convention dictates that the janitor makes an annotation at the end of the node indicating the node has been retitled.
6. The janitor sends a /msg to the author letting him/her know there has been a title change.

Generally one or more days pass before retitling occurs. For the most part the author has plenty of time to react.

But what is the appropriate reaction? That depends on if the node has replies or not. First, I would suggest that an author who notices his node has been considered for retitling /msg an active Janitor in the CB, or send a /msg to Janitors (the group) expressing recognition of the issue, and voicing any objections, affirmations, or suggestions. This is a good time to work out the outcome. Janitors will be receptive to reasonable and responsible node author requests.

The author may also edit his title himself, but I recommend that if an author considers doing this, he/she should first look to see if the node has replies. Only Janitors can modify the titles of the entire thread (including replies), and IMHO, it's ackward to have a parent node's title changed without the titles of the children being changed too. So if the node has replies, it is best for the author to contact the Janitors with his request that the thread be retitled, possibly in accordance with a consideration.

Even after a thread has been retitled by the Janitors, the author can still contact the janitors to offer additional suggestions for fine-tuning the title. I've had this happen a few times, where I've been contacted post-edit by an author requesting a slight modification of the thread's title. When an author presents a reasonable suggestion we'll definately accommodate it. It's never too late.

Now I'll preach to the choir: Everyone should read three important documents:

• Writeup Formatting Tips
• How do I compose an effective node title?
• Where should I post X?

If everyone read and understood those three documents, 97% of all the work Janitors do could be completely avoided.

Updated: Added a third important document.