I think this is plugin territory. In my forum I have several threads where only admins can post updates for users. Not really a discussion topic, more of a change log or mini blog. If posts were to start merging the updates would get tangled.
Just one use case, but I'd prefer the core code not to automatically join double posts....or at least make it an option.
hmm, this widget actually just pulls data from the /recent page. So maybe its not set up correctly or you weren't logged in? (or /recent page is bugged?)
