I won’t go on about the recent example as I think he was on his way to being banned/suspended and one excuse is as good as the next. But.
Can we have a clarification about being a jerk and then editing it out? As someone prone to lashing out in the heat of the moment and then regretting it on second thought, I am interested in this.
If you post something against the rules, and edit it out, did you still commit an offense? Our editing window is only 5 minutes, so it is not like one can use it to backpedal in the face of a pile on. Or trying to wipe evidence after a warning.
Someone editing something in 5 minutes sounds like someone reading his post after posting it and saying “well, that doesn’t read as well as it did in my mind, better take it back before someone reads it and takes offense”. Preview might have done the same, but not everybody previews every time.
So I am just leaving this here for consideration and would appreciate if the debate didn’t center around the specific recent case but more on the issue in general.
I think 5 minute contrition is as good as not having done it and should be let go.
ETA: (damn this was really not a post to have edited). Maybe people wanting to respond to something posted in the last five minutes should take the time to think their responses and do some counting to ten. This might lower the temperature of some discussions.