Question

When you answer an question you can edit it before five minutes upon answering it,Without it showing everyone what you edited.I don't know if you made it this way purposly but its kinda annoying.There have been many incidents where someone may answer then another answer comes along people tend to:

-Take bits and pieces out of the below answer.
-Edit there answer with unnecessary crap to try an outclass the other answer.

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I think it would be better without this because its tends to start arguments and when someone notices it we don't have proof because its before the five minutes and it doesn't show what they edited like after five minutes.

Pro's

-Less arguements.
-Less point grubbing.
-Less confusion/I call it cheating.

Comments

Cons: Someone may just be fixing a typo then everyone thinks that they were cheating

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I said I call it cheating when people edit an add numerous unneeded things to outclass another answer.Who is everyone??

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I meant that they could be just fixing a typo but because it said edited people may think they changed something else as well. The idea is pretty good, though usually when you mention pros you should mention cons.

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but when at the bottom of the question thing on the Q&A part(you know what im talking about right the little part that shows the name of the last person to comment/answer) you can tell if somebody edits an answer to be better. If it says someone answer 3 mins ago but the most recent answer was 2 mins ago and it wasnt the person who edit the 3 minute ago answer will show up and since he wasnt the last to answer they edit the answer

Answer 1

I think it's good to have it so you can fix typos or add something you forgot. The problem you describe of people copying other answers isn't a particularly big one and doesn't happen often.

Immature fighting and accusations over this stuff is exactly why older members are leaving the site.

Edit: To be clear, what I am saying is that the immaturity, accusations and anger surrounding this so-called problem is happening way more than the supposed events themselves. Just calm down and upvote good answers.

Comments

Yep, we've already lost DT and don't really need to be losing more.
I think whoever is doing the crap should just be quickly named and warned. If they keep doing it things will result in a ban. Keeping things simple and without lecturing can prevent the drama.

I'd also like to ask permission on this real quick, if someone does edit their answer within the 5 minute radius to out class another answer, do editors and mods have permission to hide said answer?

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I actually do this where I answer the question with the correct answer plain and simple and then go in and type up more stuff at a later time, as I think of more stuff to add in order to provide a more helpful answer to the person.

An example is this question http://pokemondb.net/pokebase/85578/what-pokemon-has-the-highest-attack-in-ru , where I answered Archeops and Escavalier at first, then edited to provde the NU Pokemon.

I don't see any problems with this, I answer first and I answer with correct information. That alone should give me the best answer. Anything I add on after that provides additional help to the people.

Just an example of how this is not always some evil scheme for points, just searching for more info to add to provide a better answer.

I would like to say though that if your answer is not correct in the first place, you should hide your answer when proving wrong instead of just editing to the correct answer.

If you're going to do something like this, make sure you have the correct answer before adding more information. And make sure the info is not just copying text from a link that was posted in another answer.

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@trachy Exactly, plenty of people do it legitimately.

@Josh There is no need for that, just UPVOTE the better answer. That's all that needs to happen. No accusations, no arguments.