I'm pretty careful to preview and reread all of my posts, so I'm not concerned with striking something "from the record", or changing the substance or even the wording of my posts. But there are some cases where a correction or additional information would be useful for later readers of the thread.
I feel that CD is not merely a discussion board - it's a massive repository of knowledge. As such, there will be at least some people reading threads long after the discussion has happened. Sometimes a few clarifying words can greatly improve the readability of a thread, helping transform it from a tangled web of thoughts into a useful reference.
Suppose, for example, that I posted a thread about a particular quirk in the game and spawned a 100-post thread. If the GDC posts an update that makes the thread moot, it seems reasonable to at a note at the end of the first post simply saying, "This issue is clarified as of Team Update #12", rather than make future readers wade through a hundred posts to get to the point. Or take threads where a file is posted (
such as this one) and then that file is updated. In my opinion, it makes sense for the poster to be able to update a post with the understanding that the content should be preserved. This is common on the Ubuntu forums, and posts can be updated if a new version changes things or more information is discovered.
Again, I realize there are probably good reasons behind the current policy, and I should just contact a moderator in these instances, that's understandable. It would be nice if the FAQ gave specific details about the editing timeout and the best way to contact a moderator. The
current stock answer on editing posts isn't very helpful.