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I made an edit to a badly asked question yesterday, but it was rejected saying

This edit deviates from the original intent of the post. Even edits that must make drastic changes should strive to preserve the goals of the post's owner.

I don't understand how the original intent of the post is changed by my edit. Can someone clarify?

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  • You basically rewrote the whole thing. And it's btw way too much effort to spend on such a low quality contribution IMHO. Apr 26, 2017 at 8:04

2 Answers 2

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The edit didn't faithfully preserve the author's intent.

First, let me say that there's nothing wrong with making significant edits to posts. New users are especially prone to writing posts that include irrelevant, "chatty" information and anyone willing to take the time to carefully clean up such posts is doing the community a favor. I'd like to see more editors willing to roll up there sleeves like you have.

However, while it's clear you significantly improved the grammar of this post (well done, IMO) your edit removed relevant information, which is a step backward for us as editors.

For example, the following information was present in the original post but has no representative counterpart in the edited post (the author's intent was not preserved):

I don't want this AMD driver to be installed.

All that's left of this in the edited post is:

The AMD driver on my PC just doesn't seem to stop updating.

Which leaves the question of What are you trying to do? unanswered and instead makes it sound like the OP is simply annoyed that his driver keeps updating.

And there's:

My PC works fine with Intel HD graphics 3000 also. So I dont want this drivers.

Which is totally gone in the edit. This is definitely relevant information to the question at hand and needed to be preserved. It not only tells us the OP has another graphics card and what it is, but it also explains his reasoning for getting rid of the AMD drivers.

Bottom line, when we edit, priority #1 is to preserve the author's voice. Improving grammar and making the post easier to understand must always submit to this goal, sometimes at the expense of achieving a perfectly-worded post.

Keep editing. You've got others watching your back, such as the two reviewers who correctly reviewed this edit. You clearly have the ability to make great edits and we'll be a better community with you around.

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The one thing I would add to Twisty’s answer is that the sentence

The AMD driver on my PC just doesn’t seem to stop updating.

is not an accurate representation of the statements in the original question (as I read it).  The OP seems to be saying

  • I have this AMD driver installed.
  • I don’t want this driver to be installed (i.e., I want it to be uninstalled).
  • It occasionally gets updated (e.g., by Windows Update).
  • I don’t just want it frozen at the current revision level; I want it gone.

The last sentence seems to be an odd thing to say.  It’s like a homeowner saying:

I don’t just want to sterilize the termites, so they can’t reproduce; I want them dead.

That’s implied by saying “I want the termites exterminated” or “I want to delete the AMD driver from my PC [permanently]”.  And yet that’s what the OP seems to be saying.  There isn’t anything in the original question about the driver continually updating — just the bit about it automatically reinstalling when the OP deletes it.

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  • Good point. I actually missed that.
    – pulsejet
    Aug 11, 2017 at 11:08

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