I want to follow the terms of service but..?

WOW, there is a lot of stuff I didn't realize was against it. I mean I get all the obvious "if you have half a brain you know this" kinda stuff. I am one of the few who is not 13 on here. I get the no games and no chatting (although honestly I think that "chatting" could be a little better defined).

But I was reading about point cheating and this is said:

"Answering with "edit" or "." or any such answer to in order to control your place on the question page."

in regards of what not to do.

Found here: http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers...

And this confused me. I have given an answer before and then found further information or realized I forgot something and gone back to "edit" my answer. I usually put "[EDIT]" so people realize I am adding additional information.

This is considered sort of standard etiquette on most forums. It makes people aware of a change.

Am I to understand this is NOT allowed here. Or am I reading this wrong?

It sounds like they are saying editing for the sake of "bumping" is not allowed. But I haven't noticed my answer change its position after editing, hence my confusion. Is this perhaps old info. Did "bumping" used to be a problem?

There's two different issues you're mentioning here:

1) "Squatting" or "place-holding": theis is the name for people who type a non-answer (sometimes a letter, or a combination of letters, or a one-liner like "Editing" or "I'll be back").
Once they've secured a place, they come back and Edit to include an actual answer in they post. They do this by either typing a well-researched answer of their own, or copying a good answer from another source (usually another Answerer who is further down the list).
This is what is not allowed. Such a user is violating the CGs because their first post is "not an answer", and if they copy from another answerer, then that's another violation of the CGs.

- Most people used to do this because having the first place in the list of answers was advantageous during voting. Now that the answers are randomized during voting, this is no longer the case... but I guess some people will still placehold to copy from other answerers and try to trick the Asker into choosing their copied answer.

2) Editing valid answers: like you said, it's polite, and common standard, to indicate Edits to one's posts, so that others are aware that there's something different.
Typing something like
***********************
EDIT: new content here
***********************
is not only allowed, but encouraged and appreciated by many users.

If you're interested, see more comments about placeholding and editing in my unofficial YA tutorial:
http://www.freewebs.com/calitorial/answe...

**************************************...
EDIT (for real): No, the problem wasn't bumping. Like I explained above, there was a clear bias in favor of the first answer when Questions went into voting. Many voters wouldn't read 10 or 15 answers, they just picked one from among the first ones. That's the reason people wanted to placehold.

Very well explained :-) Report It

Thanks Moira and Dad :-)
I'm glad I could help you understand. Yahoo!Answers has some complex features... wouldn't it be great to have a tutorial? Report It

I'm starring this Q because it's important that the CGs are clear for everyone. If they aren't, then they need to be improved :-) Report It

entering just a period or something like 'edit' as your answer in order to get an answer in fast (& therefore get to the top of the answers list) is what is against the rules. people who do that usually go back later with a "full" answer, although I've seen "." or "edit" in questions that have gone to voting too.

going back in & editing an answer is Okay.

:o)