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On this old post, I find the following deleted answer:

enter image description here

Presumably this was not the first version of this post, yet there seems no way to access the edit history.

Is it a) normal and/or b) intentional for the edit history of deleted posts to be invisible (or tricky to access) even for users with the privilege to see the deleted post in the first place?

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    $\begingroup$ You get a certain grace period when editing (I think 5 minutes from time of posting?) where the edit history of the post is not recorded. Possibly that's why this deleted answer looks the way it does. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3 at 2:06
  • $\begingroup$ I have added (revision-history), that seems like a suitable tag here. Perhaps also (support) is worth considering? Maybe (deleted-answers)? $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3 at 2:27
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    $\begingroup$ More details about the grace period can be found here: How does editing work? and Is there an editing 'grace period' on answers after they have been posted? It is worth pointing out that the post was deleted almost immediately. According to this SEDE query it was created 2025-01-13 22:43:15 and deleted 2025-01-13 22:43:49. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3 at 2:39
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    $\begingroup$ I am probably just stating the obvious, but one can still access the timeline and a similar link can be used to access the revision history. (Since I do not have sufficient reputation, I do not see the content - but I assume it will only show the deletion.) A related feature request: Show link to revision history when there are revisions but no edits $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3 at 2:53
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    $\begingroup$ I concur with Sam, that's probably what happened. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3 at 3:36
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    $\begingroup$ The answer was deleted within a minute of being posted. So yes, any editing done by the poster would be within the grace period. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3 at 5:30
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    $\begingroup$ @EmilJeřábek I was looking at the seconds in the time-stamp, and so missed that, thinking they were minutes. More precisely, it was deleted 34 seconds after being posted. So presumably posted, then edited, then deleted all very quickly. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3 at 7:31
  • $\begingroup$ The question is basically answered in the comments. @SamHopkins You were first to respond - would you perhaps consider posting an answer? (I could do that myself - but in this context, an answer by somebody who can see deleted posts is probably a bit better.) $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 23 at 5:34
  • $\begingroup$ @MartinSleziak done $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 23 at 16:10

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There is a five minute grace period where someone can edit their answer without it being recorded as “edited” in the system. That is what happened in this case.

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