Edits provide reputation when accepted and on SO specifically are about the only reliable way for new users to get reputation. Answering new questions that don'

Edits provide reputation when accepted and on SO specifically are about the only reliable way for new users to get reputation. Answering new questions that don't get closed is difficult, anything "easy" is mobbed by people and a single answer gets reputation and the other largely ignored or even deleted. Asking is also difficult for the reasons commonly cited elsewhere in comments. Edits are also further gamified to be accepted through review queues that give badges for stamping enough things. Technically, trivial edits are discouraged, but there's nothing enforcing that publicly.