I have been habitually removing statements like the one in this question's title when I edit to improve a question much the same as I remove *'Thanks'*, *'Kind sir'* and other general salutations. I do not edit specifically for the above purposes but if I'm in edit to format a code block or clarify a title, I will take these additional steps.

I have been doing this as I believed that some ESL users may have chosen the wrong turn of phrase to express their intended thought. Personally, I think anyone that actually believes they cannot find absolutely *anything* on the Internet should have their computer confiscated by the Internet police and given a stone axe to play with.

I'm now reconsidering that position as phrases such as the one in the title or *'I looked for days'* seem to be a common trait with questions posed by [Help Vampires](https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/258206/what-is-a-help-vampire). Removing the phrase and otherwise improving the post through an edit would seem to lend credence to the question and generate goodwill towards soliciting an answer and that is something I am reluctant to do for suspect Help-Vampires.

Is removing these types of phrases a valid edit or should I leave them stand?