For a forum that will give you better answers try this one:
http://www.construction-resource.com/forum/
Thanks. Is the reason it's a bad idea due to the possibility that using the valve too much increases the chances of failure? Hmmm, I wondering then the next time I do work on the toilet, maybe I should simply shut off water to the whole house?
The issue was prompted by dripping that occurred when I shut off the toilet. I did some things to fix it, but don't remember what they were. Since that time, I read that I can tighten the ?stem nut? slightly and it might fix the leaking. In fact, now that the valve is open, there's no dripping.