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.
Sounds like you have fixed it by tightening the stem. I've stopped a few leaks over the years by doing that. Think it's code to have a shut off at the toilet.