The short answer is yes, you can edit your ICML rebuttal after submitting it on OpenReview, right up until the deadline. That is the practical reality for any researcher navigating this process right now, and it is a small mercy in an otherwise high-pressure window.
For the researcher who posted that question, and for anyone else staring at a draft they are not quite ready to call final, this feature is a quiet acknowledgment that the best arguments are rarely the ones written in a single sitting. The ability to revise means you can submit a solid version early, then circle back with a clearer head or a sharper analysis. It removes the artificial pressure of a "submit or regret" moment, letting the work evolve alongside your thinking. In a field where precision matters, that flexibility is not a luxury; it is a practical tool for better science.
But do not mistake flexibility for a license to procrastinate. Submitting early gives you the psychological freedom to detach from the draft, review it with fresh eyes, and catch the logical gaps or tone issues that felt invisible at 2 a.m. The deadline is a hard stop, and editing is not rewriting from scratch. Use the window to refine, not to avoid committing to a position. The goal is a rebuttal that is clear, direct, and responsive to the reviewers' concerns, not a document that has been endlessly polished into blandness.
So submit your draft now. Get it off your desk. Then, when the pressure lifts, revisit it and ask yourself one question: does every sentence move your argument forward? If not, edit until it does. That is the only deadline that truly matters.