Here is a very good discussion about the question of retouching a photograph. I have contributed a few posts regarding my own ideas and reasoning on the subject.
IMO, basically, as long as the photograph is not being used for forensic purposes, I am all for post processing or retouching a photograph as the photographer see fit but not an absolute requirement.
Typically you: reply to your own message. Twice.
Good discussion thou.
Sometimes responding for different ideas, sometimes the brain just keeps ticking…
Other times, in other sites, there could have been technical difficulties like I have encountered commenting on Tin’s blog where there might have been content or wording restrictions that I had to break my respond down into smaller chunks in order to figure out where and how to change my wordings to get through.