I think I would feel more comfortable not being able to update the account from the beginning than wasting my time in trying to update a record but then having to cancel due to others updating. The time issue can be reduced greatly. 5 minutes seems pretty reasonable. Have a timer set for 5 minutes, which can be extended manually by the editor. If he does not respond within 5 minutes, the account is released.
False hope is worse than locking out potential problems.
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