If a patent does not end up issuing is that a success, or is it if a patent is narrowed? I just stumbled upon this answer (Scaling based on pixel density (Microsoft) - Patent Application - PRIOR ART REQUEST) which states prominently "Rejected" at the top of the post. Additionally, I saw this blog post from Joel Spolsky claiming "victory" with regard to the answered request for prior art.
So, my question is, the goal is to narrow "broad" patent applications before issuance, or the goal is to prevent broad applications from issuing, or both?