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My main concern is what should I do if I find post hard to read because of poor formatting? Should we accept or reject edits only intended to make question / answers easier to read without adding to, changing or removing original subject, I mean that if text in question or text in answer to question is, for example, written in single continuous stream of characters without line breaks (paragraphs) or any other visual hints that would make reading itself or finding place where you were when you decided to look out for some proofs or maybe test out what was suggested for you. What would be best way to approach such posts? Should I just ignore them because they just feel like TL;DR? Or should I try to make quick edit, without changing any contents, to improve readability? Should I flag them as low quality as they will be hard to read?

TL;DR:

Should I do anything if I find post badly formatted and too hard to read?

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    Sometimes just trying to edit will actually clarify whether the question is salvageable or not.
    – jscs
    Dec 11, 2013 at 7:52

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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If the post is salvageable, meaning there is enough information to make it coherent, and readable then by all means edit it to make it a better post. Sometimes questions get closed, or answers deleted possible running off new users that could have been salvaged if someone would take the time to edit it.

If it's not salvageable then down vote the post and flag it as low quality.

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  • I agree: it really is that simple. We've had some terrible posts lately with respect to silly texting abbreviations, etc. Some are worth the time to editorialize. Some aren't worth the effort to re-write from scratch.
    – Bob Cross Mod
    Dec 6, 2013 at 21:14
  • After I've done my first edit on this site I was hoping it would been that simple but apparently it was not that simple... so, what actions, if any, should be taken if editing suggestion gets rejected? Maybe take a look at my first edit: My 2008 aveo has been a pain now it's a plague someone help me out.
    – Sampo Sarrala - codidact.org
    Dec 7, 2013 at 0:33
  • @SampoSarrala Not sure why that edit was rejected. It didn't change any of the content. Guess the OP didn't like it. As you get more rep your edit's won't have to be approved, although they can still be rolled back. That was a good edit, don't get discouraged.
    – Move More Comments Link To Top
    Dec 8, 2013 at 4:46
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    I agree with Larry and Bob - in fact, most of my edits are to improve readability, usually by adding capital letters, punctuation and paragraph breaks, and correcting spelling...
    – Nick C Mod
    Dec 12, 2013 at 10:45

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