3

Few days ago, I edited this question.

The original post looks like this:

Can we omit the subject and object at the same time?

example:

1 Although he is hurt by her, he still loves her. (nothing omitted)

2 Although hurt by her, he still loves her. (subject omitted only)

3 Although he is hurt, he still loves her. (object omitted only)

4 Although hurt, he still loves her. (subject and object omitted )

I was taught about dropping the subject, but never know something about dropping the object, so I wonder which we should omit in priority, or if we should omit them at the same time, when the main clause and the dependent clause have the same subject and object.

Thank you in advance

And I edited it to make it look like this:

Can we omit the subject and object at the same time?

Example:

  1. Although he is hurt by her, he still loves her. (nothing omitted)

  2. Although hurt by her, he still loves her. (subject omitted only)

  3. Although he is hurt, he still loves her. (object omitted only)

  4. Although hurt, he still loves her. (subject and object omitted )

I was taught about dropping the subject, but never know something about dropping the object, so I wonder which we should omit in priority, or if we should omit them at the same time, when the main clause and the dependent clause have the same subject and object.

I capitalized "example", as it's the first word in the sentence, I also added quotes to the examples the OP provided, and made it number-listed. Finally, I deleted the "thank you in advance", according to this page:

Do not use signature, taglines, greetings, thanks, or other chitchat." You can click into the link. "If you use signatures, taglines, greetings, thanks, or other chitchat, they will be removed to reduce noise in the questions and answers.

According to the page about editing in the help center:

When should I edit posts?

Any time you see a post that needs improvement and are inclined to suggest an edit, you are welcome to do so.

Some common reasons to edit a post are:

  • To fix grammatical or spelling mistakes
  • To clarify the meaning of the post (without changing that meaning)
  • To include additional information only found in comments, so that all of the information relevant to the post is contained in one place
  • To correct minor mistakes or add updates as the post ages
  • To add related resources or hyperlinks

Tiny, trivial edits are discouraged; try to make the post significantly better when you edit, correcting all problems that you observe.

In my edit, I improved the formatting and appearance of the post, and corrected minor mistakes, I also deleted the "thank you in advance" to reduce noise and useless information. I didn't change the original meaning or make the post worse as well. However, my post was rejected. It seems that I can't see who rejected my post, whether it's the OP or other users. I think that my edit shouldn't be rejected, so I'm writing this question to ask about whether my edit is actually unnecessary or it should be accepted.

2
  • The details of the edit should be available here: ell.stackexchange.com/review/suggested-edits/142892. I got to it by going to the question page, clicking "Show activity on this post" (a little clock button under the voting arrows), then clicking "Suggested Edits" near the top. If the link doesn't work, then you just don't have access to that info.
    – gotube Mod
    May 30 at 23:59
  • @gotube below my answer I suggested this link ell.stackexchange.com/users/163649/… which users can find in their profile page, click "all actions" and select "suggestions" on the top row. This should work for any one who wants to view a history record of all of their suggested edits.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Jun 1 at 10:03

3 Answers 3

2

This same kind of edit --merely putting something in quote formatting-- I do several times a day, and I would have made the same changes you did if I'd seen it first.

Putting quotations or example sentences into quote formatting or italics makes questions significantly more readable because you know when you're reading something that it's not information from the poster. This improved readability increases the number of people who will engage with it and increase their understanding, which leads to more and better answers.

I don't think that this type of edit is unnecessary. It's trivially simple to make, but that's not at all the same thing as unnecessary.

2
  • 1
    Just playing the devil's advocate here, but the original question was readable and clear to begin with. The edit didn't make it any clearer to understand.
    – Mari-Lou A
    May 29 at 12:02
  • 2
    @Mari-LouA I think that's a matter of scale. I would give the original middling marks for readability. High readability means you don't have to go back and re-read something with better understanding of what its role is in the question, in this case either quotation or question content.
    – gotube Mod
    May 29 at 17:14
1

Two users rejected your edit with the following reason, the relevant part is in bold.

The edit does not improve the quality of the post. Changes to the content are unnecessary or make the post more confusing.

The edit, minor and cosmetic, did not fix any discernible errors even though it improved the appearance of the original post. Unfortunately, it's a subjective area as to whether the edit was necessary.

The deletion of "Thanks in advance" etc. is normally encouraged by Stack Exchange, and I have seen literally hundreds of edits where only a simple "thanks" was deleted. Personally, I'm rarely bothered by these closing polite expressions but for some users they are seen as a nuisance, and ironically in this case, totally unnecessary.

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  • I think the definition of "necessary" is unclear, I've made similar edits before, and all of them are accepted as well. What's more, I don't think that my edit is "unnecessary". The help center clearly said that the "thanks in advance", "hope it helps!!!", or something like that shouldn't be included and will be removed to reduce noise. Adding quotes to improve formatting makes the post more clear. And capitalizing the word is also correcting the grammar.
    – ITTSUTFSA
    May 28 at 14:21
  • 1
    Capitalising the word "Example" isn't fixing grammar that is only style. You were unlucky, other users (definitely on different SE sites) would have approved and allowed the edit.
    – Mari-Lou A
    May 28 at 14:26
  • Can I see the details of my rejected edit?
    – ITTSUTFSA
    May 28 at 14:29
  • @ITTSUTFSA the definition of "necessary" is subjective, it is up the reviewers' discretion. Users who are familiar with the individual site's credo and culture. But you did well to bring it to everyone's attention.
    – Mari-Lou A
    May 28 at 14:30
  • @ITTSUTFSA try this link ell.stackexchange.com/users/163649/…
    – Mari-Lou A
    May 28 at 14:31
-1

I am one of the edit-rejectors. I remember this only vaguely, but I'll try to explain my opinions of the three suggested edits.

  1. Capitalizing "example" is a bad edit, in my opinion. I know that some people support fixing language errors in questions, but I generally oppose doing so unless it's to improve clarity, and I believe that my opinion is in the majority on ELL. (This is based on the various discussions of this issue here on Meta, such as this one, which explains why we should exercise restraint in our editing.)

  2. I vaguely recall thinking that the block quote was redundant, since the examples were already distinguished by the numbered list. I suppose that some people might prefer the block quote formatting, but I don't think that it adds much here.

  3. Deleting the "thank you" is a good edit, as you point out. I have no objection to that, but even on its own it wouldn't be enough to warrant editing a question.

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