26
votes
Is it really pointless to edit questions to use correct English on ELL?
If correcting the grammar makes the questions easier to understand, I think the edits are worthwhile. If the question is easy enough to understand without the edits, I don't think we should correct ...
- 12k
13
votes
Question about uncorrected errors
Some time ago, ELL as a community decided that sometimes it's best to leave some minor mistakes in questions, because those mistakes might help other users more accurately gauge the experience level ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
11
votes
"Unified" answers
In my opinion, if the user wanted to present a numbered list of options, they should have written their own answer and presented such a list in a form where they could maintain it. I see these edits ...
- 12k
10
votes
Is an edit to change only "formatting" warranted on ELL?
Since you asked, I'll tell you my thoughts about this rant.
1) It's unnecessarily negative and judgmental.
Since I joined this community, I've noticed many edits which seem to be trivial and not ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
9
votes
Is an edit to change only "formatting" warranted on ELL?
[Happily, the following is now obsolete, but is left in to avoid confusion.]
According to the following Meta Post,
Are edits that only change formatting in text appropriate?
the answer clearly states ...
- 9,503
9
votes
Extensive edits and bounty allocation by same user
I don't think those edits are appropriate, regardless of any bounty, though the fact that the editor and bounty awarder are the same is rather unseemly. The purpose of editing is to clarify the ...
- 7,535
9
votes
Should posts containing abbreviations be edited?
Yes, please. One of the reasons to edit posts is to
clarify meaning without changing it
Like you, many users are not aware of the meaning of these abbreviations. They can be useful in text messages ...
GlorfindelMod
- 14.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Why sometimes my question shows "modified by", but the content hasn't been edited?
In this case, it is because there is a deleted answer that you don't have enough reputation to see.
- 12k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it okay for me to edit my old posts?
Provided you observe ColleenV's caution that you avoid invalidating existing answers—to which I might add a caution that you avoid invalidating the question itself!— I cannot imagine that ...
- 175k
7
votes
Informality, modern messaging, and editing
I'm expressing my opinion about editing posts on ELL. I am aware correcting other people's posts is a thorny issue, but I'll try to explain my approach, and the rationale behind it.
Edit
Whenever a ...
- 26.2k
7
votes
Accepted
I want to talk about some recent corrections
It's interesting how you omitted the most important part of the edited phrase:
I often see "is gone" is used in past or future tenses. Is that right?
That was changed to:
I often see "is gone"...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
7
votes
Is an edit to change only "formatting" warranted on ELL?
What. The. Heck.
I see the other answers have already covered a lot of stuff here, so I won't contribute to the skirmish. I just had a few things to point out, and it just won't fit in a comment.
...
- 7,351
7
votes
Is an edit to change only "formatting" warranted on ELL?
Why do you think that moderators and active users "need to check whether the edit is helpful or not"? If it's not in the review queue, it doesn't need checking. Folks with enough reputation are ...
- 12k
7
votes
Should a refutation to an answer be added to the question?
I think when people can listen to the source for themselves it is not appropriate. When I listen to the clip of the game I hear “gearing up for a huge storm”, and I think that is correct based on what ...
- 12k
6
votes
Why was my edit rejected even though the OP requested edits?
That "reason" is selected from a short list of prewritten justifications, so don't read too much into that part about comments. It's a catch-all reason.
In this case, I think you might have added ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
6
votes
Accepted
Is the minimum character edit limit useful?
It's six characters, and yes, it's useful. You have stuff to read for the rest of the day:
How to overcome "Edits must be at least 6 characters"?
Legitimate edits of less than 6 characters
...
- 7,351
5
votes
Suggestion for helping ELLers in general and their questions
While this might help the OP, I don't think it would make sense to anyone else who reads the question. Bolding carries meaning in itself, so some people would be trying to figure out what it meant. ...
LaurelMod
- 15.3k
5
votes
How far does one go when copyediting?
I think it depends on what you’re fixing. A good general rule is to leave a regular comment (in addition to an edit summary) if you’re changing something important or a lot of things.
Editing posts ...
LaurelMod
- 15.3k
5
votes
Is an edit to change only "formatting" warranted on ELL?
The standard for voting against a proposed minor edit from the review queue is
This edit does not make the post even a little bit easier to read, easier to find, more accurate or more accessible. ...
- 17.7k
5
votes
If I have editing powers, can I/should I go on an editing spree to remove a tag?
I think you should, but I'm only saying that because I've done it myself :)
Fewer, more meaningful tags is good for the site. If only 7 questions have been asked for a tag that's been around a while, ...
- 12k
5
votes
Should a refutation to an answer be added to the question?
Back when you wrote the question, it would have been worth mentioning how your written version of what's said in the video was taken verbatim from the transcript. It might have been nice to include ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
5
votes
Accepted
When should a question be edited in these situations?
Most of the time when I edit a question it's to put a quotation into block quotes, or to clear up some other problem with presentation.
Sometimes, I will edit to correct an obvious typo or glaring ...
- 36.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Why do ELL posts need to be edited before reversing a downvote to an upvote?
This is not something we can reconsider as English Language Learners; it's a network-wide feature known as vote lock. That answer on Meta Stack Exchange provides some rationale behind this decision:
...
GlorfindelMod
- 14.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Why was an edit which adds new points rejected?
Edits should not change the meaning of a post (even by adding new points). When you make an edit to someone else's post, you are making it seem as if your ideas belong to the original author. That’s ...
- 12k
4
votes
My comment edited by someone else
The link was added by a moderator. You (during the edit window) and moderators are the only ones able to edit comments. I don't know specific site etiquette, but you can get their attention by ...
- 101
4
votes
Is it okay for me to edit my old posts?
As long as your edits don't turn the questions into something entirely different, and aren't just trivial edits made for the sake of bumping, they should be fine. Bumping is an intended (and in fact ...
- 9,503
4
votes
How far does one go when copyediting?
In general, if you can understand what the author of a question intended with 100% certainty, editing that text isn't really clarifying, it's making it prettier. Over-correcting a question can obscure ...
- 12k
4
votes
Accepted
How should we review format edits?
I rejected that first suggested edit because it was a trivial edit, not because it was bad formatting. The existing formatting was fine in my opinion and there was no need to bump the post or reward ...
- 12k
4
votes
Accepted
Old answers help OP gets clear on what they want, but this would make them disqualified. Should new requests be added to the question?
Why not leave the original question in its original form, and then post a follow-on question that asks for something more specific?
Of course, the new question should mention (and link to) the ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible