2

I am a relatively new user to Super User, but quite experienced in the SE network of sites (about 95K on SO, 70K on MSE). I guess I know quite some of you from either of those sites.

I add great value to readable posts. I dislike abbreviations that aren't established ones (for me as a non-native speaker), like pic instead of picture, or grammar. I tend to edit posts as much as I can on the sites I visit to make them readable to me and others.

I often experience that my edits are rejected because they 'don't make the post any easier to read'. I disagree, but I do accept that every site has their own set of rules and expectations on edits. I am not here for the reputation, I just want to be a happy user.

Please tell me, what is wrong with me and my edits? What do I need to do to not get them rejected?

For those expecting an example, this is the latest rejected one: https://superuser.com/review/suggested-edits/648688.

12
  • I think there was probably more you could have done to fix the post, but your edits were good.
    – Sean Duggan
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:18
  • 1
    For what it's worth I would have approved that edit had you not included a useless tag - computer-parts. Adding that tag does nothing to improve the question.
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:18
  • I was looking for an identification tag, but there isn't. What makes the tag you want to decline the edit?
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:19
  • @SeanDuggan Thanks. Can you give an example what more you would have edited?
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:19
  • It is a meta tag
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:21
  • If I was reviewing that I would have removed the tag and approved then.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:22
  • There is only on reason I would reject an edit like that, the edit didn't address the reason the question was closed, and thus (in my opionion) is a superfluous change.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:12
  • @Ramhound The question was closed after the suggested edit. I wasn't aware of that close reason.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:16
  • @PatrickHofman - You have enough reputation to view close votes.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 16:18
  • 4
    @Ramhound Only on his own questions. The page you linked to says "This privilege allows you to view and cast close and reopen votes on your own questions." (emphasis mine). So he can't view close votes on other users' questions, he needs 3000 reputation for that.
    – Donald Duck
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 19:00
  • @DonaldDuck - You are 100% correct.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 21:29
  • @PatrickHofman, I was one of the people who voted to reject the edit (and also to close the question). Journeyman Geek's answer nailed it. The question had a fatal flaw (guessing game question), and really, no amount of polish could have made the question better in a way that would have been important.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 0:46

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

In this case - there's two things. As they are, the edits are on a question that feels not materially improved by them. Its not you, but its a guessing game question that's somewhat likely to be closed even with the edits. Its better to edit bad things on a good question than bad things on a bad question

The other is the computer parts tag - its a classic meta tag that probably should be removed.

Other than that I see one rejected edit. Its the question more than you IMO.

15
  • Let's part ways with [computer-parts]
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:25
  • Okay, I can agree with that. Thanks @JourneymanGeek
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:26
  • Any thoughts on this one? superuser.com/review/suggested-edits/648322 I am a material expert on that, so for me I think it is useful to have such a tag.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:28
  • What's invantive data cache? There's no tag wiki, and that seems to be out of nowhere. And oddly titles need not necessarily be questions.
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:31
  • It is hard to have a tag wiki for a tag that doesn't exist... I would add one if it is there. Sander is a customer of our company.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:32
  • Well, that might have to wait with a expert with enough reputation here then.
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:32
  • Why would we be able to suggest tags if they will never get approved (as long as they are relevant of course!)? I could of course ask a question myself to create it, but what is the point of that?
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:37
  • @PatrickHofman - Just because you can suggest a tag doesn't mean it should be suggested. If you are an expert then you can suggest what should be contained in the tag wiki and usage summary. Remember a tag shouldn't be used, just because the qustion is about that topic, your edits are not being approved because just adding a tag to a question isn't enough in most cases to improve a question. Creating a tag for a single question is a superfluous change.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:10
  • @PatrickHofman as the person who declined your previous edit I could find absolutely nothing on Google for the words "invantive data cache" and no particular reason to assume it should have been applied to the question. Even the invantive site did not list a particular product by that name that I could see at a quick glance. The question did have invantive SQL as a tag, which seemed enough. The rest of the edit seemed superfluous and unnecessary to me.
    – Mokubai Mod
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:12
  • @Mokubai I can understand that. The problem is: our main way of communicating is either through direct contact or SE sites. The product isn't officially released, so there is no documentation available just yet. We are working with some customers which do use the product now and we'd like to help future users solve the same problems they had just now.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:15
  • @PatrickHofman - We (the Superuser community) are not a means for a company to communicate with it's consumers. Superuser is a Q&A website, somebody has a question about a topic within our scope, and somebody from the community will answer it. It shouldn't be used as a means to promote a company's product nor be used a way to provide technical assistance to your consumers.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 16:12
  • I didn't say we want to use SU as our customer support portal. I know how SE communities dislike that. We want to build a community with the help of you guys. In return we invest in various SE sites ourselves because we believe in the SE format as a tool to help people (not customers).
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 16:45
  • You should be interested in helping our community not use our community in order build your own.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 17:20
  • I think you quite well mean what I meant to say @Ramhound. I have been around for quite a while and I have seen such things go sideways when the intentions were wrong. So trust me please when I say I do this for the good.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 20:18
  • I can only read the words you submit.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 21:28
3

I think there was probably more you could have done to fix the post, but your edits were good.

I opened 2 laptops today and both of them had something like this in them. I posted larger pictures so you know it's not the GPU or CPU, it's a third piece of hardware which gets so hot too as I touch it but it doesn't have any thermal paste on it. can anyone identify this?

I would probably have changed to

I opened two laptops today and both of them had something like this in them. I posted larger pictures, so you know it's not the GPU or CPU, but a third piece of hardware. It gets very hot when I touch it, but it doesn't have any thermal paste on it. Can anyone identify this?

Admittedly, some of that is me imposing my brand of English on someone else. :)

12
  • I admit the wording is slightly better, but I hope you understand this isn't feasible for everyone.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:29
  • @PatrickHofman: Yes. But he did ask. :)
    – Sean Duggan
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 12:31
  • @PatrickHofman - It is feasible if you want your edits to be approved.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:07
  • 2
    @Ramhound: Eh, Patrick's edits were good. Perfect is the enemy of good enough.
    – Sean Duggan
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 15:23
  • @SeanDuggan - I don't agree with that statement. The question (in question) didn't have to be closed to identify the fact there were problems with it.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 16:14
  • 1
    @Ramhound And I believe that, until it is certain that a question is bad, it doesn't hurt to put a bit of effort into cleaning it up. I've had a time or two on Stack Exchange where an edit to what seemed like a bad question made it a good one, chiefly where those voting just couldn't figure out what the person was saying, but someone else, perhaps more acquainted with certain translation tics, was able to extract the meaning. The meaning of such a question can admittedly change if the guess is wrong, but I don't think it hurts to try.
    – Sean Duggan
    Commented Apr 25, 2017 at 16:41
  • Nice one replacing 2 with two. It's icing on the cake.
    – I say Reinstate Monica
    Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 10:58
  • @Twisty It is standard.
    – Sean Duggan
    Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 11:33
  • @SeanDuggan Yes, yet so few people do it.
    – I say Reinstate Monica
    Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 11:34
  • @SeanDuggan, your comment about improving questionable questions is good. We get a lot of questions that are marginal, especially ones that are too broad, unclear, or opinion based. Those can sometimes be turned around. Requests for product recommendations can often be reworded in an on-topic way. Some questions, though, can't be fixed. For example, something entirely about an off-topic platform, like a phone, or a picture guessing game like this question. (cont'd)
    – fixer1234
    Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 21:40
  • For something that is not fundamentally off-topic, edits that address a potential closure issue are the most important. But anything that substantively improves it should be allowed if the post isn't closed, yet. I would question trivial edits, though, on a question with serious issues that the edit doesn't touch.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Apr 26, 2017 at 21:40
  • {nods} I can see that. And part of the issue may be that the editing comments aren't versatile enough to say "this question is bad and your edits don't improve it in the right way" versus "your edits don't improve this question."
    – Sean Duggan
    Commented Apr 27, 2017 at 1:53

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .