Code is indented 4 spaces but is not interpreted as code [this has nothing to do with lists]

Question

Steps to reproduce:
1. Note that instructions at right of screen say "indent code by 4 spaces." My interpretation of this is that lines that are indented by four spaces will be recognized as code.
2. Ask a new question on stackoverflow.
3. In the message text area, type the following:
This is some code[enter][space][space][space][space]++n;
4. Note that the code is indented four spaces but the preview does not format it as code.
5. Post the message. Note that the code is not properly formatted.

Is this a bug or am I not understanding the instructions correctly?

I am aware of this post Code is indented by 4 spaces but isn't interpreted as code and its apparent duplicate at Code block is not properly formatted when placed immediately after a list item. Both of those deal with code that is part of a list. My question concerns code that is not part of a list so I have started a separate discussion.

Edit: changed the title to make clear that this question has nothing to do with lists or and is unrelated to the several other posts on meta that are related to code indentation problems in the context of lists.

Answer 1

You need to leave a blank line before an indented block to have it formatted as code.

example 1
    this will not be formatted as code

but

example 2

    this will

Answer 2

The latter.

Normal code block

• Indented code needs extra spacing. Heed this rule:

  One blank line before, 4 chars + 4 per indentation level.
  

  • Like this.

    Really!
    

---

Here's the source of the above with annotated spaces (replace ¹²³⁴ with four spaces).

Not really.

¹²³⁴Normal code block


* Indented code needs extra spacing. Heed this rule:

¹²³⁴¹²³⁴One blank line before, 4 chars + 4 per indentation level.

 * Like this.

¹²³⁴¹²³⁴¹²³⁴Really!