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When I review edit proposals, I often see users who try to edit the question just to add a link to JSFiddle. Usually the explanation for the edit is something like "added fiddle".

First of all, as I don't use SO for JavaScript as much, it took me a while to understand the point of this site (the edit proposers certainly did not make it clear).

Second, I don't see the point of constantly linking to Fiddle or similar services. SO is, after all, a site for discussing programming questions, and not a site for collaborative coding. There are also issues associated with outsourcing part of the question to websites that SO has no control over, that previous questions have brought up already.

Personally, I try to ask my questions so that they can be answered from reading alone, and require as little actual coding for the answerer as possible (that's not to say I don't welcome or am not grateful for anyone taking the time to produce a solution by experimenting).

Also, there is the question of consistency. I use SO for C# quite a bit - there are online C# compilers, but I don't think I've ever seen a question link to one (as if to invite answerers to tinker with the code). If I start accepting every edit that merely adds a JSFiddle link, that implies that I should also edit every code question I see to link to an online compiler. That would be a ton of work, and it seems like that would only serve to clutter the site.

So far I have rejected these edits (too minor or spam). My question(s):

  1. Why do people edit questions and add JSFiddle links?
  2. How should such edits be handled?

I am asking specifically about edits, which only add a JSFiddle link. If a question author wants to include a JSFiddle, we can consider that outside the scope of my question.

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    If I come across an interesting code snippet and want to verify that it works, I'll often paste it into JSFiddle (or ideone, etc) to ensure it works right before actually using it. Once I've done that, why not edit the link in? It might save the next user a bit of time. Now, if a user is simply adding JSFiddle links to a lot of answers all in a row, that might be construed differently, but the way I'd do it is definitely not spam. – Geobits Feb 12 '14 at 14:35
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    Should be a comment IMO, though I'd be skipping and leaving the decision to someone else (which is basically the same as approving). If you were to approve it you should be checking the code in the fiddle is the same as the code in the question - which is outside of what should be expected from a reviewer tbh. – OGHaza Feb 12 '14 at 14:37
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    @ProgramFOX It is indeed a duplicate, I somehow missed it when I searched MSO. Looks like the answer is "Reject, fiddle links go in comments". – Superbest Feb 12 '14 at 14:42

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