12

On the Help Center page about Roomba (the script that automatically deletes 'abandoned' bad questions), code formatting is used a couple of times. While it's OK (at least in my book) to use this for the technical enumeration(?) values of the deletion reasons like RemoveDeadQuestions, it's not appropriate for the number of days, which are just a natural part of the sentence. Currently, they're breaking the flow for users with screen readers.
It could be some attempt to indicate that these are variables, but they're not dynamically calculated when the page loads. On other pages with days 'variables', like the bounty page, don't have this type of formatting either.

part of the help center page

Oh, and while you're at it, please format the second to last link (the one to What should I do if I find the answer to an old question of mine that was automatically deleted as abandoned?).

Improve this question
10
  • 4
    That page needs to be re-written. I work here, I think I even fixed one of the queries to scope questions, and that page makes my head spin.
    – user50049
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 12:55
  • I won't disagree with that, but at least it's understandable enough to build userscripts based on it.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 13:25
  • 1
    I have seen this suggested before but my search-fu is failing me. I can't find that previous post either here or in MSO. (Then again, it may have been deleted and I don't have enough rep to see deleted posts :-( ) I did find this comment by Cody Gray, though.
    – robinCTS
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 17:04
  • TBH, I haven't checked for duplicates on MSO, only here.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 17:18
  • I only mentioned MSO because it would have been the only other site where I would have seen this raised before.
    – robinCTS
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 17:32
  • 1
    I suggested that in a comment here.
    – Donald Duck
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 18:59
  • @DonaldDuck right. I must've missed that question. It explains the current state of that page quite well :)
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 19:20
  • 1
    This proposed change (and this one on MSO about adding the word "Roomba" to the body text for searchability) is easy enough to implement... If anyone thinks the page should be more substantially rewritten, please suggest how it should be rewritten in a separate feature request.
    – V2Blast StaffMod
    Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 22:11
  • 1
    I've gone ahead and edited the original post that was copied into the help center page so it doesn't use code formatting either.
    – Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog
    Commented Dec 1, 2022 at 22:30
  • @SonictheAnonymousHedgehog ah, thanks, now I see it's all Jeff's fault :)
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Dec 2, 2022 at 7:59

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

I've updated this Help Center page network-wide to remove the code formatting from these numbers.

I also removed the mentions of the specific deletion reasons used in the code (which used to be shown in the post notice on posts deleted for those reasons, but aren't shown there anymore).

In addition, I formatted the link in the last line, as you suggested.

(I also made these same changes to the translations of this Help Center page shown on our international SO sites.)

Improve this answer
2
  • While those deletion reasons aren't shown in the post notices anymore, they are shown in post timelines.
    – Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog
    Commented Dec 23, 2022 at 6:50
  • @SonictheAnonymousHedgehog: Yep, I'm aware – and I think they are mentioned in the revision history as well. But I don't think it's useful to highlight those technical names from the code directly on this Help Center page itself.
    – V2Blast StaffMod
    Commented Dec 23, 2022 at 17:23

You must log in to answer this question.

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