Posting to Community: images vs code suggestion.

Meta
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Hello
A recurring discussion on community is about posters using images instead of cut and pasted code.

E.g: why does FindRoot with Integrate inside not always work correctly

Suggestion: Above the community posting editor, there is enough room to the right of the editing icons to add

“Use <> to cut and paste code; please do not paste images of code”

I believe many first time users skip the Community Guidelines in their rush to seek feedback.

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I am a new member and I am guilty of posting pictures. I think, I have come to understand why it is important to post the code.

However, I have two issues that I find less than ideal - in my opinion.

  • The code becomes very hard to read when one looks at I.E. [\Pi] instead of the actual Greek symbol.
  • And, the code itself is not a good substitute for the background math or science behind the code. Perhaps, the two are exclusive but I do not see it that way.
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Dear Edvin,
Guilty is far too strong. Your intentions were fine.

The symbols do appear correctly when someone copies and pastes your code back on into a notebook.

However, when coding in mathematica, I seldom use symbols and subscripts. I find waveFunction to be easier to read and less prone to error than \psi, angularFrequency to be better than \omega, mass to be a better symbol than M, and accell to be a better symbol than A. It self-documents to use longer variable names. Symbols are a remnant of physical typesetting and paper…

Those that would give the best answers to questions work quickly and aren’t likely to type out an expression. They likely test the result for syntax by evaluating code. I am raising this point as an attempt to be helpful.

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Thank you for your suggestion, Craig, - moderators often think along the same lines. I will bring it to our team for consideration.