User:Kjkolb/Editing comments

Here is some guidance about editing other people's comments. It was adapted from a reply to a question at the Village Pump and is based upon my experience rather than written policies.

Editing the comments of other editors is usually discouraged. However, certain minor edits like fixing broken links, attributing authorship, moving the comment to a more appropriate location, and adding a colon or asterisk in front of the comment seems to be okay with some people. I don't know even remotely how many people, but I've seen it done by veteran editors and admins. Minor changes should be noted in the edit summary, but if content is changed even slightly, like fixing a broken link or correcting a misspelling, it should be noted on the page with your signature and in the edit summary. Keep in mind that some editors may disapprove of even these changes. Also, be sure that the "mistake" was not made on purpose. For example, sometimes links are intentionally made to non-existent pages. Moving comments should be done carefully, as it may make it look like a response to a different person's comments than the author intended. The most frequent case of moving comments is probably when people place their comment at the top of a discussion instead of at the bottom. Moving these comments is relatively uncontroversial. Moving comments about an unrelated topic to a new or more appropriate section is also okay, but should be noted in the former location of the comment if the other section is not directly below.

Making changes that don't significantly improve the readability or understanding of the content means taking the risk of changing the meaning of the comment, and possibly upsetting the author, with little or no reward. Most spelling and grammar errors are unimportant and should be left alone. Adding links where there were none before is a bad idea, too. One problem is that terms often have multiple meanings and the differences can be subtle. Linking to the wrong meaning changes the meaning of the comment. If you feel something should be linked to, add your own comment below.

In the case of comments being adapted for a different purpose, like being used as a guideline or policy, there is more leeway. For example, an editor may give a rough draft of what he or she thinks the new policy should be. Still, if it is at all controversial, explicit permission should be obtained.

Finally, it should also be noted when you change your own comments significantly, especially if it is likely to have been read by other people before you changed it and/or someone else has already replied to it.