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Apparently the powers-that-be at StackExchange have removed the automatic conversion of posts to "Community Wiki" after ten edits: see this blog post. Does that mean that the "too minor" reject reason for submitted edits has ceased to be valid and should no longer be used (or even suggested to reviewers) ?

(As far as I understand it, posts which undergo frequent edits will now be flagged for moderators to decide, so the mods might prefer it when "too minor" edits are still rejected.)

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    I dunno... there is still the front page bump from minor edits...
    – AviD Mod
    Commented Apr 22, 2014 at 19:50

2 Answers 2

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The rejection reason “too minor” was introduced for several reasons:

  • Edits bump a post on the home page, giving the thread more attention. This is desirable in case something major has changed, but not to fix a typo.
  • Suggested edits cost time for the reviewers.
  • Each edit used to bring the post closer to community wiki status — but as you note this is no longer the case.

The third reason no longer applies. The second one does, but only to a small extent: manpower for suggested edit review used to be scarce on Stack Overflow, but now it is no longer, and it never was to my knowledge on any other Stack Exchange site. The first reason still applies, but it isn't a big deal unless a lot of minor edits happen (and it's a big deal even for major edits if there are a lot of them).

There's been much debate lately on Meta Stack Exchange and Meta Stack Overflow, with opinions ranging from generic frustration against suggested edits to wanting to do away with “too minor” altogether. Given the complete lack of consensus, don't expect the reason to disappear or change.

I only use “too minor” in a few cases:

  • The suggestion isn't really an improvement, it's only cosmetic. For example, an edit that standardizes a post that mixes British and American spellings (on a site other than ELU or ELL, where that can be important).
  • The suggestion corrects a few problems but there are many other glaring problems. For example, an edit that fixes the spelling of one word while leaving many other grammatical mistakes, or an edit that removes an inappropriate tag but doesn't add other tags that the question sorely needs.
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  • Number two has to be weighed against the time loss for all future visitors. 1 reviewer sacrificing 20 seconds can mean 10000 future visitors each saving 10 seconds due to the improved formatting/re-phrasing/etc.
    – Pacerier
    Commented Jun 8, 2015 at 17:34
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No, the reject reason "too minor" requires some effort from suggesters to really improve a post - That is: not to only correct some minor issues and leave others (which might require more work).

It's a way to induce more comprehensive edits - if they want the 2 points reputation for an accepted suggestion.

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