6 character edit limit vs. side suggestions (suggesting minor fixes are fine)

Question

Occasionally I come across an answer that I'd like to edit (most recently it was for 4 instances of it's that should be its). It becomes quite frustrating - should I search for more errors? game the system? or just resist trying to edit answers?

Now, I guess I could understand minor edits being annoying, but what's up with the side suggestions:

How to Edit
► fix grammatical or spelling errors
► clarify meaning without changing it
► correct minor mistakes
► add related resources or links
► always respect the original author

It was a grammatical error (#1), and also a correction of minor mistake (#3).

Should one of those be fixed?

Related: What is the appropriate way to handle posts requiring very minor edits?

Answer 1

Yes - the simple answer is that you should search for more errors.

While an incorrect "its" or "it's" makes my OCD twitch, your energy is best used somewhere where you can fix more than one or two minor grammatical or spelling mistakes.

If there is nothing else wrong with the post, I'd suggest just leaving it. Edits that are too minor are likely to be rejected, and just serve to bump the post to the front page.

Believe me, there are hundreds of posts that could be edited to improve readability, many with far bigger problems :-)

Answer 2

I'm not sure that this limitation still applies when you are over 2000 rep. (I didn't checked it, but I think I may have made such small changes in a question while posting an answer or while modifying another post more substantially, that it to say when the post would be brought to the front-page anyway).

Below 2000 rep., do not forget that you edit will need to be reviewed before approval, and that two approvals are needed for the edit suggestion to be validated.

In other words, it will require at least three people to change an "its" into "it's".

Does it really worth to put so many people on this task?

Answer 3

I feel your pain. I also did a lot of edits before I reached 2 000, and bumping into this restriction can be very annoying. But even if your edits are correct and good and worth the time of reviewers, others might not be. Removing the restriction would open up the doors for rep gamers who see an easy path to magitc internet points by making tiny changes of no consequence. Sad but true.

Your main concern seems to be with the side suggestions. I think you are reading them wrong. They are not meant to be taken as "edit if you can do one of these". They are supposed to mean "if you do edit, fix all of these if applicable".

So just because you tick one or two of the boxes does not mean that the edit is substantial enough. However, you should make sure to never leave any box unticked.

I hope you can live with this inconvenience and continue editing and helping making the site better! Sooner or later you will gain the rep you need to break out of your prison! :-)