I heard multiple times, that if a picture is unnecessary in a question, then remove it, well even if it's at the bottom, small and doesn't distract from the main parts, as it's at the very bottom of the question. I'm kinda confused about this, can you clarify me why all unnecessary, but not distracting pictures need to be purged with hellfire?
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2$\begingroup$ There already is a Meta discussion about this topic here and why do you think "pictures need to be purged with hellfire"? If a picture adds something useful to the question people will like the picture. There are a lot of questions and answers using pictures on the site. $\endgroup$– SecespitusMay 2, 2017 at 17:35
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1$\begingroup$ As has been said before "A question is not perfect if you can't add anything - it's perfect when you can't remove anything." This applies to images like everything else. $\endgroup$– sphenningsMay 2, 2017 at 19:40
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1$\begingroup$ you really horrible at combining pictures with your questions. Distorted sense of proportions and as protip /10 of what you would like to do with the picture and then it may be adequate. The problem with pictures is that to see the same value in them as you do, one has to have the same basis as you do(mood, excitement, knowledge, not knowledge, etc) Thus you have to establish the basis for the reader of your question, and you lazy to do so. Picture is good when it serves, but not instead of 1000 words. $\endgroup$– MolbOrgMay 7, 2017 at 14:13
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2$\begingroup$ You absolutely correct, it is not a blog type thing. There are some options but most important, picture can't replace the words, no matter how you would like it to be so, for the reasons I described in previous comment. The way you use images just do not make questions better. $\endgroup$– MolbOrgMay 7, 2017 at 17:19
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3 Answers
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No hellfire, just basic maintenance.
We don't like stuff that degrades the signal-to-noise level. That's not just true on Worldbuilding; it's true across the network. Stack Exchange sites are really good at focused Q&A. This is why even things like salutations and signatures get edited out of posts; they're not necessary, to say nothing of long rambling tangents that aren't really about the question or answer.
Pictures are particularly egregious because they're large and eye-catching, so they distract from the text. If a picture helps clarify or illustrate the text, then great -- we want diagrams, pictures that show that important detail that lets you understand an answer, and so on. But we're not looking for wallpaper and gratuitous game/movie/anime stills.
answered May 2, 2017 at 17:45
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Here is an example of a question where I edited in the picture, because at least for me it wasn't completely clear what the question was asking until I saw the picture:
As you can see, it's pretty minimal, just enough to get the point across and nothing more.
If you can get your point across using just words then that's preferable. If it's a complicated enough concept then a little illustration can be a help.
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Long story short: anything unnecessary is distracting.
Especially when big or animated.
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1$\begingroup$ I'd prefer a pointless picture to a similarly sized wall of text. Simply because I have to skim the wall of text before I can decide that I can safely ignore it. Both should be edited out of the question. $\endgroup$ May 4, 2017 at 19:56
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2$\begingroup$ @sphennings fluff text that's too long and brings little or nothing to the question should be edited out. Text that shows the style of the story/world may be needed - but sure shouldn't be a wall of text! Should be marked as fluff and pleasant to read. $\endgroup$– MołotMay 4, 2017 at 19:59
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4$\begingroup$ @sphennings Yes, background material can be useful in some situations, but it should be somehow clearly marked as ancillary to the question. $\endgroup$– userMay 4, 2017 at 20:08