My primary question is
What is the preferred method for formatting code?
followed by
Is the formatting help at odds with the preferred formatting method?
The sidebar for the "Ask a question" interface currently looks like this:
Notice that "indent code by 4 spaces" is still there. However, you could be forgiven for not noticing it.
Historical Context
When I first started asking questions on Stack Overflow, I believe the sidebar recommended something else for formatting code. My best guess is that it recommended something like <pre> tags:
You can still format code using tags that can't be used in the code itself!Who knew?
So I actually don't remember exactly what was the method highlighted in the sidebar at the time. I just remember that the very first thing that happened after I made my first post was that someone edited the post to remove the recommended formatting method and indent the code four spaces. At the time, I was startled, to say the least. However, I got the hint and ever afterward used four spaces to indicate code.
I was startled because the community's preferred method of formatting code contradicted the formatting help. A problem that still seems to be happening today.
Today, I was curious about the new "Ask a question" interface, so I decided to have a look at it. I was startled to see this:
Why is the official Stack Overflow code formatting help at odds with the accepted conventions?
I am not requesting that backticks be supported. I am asking
- Which code formatting convention is preferred?
- If four spaces is preferred, why doesn't the documentation reflect this?
- If neither format is preferred, why are backticks more heavily emphasized in the help shown to new users and question askers?
I am not asking about inline backticks. I am asking about
```backticks used to format code```versus
spaces used to format code