Help:FAQ/General questions/I don't like the notation

I don't like the notation
"On such-and-such a page I found that the notation did not match the style I prefer. So I changed it to the correct form, but then when I returned to the page, I found that my changes had been undone. Why is that?"


 * The world turns, life evolves, continents crumble to dust, and mathematicians occasionally devise notation which is considered an improvement over that which was originally invented.


 * It will forever be the case that there is more than one style of notation to illustrate a concept. The people who are familiar with notation A are going to complain if we use notation B, and those who grew up with notation B are going to be upset with our decision to use notation A. You can't please everyone.


 * Hence we choose a particular style, and we insist that all pages adhere to that particular style. This causes controversy, as followers of a particular symbol which has been turned down in favour of another, usually more modern, one which (in general) is less prone to ambiguity are going to be more or less offended.


 * If you believe that your preferred notation for a particular concept is superior to that which we have chosen, please feel free to communicate your reasons. However, please note that we ourselves at often have good reasons for choosing a particular aspect of the house style of notation (in particular, we take care to select a notation which is first and foremost unambiguous). It is time-consuming and tedious to change, so unless there are good reasons to do so, we would prefer not. --prime mover (talk) 20:11, 30 December 2012 (UTC)