I strongly agree with the answers in, "Is using 'header' markdown okay in answers?" I use headings quite frequently in my answers, but generally only an H4, and only when there are multiple "sections" to separate.
But are there any general rules that allow or disallow formatting that is solely designed to make a question or answer stand out (a.k.a. "attention grabbing")?
I see "Should unnecessary formatting (that serves to draw attention) be considered an antipattern?", to which I like @Lundin's answer:
So this is to be regarded as "fluff", for which we already have a policy: Should I remove 'fluff' when editing questions?
Ok, great. So I've been doing the right thing by removing fluff in edits. But what if a user rejects those edits and returns the "fluff" (a.k.a. in this case, attention grabbing).
Ultimately, I'm referring to this answer, where the user has rejected my edits to remove the (IMO) unnecessary formatting (as well as updated info, but that's completely their right).
In the original version, it was an H1 with a series of emojis, and no subheadings which would even have warranted an H1. I edited it down to an H4, removed the emojis, and added another H4 for "Notes". There's really no structural reason for it to even have an H4 "title/heading", since answers aren't supposed to have titles. A heading, if needed should introduce a distinct section of the answer, not be a replacement for a title.
But the user has rejected the edits, returning it to H1 + Emojis (saying they preferred it), and then even made the "Notes" an H2. I could see an H3 and H4 at best (but still "fluff"), but the H1 with emojis seems completely (to be polite) unnecessary.
Not to mention that the entire question is way off-topic anyway, but, well, I know how to approach that. I did flag it when I was sub-3k rep, and now I've cast a Close vote on it. And yes, I was guilty of lobbing an answer on it after nothing happened with my Close flag a couple of months ago.
But what's the right way to handle "attention grabbing formatting", when the user declines to "play nice" and accept the edit?
- Leave it be, as there are no rules against it?
- Flag it for a moderator? But what "rules" would I reference?
- Bring it to Meta like this?
- Or something else?
Related - As @jonrsharpe points out in the comments, this seems to be a recurring problem for this user in posting this answer across multiple (duplicate, off-topic) questions.
Related - Are comments by a user on the main question attempting to promote their answer (as I just noticed was also done by this user for their answer) acceptable? Or should that be flagged for removal?
Related - For reference, the editing-help mentions H1/H2 with no guidance on where they are actually appropriate.