Here is a format for such a suggestion that I find much easier to evaluate:

Consider changing the "add your question" display area to include:

(show your suggested content)

In context, please consider changing from the current:

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Title: [ (box to enter title) ] Your question: Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p> and:  <code> code here </code> to format your post; it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML": [   (big box to enter node "HTML") ] [ ("preview" button) ]

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• Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
• Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
• Please read these before you post! —
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  • Markup in the Monastery
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To:

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(put your replacement here)

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To be clear, I'm not at all sure what parts of the above you were hoping to replace.

I'm pretty happy with this bit:

Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post; it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":

The rest, most people don't even notice. But I also like the simple list of HTML escapes.

Providing text for people to read has proven almost pointless for a large number of posters. The "two-lines showing example mark-up" just sinks in almost without even engaging your "read English" synapses. The stuff below the input box is going to be widely ignored. Putting any links before the input box is too disruptive to standard keyboard navigation, IMHO. Putting more than a very few lines of text before the input box is too disruptive to visual understanding, IMHO. Putting example mark-up inside the text box is dang hard to get right (for example, it will very often end up being left in).

I think we'd probably have a more positive impact by just replacing the last of those three "pre" lines with a very terse but clear notice that "look just under this text-input area for much more help". Especially if that help immediately starts with visually obvious bits (like the list of HTML escapes).

I find your wording mostly "tl;dr" and when I force myself to read it, it flows badly as a bullet list. Where you put bold means that if I try to skim I get really little of value: "tiny code how sample data verbatim identifies your topic".

Several of the things you ask for I don't think are relevant often enough to even mention so prominently. The important bits, IMHO, are just:

Basic formatting:

    <p>
        paragraphs go here
    </p>
    <c>
        code goes here
        also sample input
        also error messages or broken output
        also desired output
    </c>
[download]

But I also don't see how to convey even that with enough: terseness, clarity, snappiness. Perhaps more like:

How to write:

<c> code goes here, as does: sample input, desired output, errors, and broken output </c> <p> paragraphs go here </p>

Important help information is just below this input box.

I actually find the below-box text much easier to improve:

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• Use HTML entities for these characters (except when inside <code> and <c> tags):

  	For:		Use:		For:		Use:		For:		Use:
  	<		&lt;		[		&#91;		&		&amp;
  	>		&gt;		]		&#93;

• Please format your posts using HTML, but only using PerlMonks-Approved HTML tags: a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, div, dl, dt, em, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr (allowed by discouraged: br, font, h1, h2, pre)
• Please read these before you post! —
  • How do I compose an effective node title?
  • How do I post a question effectively?
  • Markup in the Monastery
• Links are easier with PerlMonks shortcuts, like [http://perl.org/], [doc://open], and [cpan://File::Find] ! What shortcuts can I use for linking to other information?
• See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.
• Read Where should I post X? if you are not absolutely sure you are posting in the right place.

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