Indent 4 spaces to format as a code block instead of flowing together or separating with blank lines as paragraphs:
// // Dear maintainer: //
// Once you are done trying to 'optimize' this routine,
// and have realized what a terrible mistake that was,
// please increment the following counter as a warning
// to the next guy
// total_hours_wasted_here = 42
Note that on narrow windows or mobile screens this doesn't wrap and needs to scroll sideways for long lines (though these are wrapped to 60 characters), which is annoying
If a viewport cannot handle gracefully lines of 80 characters, it is not the fault of the person writing the 80-character lines. If a code block is the right answer, I would hope that people use it, rather than attempt a workaround just to avoid a flood of gripes from people on mobile who don't want to scroll right. Fix your scrolling issue by fixing your scrolling issue, not by trying to retrain everyone that posts on HN to cater to mobile viewers, in lieu of just marking the text that requires differentiation of newlines from other whitespace.
Also, you only need to indent 2 spaces:
Everyone- use code blocks whenever you need them.
Mobile users- don't complain about code blocks.
The viewport can handle lines of 80 characters. The problem is that HN indents so far and even truncates on the right so you’re working with like 40 chars visible.
// // Dear maintainer: //
// Once you are done trying to 'optimize' this routine,
// and have realized what a terrible mistake that was,
// please increment the following counter as a warning
// to the next guy
// total_hours_wasted_here = 42
Edit: to improve legibility