[robinh]

I agree wholeheartedly. The syntax doesn't even have to be extremely obscure, it can be highly useful in lower-level languages such as C as well: Often, I just want to get a quick idea of what the next big block of code is going to do without having to read the entire block of code.

[dougk16]

In that case it's often (yea I know, not always) better to put that block in a separate function, like readConfigurationFile() instead of "// This block reads the configuration file.". I almost always treat the act of writing comments as a signal that my code is a mess...although they're sort of a necessary evil when you're down to crunch time.

[henrik_w]

I agree, that's an excellent reason to create a function/method. Reason 7, self-documenting code: http://henrikwarne.com/2013/08/31/7-ways-more-methods-can-im... (but of course it doesn't mean that you never need comments)

[goblin89]

I think it's said that you should document the "why" (as opposed to "what"), which is relevant when you're using an unconventional approach or for some other reason your code may not be understood immediately, or when business logic is involved.

[robinh]

A fair point, I should probably have mentioned that. Thanks for pointing that out.