Is commented out code read?

[trigger]

I hear that search engines like websites with minimal and clean code. If there is code that has been commented out is that read by the search engines or does it not matter? I like to have details about certain areas in the code but don't want to bloat it.

[OldWelshGuy]

Code is not read, elements within tags are read, so unless you are hiding content within commented out code it will not be read. Oh and the minimal and clean code thing is a myth put about by people who are code junkies and like to have those little validation buttons on their site

[livetech]

From my Visual Basic/C++ days, a great quote from one of my old lecturers. "Ignore the myth about commenting code, clean and legible code. If it was hard to write, it should be even harder to understand"