Documentation Link

https://matplotlib.org/devdocs/users/explain/axes/axes_ticks.html

Problem

A concise description of the nature / lifetime of ticks is missing, which would explain why tick_params should be used instead of modifiing individual tick instances.

Suggested improvement

The axis tick guide should have an extra section explaining

• ticks are regenerated / reused
• default tick properties for that come from tick_params
• tick_params should be prefered for configurarion / styling if possible.
• Some rare cases still require a fallback to working with the indivudal ticks or their constituent Artist (line, label, gridline). In that case users must know about the limitations (e.g. when ticks are modified) and whether that's relvant for their plot.