Breaking an axis - is it ever a good idea? I know that using an origin other than 0 for numeric data is considered misleading. But for plots in academic publications, is it ever a good idea to break an axis so that patterns and outliers can be more easily seen?
Or would you always try to find an alternative (e.g., using a logarithmic scale, faceting, using multiple plots with different scales)? I'm looking for a general rule of thumb.
I used to be a "don't break the axis" purist. I like to think that I have learned better. Nowadays, whenever I know that zero does not make sense for the data I am visualizing, I don't hesitate to break the axis.

A little example: I recently started recording my weight (in kg) and reducing my calorie intake. Here is the time series. Does anyone think that the plot on the right is more informative? It isn't. Because zero is not a possible weight for a healthy 39 year old male.