25
votes
Why do people answer in comments?
Question is opinion based and should be closed.
Question is too broad and should be closed.
The question is a good one and deserves a complete answer, but I only have time to give a brief answer. I ...
- 128k
15
votes
Why do people answer in comments?
I can see me and other people doing it, despite being discouraged, because:
the answer is only a partial one
there is only time for me to write a bit to nudge things into the right direction
there ...
- 6,498
13
votes
Why do people answer in comments?
I use both the mobile website and the regular desktop website, depending on where I am and what device I'm using. When I browse questions during my lunch break, I can easily upvote interesting ...
- 14.5k
12
votes
Can overaggressive, unproductive, targeted negative commenting here be unproductive? Did it happen on my question? Can it be reduced?
Since I'm the one that took the time to answer your questions, I thought it might be fair to also spend a bit of time on your meta post, uhoh:
Now the answer to the question is simple and I'd thought ...
- 90.3k
10
votes
Accepted
Can I answer my question with a comment screenshot?
In general what you're proposing is OK but don't do it as a screenshot, instead copy the comment(s) as text to the answer and give credit to the person that wrote it with a link to their profile. It's ...
- 17.2k
10
votes
What is the acceptable level of hostility towards questions?
EDIT: To actually answer the question - I, personally, think a little bit of good-natured ribbing is ok. I really hate the "OMG, that's not even a proper MCU", or "You call that a circuit diagram - ...
- 596
8
votes
Why do we allow "i'm voting to close because [x]" in the comments?
The comment is primarily there to provide feedback to the OP. Whether other agree with it or not is secondary.
- 170k
7
votes
Maybe I'm two more deleted comments closer to a suspension
Intro
I have written this for a general audience, as I expect the background info may be interesting to other site members, with the part responding to the specific Meta question above near the bottom ...
SamGibsonMod
- 17.7k
7
votes
Why do we allow "i'm voting to close because [x]" in the comments?
Think of it from the OP's point of view. What would you rather see, a question closed with only one of the canned text to explain why, or a more detailed explanation from someone that voted to close?
...
- 312k
6
votes
Should we make it mandatory to explain close comments?
The message is delivered by the close vote system and is near the header of the message after the message is closed. If the question can be fixed, the user can follow the instructions and edit the ...
- 77.9k
5
votes
Should I delete comments making suggestions to improve questions when OP applies them?
Absolutely. Comments are supposed to be transient. This also includes comments like "Ok, fixed", "Thank you" etc.
However, as PlasmaHH points out, tracking all your comments would be a chore, that's ...
- 13.9k
5
votes
MCU pushers, the lot of ya!
In the case of your own questions, responders have suggested MCUs because it is clear from your question that you have not thought the problem through at all. It's obvious to an experienced person ...
- 170k
5
votes
Accepted
users below 50 rep can still comment OP
First, your answer was deleted and turned into a comment by a moderator. As long as your comment is relevant to the question, I'm not going to just delete it to enforce the rules, consider it some ...
- 18.4k
5
votes
Missing/deleted comments
You've been around here long enough that you should know comments, especially lengthy comment chains, get deleted occasionally. I didn't see this question originally, but guessing from your post and ...
- 312k
5
votes
What is the acceptable level of hostility towards questions?
I thought about posting something similar to this just a few days ago. I'm a newcomer to EE.SE and also a youngling in the EE field (graduating in May.) I've only been a member for around a year but ...
- 180
4
votes
Why do people answer in comments?
Usually users don't come up with a question can be answered, because they don't read any info on how to use the site, don't care about being part of the community and just want\expect an answer. I'm ...
- 77.9k
3
votes
Why do we allow "i'm voting to close because [x]" in the comments?
If somebody voted to close a question, the system automatically generates indicators. The questions is added to the the close review queue. "close (n)", where n is the current number of close votes, ...
- 37.9k
3
votes
Can overaggressive, unproductive, targeted negative commenting here be unproductive? Did it happen on my question? Can it be reduced?
While I can see why you may feel there is a disagreement, I fail to see how one question constitutes a trend.
My advice: if you see anything that does not comply with the code of conduct, then flag it ...
- 77.9k
3
votes
Accepted
May comments be used to answer old unanswered questions?
Absolutely! If people choose to write answers in comments, that's on them. There's no reason for you not to put the same information into an actual answer.
- 170k
3
votes
Why were these comment not unfriendly or unkind or rude or condescending and flags rejected?
I've flagged one comment as "not nice" after the rollout of the new guidelines. The flag was declined, but the comment disappeared nonetheless, which I suppose is the goal.
I suppose the mods thus ...
- 29.6k
3
votes
Accepted
MathJax in chat
SE is unlikely to ever enable MathJax in chat, as that was suggested and declined on main meta years ago. Former SE employee Shog9 explained why SE declined this feature request. You can look at the &...
NullMod
- 7,588
3
votes
Why do people answer in comments?
I wanted to say that as a comment (again) on Olin's answer, but it's actually too long to fit.
Technically, that is right, there are questions, answers, and that's all. This is if we consider, as ...
- 16k
2
votes
What is the acceptable level of hostility towards questions?
I have noticed this pretty much every time I have asked a question here. As an Electrical Engineer you do see this mentality in real life in colleges and from many others in the professional world as ...
- 286
2
votes
Comment formatting
Just a guess, but this may be deliberate to keep the abuse of comments to a minimum. They are supposed to be comments, not answers. If you are showing code in a response, then it's a strong clue it ...
- 312k
2
votes
Why do people answer in comments?
Sometimes I know an answer or a helpful suggestion, but I don't have the time nor inclination to make a full-fledged answer post. In those cases I may add it as a comment, reasoning that a comment is ...
- 2,600
2
votes
Why do people answer in comments?
Rep is not an issue for me. It is sometimes easier and faster to throw a few (or even many) thoughts into a comment that I expect to be useful to a seeker who cares.
This saves formatting etc while ...
- 149k
2
votes
Why do we allow "i'm voting to close because [x]" in the comments?
It's not that its allowed -- its that when prompted for certain "other" close reasons in the close menus, you're forced to type something, and that something is automatically added to the comments. A ...
- 29.6k
2
votes
Why did I receive a 10 day suspension for what I believe is a perfectly valid comment with no ill-intent whatsoever?
Since I'm currently online, I'll give a partial reply. At this stage, I'm deliberately not responding fully to your questions, for the reasons I explain below.
Why was I suspended for ten days for ...
SamGibsonMod
- 17.7k
2
votes
Should I delete comments making suggestions to improve questions when OP applies them?
You can flag comments as no longer needed (flag button on left of comment) Make sure you don't create too much work for the moderators and only use this on a needed basis.
- 77.9k
2
votes
MathJax in chat
One thing to know is that comments are treated like post-it notes and they can be thrown away by SE. Their attitude is that relevant information should be posted in an answer, and not in comments. So ...
- 77.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible