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I recently posted a comment to a question about the Wizard of Oz using Black and White then transitioning to color. The answer used the word "greyscale" rather than "black and white". I made a comment that essentially corrected this mistake and why it was in fact a mistake. However, some how my comment has disappeared but the answer now has the correct terminology. SO I'm assuming it was deleted for being off topic. However, when talking about film, and the significance of said color change. Isn't this still on topic? Why was this deleted???
Also, if it is considered 'off topic', how does one go about both correcting incorrect information as well as offering an explanation for the correction? Isn't the point of a stack exchange the eradication of ignorance?

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Comments are there to (ideally) improve the question or answer they were left on.

If you left a comment on an answer suggesting a correction, and the answer was then edited to incorporate the correction, then your comment did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Comments are, for the most part, supposed to be temporary. This isn't always rigorously enforced, as a large proportion of the comments tend to be more about discussion of the content in a way that doesn't necessarily lead to a direct change (i.e. humor, thanks, explanations for votes, supplemental information that for whatever reason doesn't get incorporated, etc.).

However, the general rule is that comments are subject to deletion at any time a moderator deems it appropriate. Individual moderators may approach this differently, but if you posted a correction, and the correction was already made, then your comment served no further purpose.

This isn't in any way a criticism of you, or an indication that you shouldn't have made the comment!

Incidentally, don't forget that you can suggest direct edits to questions and answers, in addition to suggesting them through comments. If you suggest a direct edit, and it gets approved, you will stand to earn a small amount of reputation, as well.

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  • I guess I'm just butthurt. Because I succinctly and carefully detailed the difference between "grayscale" and "black and white". While not directly affecting the answer, such knowledge surely 'improves' it.
    – Arammil
    Jul 10, 2013 at 14:31
  • That's entirely understandable. The collaborative nature of the site takes some getting used to, but I'm certain no offense was intended. If you look at the edit notes, the OP added "Pedantry for the win!", which I took as an indication that he appreciated your contribution... not to mention that he took the time and effort to make the changes. It may simply be that he assumed that the comment history would provide the extra details, and didn't realize a moderator would delete it so quickly. If you feel that further information can help the answer, by all means suggest a further edit.
    – Beofett
    Jul 10, 2013 at 16:18
  • lol.. where can I view this edit history?? This sounds like hilariously good fun.
    – Arammil
    Jul 10, 2013 at 16:28
  • When you look at the post, you'll see a link showing when the last edit was made. Ideally, whenever an edit is made, the person making the edit should provide some information as to why they are making the edit (although a side-by-side comparison is also displayed so you can see the details). I feel I know this particular poster well enough that I can say "pedantry" is not being used with any negative connotations there :)
    – Beofett
    Jul 10, 2013 at 16:53
  • Nor did I take that comment as such. Rather I genuinely laughed out loud.
    – Arammil
    Jul 11, 2013 at 1:01
  • @Arammil A side note, if you hover over the left side of a comment and click on "flag", you're given options including "Obsolete" (go ahead and do it to get a look; you can cancel it) - that's probably what was done by the other person, to tell a mod "Okay, these comments aren't needed anymore".
    – Izkata
    Jul 11, 2013 at 3:43
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The owner of that post had already corrected the terminology in the post to reflect your comment, so your comment was obsolete, and was flagged as such. As Beofett points out, comments are transient and are only meant to stick around as long as they're useful; once the post was corrected, there was no reason for it to stay around.

It was nothing personal, that's just the way comments work.

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