7

I am saying this because I have seen a lot of comments that say things that like:

1+ for the awesome answer or question

1+ for the detail

1+ I always wondered that

I have read this question but it doesn't seem to answer anything for me When is it appropriate to flag a comment?

Should I flag these comments when I see them as they are not conducive to the community and they don't add anything or adhere to the rules stated in the comment box? enter image description here

I didn't add any links to comments that did this just case it isn't a real problem and to not put somebody on the spot. And I have seen users new and old do this, ones with lots of reputation and some with little reputation.

2

2 Answers 2

8

Technically, yes. The Stack Exchange has pretty clear ideas about what comments are and aren't for. Regular purging of comments keeps the site clean and focused on its primary goal being a neatly-organised "pile of answers" without getting cluttered by providing services other sites already do just fine.

But in practice, this particular corner of the Stack Exchange doesn't care. We get into discussions and arguments (which the broader Stack Exchange ethos eschews because forums already do that perfectly well); we fail to edit clarifying comments into our answers (I'm still not sure why that is); we use comments to provide answers if we're unsure of them or can't be bothered to put together full support for a claim.

So while I encourage you to flag the +1 awesomes, I'm cynical about its effectiveness or long-term impact on a community that pushes back strongly on any attempt to restrict the scope of comments.

[NB: comments on meta sites aren't held to the same standards; meta is for discussion, and while the Stack comment mechanic is by design awkward for that, it's expected on meta in order to hash things out.]

2
  • 3
    we fail to edit clarifying comments into our answers (I'm still not sure why that is) - It's still the original answerer's decision to include it or not. Usually, the reason I don't is because I think it'll distract from the core of the answer. But I would upvote the comment to make it visible, if I think it's worthwhile. Think of these as footnotes, like you'd follow an * or a ¹ to read
    – Izkata
    Commented Jul 12, 2014 at 3:07
  • 3
    This is far from the only stack exchange that violates that rule, though. Even Stack Overflow and Super User will have comments of people explaining why they upvoted the question or answer. And I think they are left because they help users know what is good about an answer. The ones that contain no explanation, however, are regularly zapped, and I think they should be here, too.
    – trlkly
    Commented Jul 13, 2014 at 16:53
3

Sure, do flag comments that have no useful content like “+1 great answer”. The key question about a comment is, does it have any value? “Noise” comments like “+1 great answer” don't, since there are better ways to express that an answer is great (upvotes, and if you want to emphasize it, bounties), so remove them.

The comments that should be kept are comments with useful content, for example comments that point out a possible flaw in a post (something is incorrect, some detail is missing, a request for clarification, …). These comments should be removed if the flaw has been addressed (typically by an edit). In principle, all comments are supposed to be temporary. In practice, some comments do end up staying indefinitely, typically either because they point out a minor flaw or add a minor detail that isn't worth the bother of an edit, or because they represent a valid objection that the post author disagrees with, or because they request a clarification that isn't forthcoming. But comments are not given the benefit of doubt: they have to prove their usefulness, the default is to to delete them if they bothered someone enough to flag.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .