As of May 31, 2023, we have updated our Code of Conduct.
41 votes
Accepted

CyberBullying on SE

Thank you for letting us knowing what is going on. We will look into the serial downvoting and that will be reversed if we confirm that it is happening. As for the comment harrassment, please flag (...
Kit Z. Fox's user avatar
  • 27.6k
34 votes

Answers in comments

Option 3: Answers may be made in comments where the question is off-topic but we still wish to help the asker. This seems to be standard practice; we try to be helpful.
Andrew Leach's user avatar
  • 98.5k
25 votes

Is it unethical for a user who has answered a question to post a negative comment on somebody else's answer?

Is it unethical for any user to post a derogatory, belittling negative comment? Yes. Let's be clear about what we're taking about. "Derogatory" or belittling comments are never OK, whether you've ...
herisson's user avatar
  • 77.5k
20 votes

Answers in comments

Option 6: Partial answers may appear in comments and may be used by anyone who wishes to post a complete answer, with the understanding that mods may still delete the comments at a whim, without ...
Lawrence's user avatar
  • 38.2k
19 votes
Accepted

Is SE enforcing "no answers in comments"?

There is no new initiative to eliminate answers in comment. They have always been discouraged. The purpose of Stack Exchange is to get expert, peer-reviewed answers to good questions out on search ...
MetaEd's user avatar
  • 28.1k
18 votes

Undo removal of comments to chat

medica wrote an excellent response here already; I'd just like to emphasize one thing: in years past we just deleted comments like these, removing them permanently with no record whatsoever so as to ...
Shog9's user avatar
  • 371
16 votes

Undo removal of comments to chat

There is a lot to address in your post, and I will address points as they come. My opinion is derived from my years as a member here, and my time serving as a moderator on another site. I believe the ...
anongoodnurse's user avatar
14 votes
Accepted

Very shouty moderation messages

Stack Exchange is a Q&A network not a discussion forum, but this question has repeatedly drawn opinionated side comments. There are currently more than 150 deleted comments on that question and ...
tchrist's user avatar
  • 133k
14 votes

Why was my comment containing JHC deleted?

Obviously the answer is Yes: it is so objectionable as to be deletable, as a comment. The system does not show who flagged comments*, but your comment received one non-committal "No longer needed" ...
Andrew Leach's user avatar
  • 98.5k
14 votes
Accepted

Comments that are not in English

Dan Bron’s comment on the question is very practical: Comments aren’t meant to be private conversations between individual participants, but a public conversation about the post they’re attached to,...
MetaEd's user avatar
  • 28.1k
14 votes
Accepted

Flag has not been processed for 2+ months

The text box used for providing comments supplies these specific guidelines: Use comments to ask for clarification or add more information. Avoid answering questions in comments. We therefore do ...
tchrist's user avatar
  • 133k
13 votes
Accepted

Is it really helpful to tell a user to look something up in a dictionary?

No Stack Exchange site is a tutorial service. No Stack Exchange site is a research service. No Stack Exchange site is a substitute for looking in a standard reference work. I propose that any question ...
Andrew Leach's user avatar
  • 98.5k
13 votes
Accepted

Please delete your question? I say again, please delete your question?

I don't have a problem with the idea of informing a new user of a policy that they were probably not aware of, but a bare demand for corrective action like that is rather in violation of our "Be Nice" ...
Hellion's user avatar
  • 59.1k
13 votes

Answers in comments

I hope it will be helpful if I list the main problems with comment answers. Any proposed solution can be evaluated against them to see how it holds up. Someone has helpfully numbered these problems ...
MetaEd's user avatar
  • 28.1k
12 votes

Are there any topics that are off limits in answers/comments?

If something is irrelevant to an answer, it should be edited out. If something is only relevant as an example, but the example is too inflammatory or distracting, it should be changed. The fact that ...
Mr. Shiny and New 安宇's user avatar
11 votes

Why was my comment containing JHC deleted?

There are a multiple things going on here. the taboo status of 'Jesus H Christ' the context of the use of 'Jesus H Christ' common decency About the taboo status, or blasphemy as it has been called, '...
Mitch's user avatar
  • 70.3k
11 votes
Accepted

Reporting rude comments

You can flag posts at 15 reputation. Flagging comments is not mentioned in the privileges list, so it's either the same or possibly even as low as 1. Or it may come with the "comment everywhere" ...
Andrew Leach's user avatar
  • 98.5k
10 votes
Accepted

Why was my comment removed?

OK, you just haven't read Lawler far enough. ^_^ Try his post on conversational deletion. This happens when material understood from context is removed without lost of communication. Note that "Are ...
Andrew Leach's user avatar
  • 98.5k
10 votes

Should I double up on an LQP review comment?

Normally, I just up-vote the previous comment and recommend deletion; is this the best course of action? What do you do? My only worry with doing that is if it skews the analytics of which option has ...
NVZ's user avatar
  • 22.5k
10 votes
Accepted

Why doesn't the reputation increase for upvotes on comments?

Help center explains a lot about comments, and is a must read. Comments are temporary "Post-It" notes left on a question or answer. They can be up-voted (but not down-voted) and flagged, but do not ...
NVZ's user avatar
  • 22.5k
10 votes
Accepted

Finding comments that are 'no longer needed' (e.g. 'thank you' and general junk comments)

Please do not flag old comments unless they are offensive and hurtful of others. This is not a good use of limited resources.
tchrist's user avatar
  • 133k
10 votes

Why are we moving all the comments to chat?

Stack Exchange is not a discussion forum You're probably expecting lasting discussions here because of how common discussion sites are on the internet. What you may not realize is that we are supposed ...
tchrist's user avatar
  • 133k
9 votes

Protocol when a comment provides a reasonable answer

People leave partial answers in comments for various reasons. Regardless, if you see useful information or partial answers in the comments, you can use that to write a detailed answer yourself. It'd ...
NVZ's user avatar
  • 22.5k
9 votes
Accepted

Comments were moved to chat room, chat room was removed?

I appreciate the OP's bewilderment, I do. A similar thing happened to me some years ago: I had posted a question which attracted a fair number of comments, the comments were nearly all on-topic and I ...
Mari-Lou A's user avatar
  • 88.4k
9 votes

What is the recourse when mods delete comments without notice?

You have no "recourse" to moderators doing their job and deleting a comment "without notice". That simply is not how the Stack Exchange works. Although I was not the moderator who ...
tchrist's user avatar
  • 133k
8 votes

Who is this guy, anyway?

"That guy" (tchrist) is a moderator (as you can tell from the little diamond thingy, ♦ , after his name) and he deleted your post because it fell afoul of our attribution requirements as ...
Hellion's user avatar
  • 59.1k
8 votes
Accepted

Curious, but complaining only a little: Why was my comment deleted?

You write: leaving an embryonic answer as a comment has never been a deletion-worthy offense before You might be using the word “offense” tongue-in-cheek, but just in case you are serious, I want ...
MetaEd's user avatar
  • 28.1k
8 votes

Is it unethical for a user who has answered a question to post a negative comment on somebody else's answer?

In my view there is no correlation to the fact if I have posted an answer as well. All comments should be civil and constructive and no comments that are belittling or derogative are ever okay. If I ...
Helmar's user avatar
  • 5,379
8 votes

Basic problem with comment deletion

To answer this, I’ve deliberately not just gone and looked into your particular comment record to prime me with concrete knowledge. That way I can speak in broader generalities. Here are some common ...
tchrist's user avatar
  • 133k
8 votes

Can a mod send me a screenshot of the comments which were under this question?

Regrettably, the answer is No, a screenshot is not possible. A screenshot will contain information which has never been publicly available; moderators don't release such data. Moving deleted comments ...
Andrew Leach's user avatar
  • 98.5k

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible