15
votes
Are comments saying "just use magic" problematic?
We should not assume that a question that allows magic allows any magic and that problems can just be hand-waved away. The author of that question wrote:
Thank you for your input. However, the ...
- 19.5k
14
votes
Can we stop the Trump jokes?
We already have built in-functions for handling this. The wrong way to handle this, on the other hand, would be banning certain joke topics. There isn't actually anything this would add:
People will ...
- 1,988
12
votes
Accepted
What should be our commenting etiquette when pointing out that other Stacks exist?
If it's off-topic here it should be closed.
If it's off-topic here and on-topic on the other site and of acceptable quality (we don't want to be the dumping ground for others - let's not make others ...
- 17.7k
12
votes
Accepted
When and how to challenge the back story?
My opinion on this event is fairly simple and straightforward:
I think we too often rely on Science As We Know It to be the end-all be-all of measures by which we view, critique, understand, and ...
- 39.5k
11
votes
Can we stop the Trump jokes?
Comments should be constructively relevant to the post they are attached to
Maybe it's just me, but I think this is pretty clear-cut. Just for reference, here is the placeholder text for a comment (...
- 28.9k
11
votes
10
votes
Pragmatism: reconsider the stance on comments
I have to say that I have never seen a complaint about how comments work here on world building before. The concept is pretty strait forward.
When the moderators see comments that are useful and to ...
- 32.8k
9
votes
When and how to challenge the back story?
You've put together a complex story, you're proud of it, you've come here requesting help on Part A. Someone tears apart your story on Part B. The downsides of this are:
It can be very demotivational....
- 44.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Why do people downvote but refrain from commenting the reason?
As one of the people who sometimes downvote without any comments, I will try to list for you my personal reasons for downvoting:
1: You are too political, borderline trolling. If the question is, say,...
- 45.2k
8
votes
Accepted
When should an argument in comments be ended?
If you want my knee-jerk opinion, I think this is not a good idea. First, comments are transient, highly likely to be removed at some point, and not at all a space for extended discussions. As How do ...
HDE 226868Mod
- 99.8k
8
votes
Accepted
stackoverflow comment etiquette
The view across the Stack Exchange network is that :
Comments exist so that users can talk about questions and answers without posting new answers that do not actually answer their parent questions. ...
- 1,518
8
votes
Accepted
Who did I just ping?
The one who posted most recently. See also: How do comment @replies work?:
Matching is performed in reverse chronological order, so if five people named John are participating, @john will match the ...
- 17.7k
8
votes
Accepted
What are the criteria for comment deletion?
Comments are second-class citizens, so they may be deleted without any explanation and any reason and no-one will care. They usually are not, but they may.
That said, reasons to delete comments ...
- 33.1k
8
votes
Why do people link the word "edit" in their comments?
Multiple possible reasons that are not even mutually exclusive:
Magic links
1There is a magic link in comments: the text [edit] is converted to a link to the edit ...
- 7,822
7
votes
Accepted
How to deal with comments which are borderline to trolling?
Take the time to prevent misunderstanding of your question/answer
It seems obvious, to me, that the mentioned users did take the image for more than it actually is. As you made clear in a comment, ...
- 12.1k
7
votes
Are answers posted in comments acceptable or not?
I'll resist leaving this as a comment.
Something that lacks body or detail I think is fine for a comment. There's a pretty strict character limit for comments, so as long as you are under that it ...
- 17.5k
7
votes
Are answers posted in comments acceptable or not?
Note that there is no tool to move a comment to an answer, as there is the reverse.
I think if the commenter opens with, “I don’t have time to prepare a full answer, but here are some notes,” then it ...
- 69.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Should we have "unbuilding" flags for comments?
If you see comments that are rude, please flag them as such. If you see something that's non-constructive but not outright rude, feel free to use either "no longer needed" or a custom flag.
If you ...
- 19.5k
7
votes
Accepted
What happened to my comment to the question about merfolks' handling of their dead?
First of all, answers shall be written as such. Answering in comments when the question is closed is bad form, and gives the bad message that a user can neglect asking well written question and an ...
L.DutchMod
- 276k
6
votes
Accepted
How to link to specific answer or comment?
There's usually a time next to the username... you can use that to get the link for a comment
For an answer, you can use the share link
- 7,884
6
votes
Don't argue with comments on down and close votes, please
I disagree but mostly because you assume we have no choice but to carry on getting involved once we start.
TLDR: If you give constructive feedback and the OP is getting belligerent then you don't ...
- 11k
6
votes
Why do people downvote but refrain from commenting the reason?
I only see one question on your account. In the case of that question they most likely also started a close vote, with the close vote reason being the same as for the downvote: Your question is not ...
- 77k
6
votes
Are comments saying "just use magic" problematic?
I think it's important to remember that these are comments, not answers. If someone was answering with "just use magic" that could be a problem. However, as comments they open a dialogue with the OP. ...
- 20k
6
votes
Why was my comment deleted?
Comments are for asking for clarification or suggesting improvements.
Comments are not for posting answers.
Comments are second-class (or even third-class) citizens on Stack Exchange, and can be ...
- 28.9k
6
votes
When and how to challenge the back story?
Sometimes I find a back story is too unrealistic*, that it becomes jaring, and means the answer to the core of the question would therefore also feel unrealistic.
So what I tend to do, is point out ...
- 1,721
6
votes
Are comments for suggested, but inadequate, answers?
No, suggestion of answer is not a valid comment.
If you hover the mouse over the "add a comment" you will see the following help text
Use comments to ask for clarification or add more ...
L.DutchMod
- 276k
5
votes
Don't argue with comments on down and close votes, please
Engaging in civil discourse is extremely important.
I'm going to have to strongly disagree with the "don't argue with close votes" part of your suggestion. It's a fantastic idea to explain ...
HDE 226868Mod
- 99.8k
5
votes
How to link to specific answer or comment?
Comments are meant to be ephemeral and may be removed later. So, don’t link to comments in posts. If the comment contains important information, it should be part of the post and this is a good ...
- 69.2k
5
votes
How to deal with comments which are borderline to trolling?
It's probably not trolling, it's more likely people picking up on specific details that are perhaps related to something they have an interest in or simply catch their attention.
There's trolling ...
- 116k
5
votes
When should an argument in comments be ended?
In my experience, it's best to let them fight until one of them is dead, and then snipe the winner since they're probably low on health at that point.
- 34.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible