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An empty question/answer leaves much space for comments. Like this:

A: Do you mean x?

OP: @A Yeah, let me fix that.

OP: @A just fixed the question.

A: @OP Yeah, cool.

OP: @A Thanks for letting me know.

A: @OP No problem. Keep up the good work!

OP: @A will do!

Once the question is edited, let's try to remember to delete comments (and keep them to a minimum in the first place). If people come and have to click [12 more comments] just to find long conversations of the above sort, it costs everybody time and it just crowds the site.

For friendly chats, there's always our chatroom. (Leaving a message in the chatroom with @username also pings the user with that name.)

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  • That's a valid concern, but things will certainly improve after the private beta, when the site will have moderators
    – Gabe
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 15:04
  • 2
    @Gabe I don't think it hurts to keep conversational comments to a minimum, even with moderators. Cleaning up obsolete comments is a big task. On Japanese.SE, I flagged some 500 obsolete comments (of course I checked with the moderators, whether that was ok). I think it's just that much easier when everyone remembers to clean up their own comments and it'll keep the site cleaner and more accessible. (Try asking for clarification on a post that already has 26 comments.)
    – Earthliŋ
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 15:26
  • 1
    I absolutely agree. Obsolete comments aren't benefitial at all, and everyone should remember to delete them. But that won't always happen, and at leat with moderators you have more people with the power to clean them.
    – Gabe
    Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 15:29
  • Why this policy when the site is just starting? An extended comment thread indicates the question is alive and there are 2 or more people interested. Regular Stack users know that's just a matter of flagging and asking for a clean-up, and they know hinting new users about the site rules is important. I think worse than a polluted comment thread is the flagging system not being effective -and I don't know if it is effective or not here on PTse.
    – brasofilo
    Commented Jul 25, 2015 at 11:46
  • Yes, when the site has moderators. But what is an obsolete comment anyway?
    – Lambie
    Commented Apr 28, 2016 at 18:53
  • 1
    @Lambie An obsolete comment could be a comment that doesn't make sense any longer, because it was a reply to a comment that was deleted. Or a series of comments that were suggesting a change that has been already incorporated into the answer. Or a comment that referenced happenings which were recent at the time of posting, but are old and have been forgotten since.
    – Earthliŋ
    Commented Apr 28, 2016 at 19:28

1 Answer 1

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It never hurts to remember that comments should be made to help in the perception of questions/answers, and not to hold a conversation.

If you erase the comment later, then it is not harmful.
But if you leave them there then we have a mess, and people lose the will to participate because there will be a private conversation.

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