Lesser of evils on ELL: comment vs. LQ answer

Question

There is endless Q&A here and on SE Meta on comments vs. answers. Some things are clearly comments (e.g., requests for clarification, critique of a post). We have guidance on what constitutes a good answer vs. a low quality answer. There is a lot of discussion on the desirability of answers being in answer posts. We have mechanisms for handling "answers" posted as comments. There is discussion on whether a VLQ answer is still an answer (that goes to issues surrounding something originally posted as an answer).

However, the standard SE help topic has a big gray area. There is no "thou shalt not post answer information in a comment". Going back almost to the dawn of SE, comments have routinely been used for situations such as:

• posting a helpful hint that the author didn't feel met the requirements of an answer or as direction and encouragement for the OP to pursue their own answer
• posting speculative information or information the author isn't sure about, often as a placeholder until they have time to research it
• posting a piece of a complex or multi-part answer when the entire answer will take time and the piece, alone, doesn't really answer the question
• posting the kernel of an answer with the expectation of potentially expanding it later into an answer or providing fodder for someone else to develop into an answer
• a choice at the time between posting nothing or something potentially helpful because the author was not yet in a position to post what they consider an answer
• trying to be helpful on a question that should be closed, without encouraging more off-topic questions or risking making it difficult to delete the question if an answer gets upvoted
• the question is extremely basic, likely has been asked before, and can be answered briefly and with less time and effort than searching out duplicates

On some SE sites, like Super User, high quality answers are a very high priority. Posters are actively advised to post as a comment in some of these situations rather than as a low quality answer. A useful comment can be expanded into a good answer, but a VLQ answer ruins it. What might have had potential tends to be lost once an answer gets heavily downvoted. Going in the other direction, there are plenty of established ways for people to deal with comments that they think should not be comments, including:

• encouraging the author to repost a worthy comment as an answer
• expanding on the comment themselves in an answer
• flagging a comment for deletion or movement to chat

I've posted some comments on ELL based on reasons such as listed above. On several, someone posted a suggestion to turn it into an answer and on several, another user ran with it and expanded it into an answer (both being standard solutions for answer information posted in a comment).

However, a number of ELL users view comments in the "thou shalt not" category. I've received feedback that comments are only to be used for critiques or seeking clarification, and that a VLQ answer is preferable to answer information in a comment. I'm wondering whether the culture may be different on ELL than my experience on some other SE sites.

I post answers when I think what I have to post qualifies as an answer. People's standards vary in terms of what they find acceptable. I won't knowingly post a VLQ answer. In situations such as listed above, my choice is to leave something that I think is helpful in a comment or leave nothing at all.

So my question: on ELL, given a situation such as this, what is the preference?

• post nothing at all
• post a comment
• post what would have gone in a comment in an answer that would be VLQ

Answer 1

If someone understands the SE guidelines and why they're a good idea, the answer to "what is the preference?" is (in my opinion) to simply act in good faith and do what you think is best for the site in the given the situation. You (the reader, not you fixer1234) know the advantages and drawbacks, so use your judgement.

There is always going to be disagreement about this and the "never post information in a comment" or "comment-answers are never a problem" positions are rarely the correct answer. It's fine to respectfully remind each other to write full answers instead of comments, but we should not feel like we need to enforce some rule. Always take a long hard look at how much harm is actually being done, and what you could do yourself to fix it before admonishing another community member.

If you need to post more than one comment to answer the question, there's your sign that it's time to think about whether the question needs a real, considered and proof-read answer with examples, illustrations, citations, etc. In addition to the standard advice to encourage someone to write an answer, turn the comment into an answer, or flagging it, you could offer a bounty. That worked out pretty well for the In which cases do we use "collect" and in which "gather"? question. The ideal is to get at least a couple of positively scored answers to every question on the site.

As an aside, I do have to say that it is not good for the site to post a comment-answer because the question is simple and searching out a duplicate is time consuming. Duplicates need to be linked together, not answered over and over. If it takes someone who knows the answer a lot of time to find the duplicate question, imagine how difficult it would be if you didn't know the answer!

Answer 2

Comments have a purpose, to comment on questions.

• Not to answer them.
• Not for a quick answer because you don't have time.
• Not for a half answer because you can't be bothered to do the research.

If the response to a comment from the OP could be "Thanks" then you're commenting wrong.

Answers in comments are a problem. Let's consider a few sub-cases.

1. The question requires a very simple answer

Many questions on ELL can be answered in a short form. Even if the answer could fit in a comment, don't do it. People don't like to appear to steal a comment answer so if your answer is correct, you discourage people from writing their own answers. If your answer is wrong then we can't downvote it.

If the question requires a very short answer, write a very short answer in the answer box. If it is correct and complete, it should be upvoted.

2. The question needs a longer answer.

If a good answer doesn't fit in the comment box, then don't write an answer there. Either write a proper answer in the answer box, or move onto the next question. Don't write bad answers in the comment area where they can't be voted on. If you have to write a short answer to a complex question, please write it in the answer area, and accept downvotes if your answer is incomplete.

3. The question is in some way unclear.

It is absolutely right to ask for clarification in the comments. You might include some information to help the OP understand why their question is unclear. For example, the OP might have asked if a sentence is correct grammar, but you think that they are actually asking about good style. You might comment that the sentence is grammatically correct, and ask whether the OP wants to know if it is appropriate for formal writing.

In all cases the comment should either be a question or a suggestion.

If a comment answer has been written, then do take the time to ask for the commenter to convert their comment to an answer, If an upvoted answer also exists then flag for clean-up.