NO QUESTION - Answers vs Comments in Q&A forum
I would like to understand use of "answer" and "comments". The FAQ states small remarks can be left using comments but I can see many answer as 1st comment from users with high karma like here ...this confusing me a bit.
I suggest to promote users to provide the answer using "Answer" instead of "Comment". Why not ? Is there some rules about ?
I think that using comments for the answer leaves the question without a visible solution and it encourages large discussions.
This just my opinion, delete if this is not the right place.
EDIT:
Maybe my question should be posted as suggestion for Q&A improvement here. Anyway I've opened this discussion because of my starting point is about how to use this Question & Answer.
I suppose that
- If a question has received an answer this should be visible in the question list irrespective of answer complexity
- In case of the answer is not well formed/completed, additional clarification can be requested using comments before posting it
- In case of the answer needs some modifications due to extra clarification, it can be edited
- If an answer it works it would be accepted by the questioner or by the author. This ensures that the question doesn't stay open (FAQ)
Thank you
touché . true.
(quite often it takes a few counter-questions/proposals)
@berak really sorry for citing you but it was the best sample from a long list by many users with very high karma... this is why I'm confused... however It's right place to thank you for your great work here !
don't feel sorry, you're only starting a discussion, which is great.
from my point of understanding, many users including me are using comments to provide a solution if this one is quite simple, fast and small in lines to be written or explained. On the other hand, if an answer is more complex and demands a thorough explanation, code, whatever then you see users using the answer service instead. To be honest, I think that the whole structure of the forum need quite to change because in the form it is now it is ok to address a small amount of users and specific type of questions, I guess that was the intention in the beginning. However, I think that this forum quite grew up since then, and some changes would be quite nice.
@theodore: good point. Maybe another apsect: I also see often posts at stack overflow and posted here, I think it would be nice to have only one single place, maybe these areas could be joined somehow (currently I doubt that this is be possible, since it's not so easy separable like tex.stackexchange and stackoverflow)..
so somehow we should get organized and in collaboration with the forum owners, moderators and users try to propose changes that we would like to see and try to implement them if that is possible.
I think that this Q&A is working quite well, some improvements would be useful (ocv doc, wiki answer, keywords,...) many of this would requires additional effort to moderators, may be they don't have time. In the mean time I would like to do what I can.
@StevenPuttemans At the end, it's feasible to define a general guidelines on how/when to use comments vs answers in the FAQ ?
Yes there should be. I did not yet hear back from the main programmer behind the website, but will contact some of you later this month for discussing more details. Will keep you posted!