This question featured a quite heated discussion in the comments which led to some of them being removed. This action was discussed here and I have realized that our community lacks a guide about posting comments.

I would like for us to build together a list of topics we can include and avoid respectively, in the comments. These lists should stem from our Code of Conduct.

Can include

• requesting clarifications for the author. Examples: "what was the output of line X?", "can you include the stack trace?", "can you provide a reference for the second paragraph?"
• constructive criticism. Example: "why is foo() called twice?"
• +1 or thank you notes, if they also provide a little bit of information. Example: +1. This also worked with version X of the framework Y.

Should be avoided

• +1 or -1 with no explanation
• snarky comments. Example: "Codidact is not your personal assistant"
• references to overall author activity in the community. If you feel a user's activity is an issue, please use flagging instead of comments.
• providing full answers in the comments (they should be added as answers)
• secondary discussions or debates on controversial points (please ask a question on meta).

SO loosely used as a reference

Please provide your suggestions about what is OK and not OK to include in the comments.

Once we have reached a fairly stable answer for this, I will include it in the help topics and use it as a reference for moderation.

posted almost 3 years ago

CC BY-SA 4.0

3y ago

Alexei‭

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