I see there's been something implemented so that if comments continue on for more than something like 7 or 8 comments stackexchange asks you if you want to switch to chat.

Is it not common for people to have to troubleshoot and talk about what might be the problem someone is facing? It's exactly what someone would do if they were asking about something they don't know about.

I guess I don't have a question so much as I'm looking for a response to this. Why is back and forth questioning in comments discouraged or is it not? I'm not sure.

  • There is no real "ask" here, it is just an auto-generated comment. You can readily ignore it and keep posting comments. Extended discussions in the comments have a knack for getting out of hand badly, doesn't make anybody happy and just generates busy-work for SE's inbox and the moderators. Comments are pretty important to get good Q+A but if there are more than 3 back-and-forths then the odds that it ever gets there start to get pretty low. If it does pan out then use a custom moderator flag and ask for all comments to be removed. – Hans Passant Jun 16 '16 at 12:13
  • 2
    Three times in the last two days, I have clicked this by accident and transferred the entire conversation to chat when I didn't want to. Frustrating, that. I just deleted the comment and pretended it never happened. – Cody Gray Jun 16 '16 at 12:46
  • Comments are something that can be removed at any time anyway. If something is really important to the question (additional clarification, restrictions, error messages, etc.), it should be edited into the question, assuming that it doesn't fundamentally change the question after it's gotten answers. – BSMP Jun 16 '16 at 14:31


It shouldn't be that common. SO is not a support forum; we're a Q&A site with the mission of creating content that helps not only the person asking, but any future visitors with the same question as well.

Extended comment threads subvert that goal, and are a strong indicator your question may not be that relevant to future generations.

Of course, that doesn't mean that back-and-forth and individual support don't happen occasionally. They do, and that's ok. We're not robots and sometimes you help a person with a problem you know isn't going to be relevant to anyone else.

But it's not something that the system encourages - nor should it.

  • Furthermore this may lead to have more relevants information hidden in a long flow of comments than in the original question/answer which is not desirable for others users that end up on the post latter on, directed by google, SO search or duplicate mark. – Walfrat Jun 17 '16 at 8:38

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