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I have commented on an user's answer to my question here & I wish to modify it

but the edit button is missing/doesn't exist

edit button is missing

Why is my comment locked from editing & how can I modify it now or in the future?

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Comments are only available to be modified in the next 5 minutes after you send them, once this time passes, they are permanent and cannot be modified.

You can, however:

  • Either simply add another one after the one you cannot modify.
  • Delete your comment from yesterday and send a new one if you need it (you can even reference the deleted one pointing what has changed from yesterday to today so the users that read your comment from yesterday know what changed).
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  • deleted the comment from yesterday & added a new one, but how do I reference the older comment after deletion? since it is deleted/no longer available
    – xypha
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 14:56
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    I meant copying the content into a new one and then appending something like EDIT: plus the news. So it's a "manual" reference.
    – nKn
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 15:06
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    @xypha - You can't. Comments are not designed to be around forever. They can and often are deleted. Some advice. A question asked in Oct 2015 shouldn't really reference a version of Firefox released in Jan 2016.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 15:30
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    @Ramhound: You say, “A question asked in Oct 2015 shouldn’t really reference a version of Firefox released in Jan 2016.”  Why not?  The question doesn’t specify a Firefox version.  Remember that our goal is not just to answer the OP’s question for his immediate use, and then leave it to rot in the cellar (that’s how forums work); our goal is to build a knowledgebase that can be used as a reference for eternity.  If somebody came along today and asked the exact same question, it would be closed as a duplicate — so why shouldn’t the October 2015 question have answers that weren’t available then?
    – Scott - Слава Україні
    Commented Feb 14, 2016 at 18:34
  • Because software changes. That's like why don't we answer Questions which are clearly but not specifically about Windows 7 with solutions that only work on Windows 10. How you do something in Firefox 44 is different then the versions asked in the referenced question.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Feb 14, 2016 at 20:33

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