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While reviewing, I feel like I come across some great comments that users leave as answers due to there lack of privilege.

Is it better to:

  • Flag it as "not an answer"

  • Mark it for moderator review, and suggest it be converted to a comment for either the question or an existing answer. (I don't know if moderators take time to do such a thing?)

  • Or something else

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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If you can identify which post (question or another answer) the "answer" should be made a comment on, then it's best if you raise a custom flag, saying:

this should be a comment on https://superuser.com/a/819760

Of course, replace the link with the actual link to the specific target answer. Or, if it should be a comment on the question:

this should be a comment on the question

This will make it very easy for us to handle it. In general, when flagging, tell us what you want us to do, rather than just flagging as "not an answer" (which would require us to check the contents, find the target post, etc.)

Feel free to add a reason why you think it should be made a comment rather than just deleted.

And, don't forget to add a comment yourself, saying something like this:

This is really a comment, not an answer. With a bit more rep, you will be able to post comments. I'm flagging this post for conversion to a comment.

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I see you have already accepted an answer, but the simple barrier to being able to comment is a reputation of 50, which is not that hard to get. Just answer a question or two correctly, post a question that is well fought out & respected or just edit a lot. The reality is anyone who is really unwilling to spend the basic effort to get a 50 point rep might not be worth bothering with.

Yes, this system runs the risk that some magically brilliant comment will be left as an answer by someone who does not have the time—or motivation—to do some work to build a reputation, but in my experience on the Stack Exchange sites that is a rare occurrence.

I would recommend to just flag any “answer”—that should really be a comment—as being not an answer & leave it at that.

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