You should know that to most people, comments are just noise.
Out of the whole page; people tend to read the gist of the question and answers, often they don't even read every sentence (unless you were to answer the question) simply because we're overload with information nowadays. People come to learn how to solve the problem, not read all the side story or useless yet relevant content.
In other words, the least they care about is the comments.
So, who actually does care about the comments?
Only the writer of the post cares about the comment.
So, to come back on your topic; if an answer doesn't constitute as a way to learn how to solve the problem, it just doesn't fit well as an answer. Note the focus on the word "learn", which means that an answer should not only be about giving the actual solution but also about learning how the solution was obtained.
These ain't just my idea, but is actually by the founder of the Stack Exchange network; Jeff Atwood:
If I had to summarize our network in a single word, that word is “learning”. People come to our sites to learn about topics they are passionate about. As the old Chinese proverb goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Every question and answer ultimately should be about teaching and learning — ...
Hence, sloppy answers are not encouraged here. They might fit well as a FGITW where you feel like you want to be first first and then improve your answer, but they should in no way be the final version of the answer. And even then, it's probably not a good idea to post a one-liner first. Being the first isn't about being the fastest, it's about being the most efficient. We don't want those fast people to post one-liners, and hence that automatic conversion system is in place.
Let's put this to the test, I'll put up a simple question:
Question: A virus has removed vital network services related registry keys, I removed the virus but I still can't internet. What can I do to get back on the internet?
Oh, that's simple...
Sloppy answer: Put back a restore point.
It's extremely short and feels more like a comment for the author than a well written answer aimed at a wide audience. People usually search a lot; so, the least that helps is an answer that requires them to do even more searching, it drives them away.
Let's suppose it were an actual answer, someone could ask:
Comment from question asker on the sloppy answer: How do I do that?
And then the answerer ends up explaining that in the comments, while it should have been in the answer in the first place. A lot of time is wasted (and interruptions are introduced) by hiding information / details / background from the answer. Most of them are trivial to provide and help a lot of people from having to research basic things, either by even more Googling or asking it through comments. This time waste and noise could have been prevented:
Proper answer: You can put back an earlier restore point, which normally still contains the registry keys of the network services as well as their configuration. Be sure to put back a restore point from before the virus took action, such that you don't accidentally put back the virus!
- Open up the Start Menu and right-click on “Computer”, and then select “Properties”.
- Click on the “System Protection” link at the left side.
- Select the “System Protection” tab to get to the System Restore section.
- Click the “System Restore” button, select a point and follow the instructions.
This will reboot your system and after that networking should work again.
Quite a difference, not really that much harder to type, don't you think so?
The same for my meta answer, what if I only had typed half of a paragraph?
