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I have noticed on a thread where I have had some comments that the comments on the OP and another persons answer are gone. I didn't delete them so why would the be deleted?

One comment was about a term being -243 and another was about the use of Wolfram. Therefore, the comments didn't warrant deletion by a moderator so why would they be deleted?

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  • $\begingroup$ just in case, go back...yesterday the thing died briefly while i was composing a long answer, it took several screens before i could find one with my draft. Also, if I leave something and go back using the web return button, new stuff is not present until I refresh the page $\endgroup$
    – Will Jagy
    Nov 13, 2014 at 19:40
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    $\begingroup$ @WillJagy these comments were present since people responded to them and I back in response, but now they are gone and I didn't delete them. $\endgroup$
    – dustin
    Nov 13, 2014 at 20:23
  • $\begingroup$ There is not much that anyone can say without knowing where these comments were. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Nov 13, 2014 at 21:08
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    $\begingroup$ @robjohn they were here $\endgroup$
    – dustin
    Nov 13, 2014 at 21:13

2 Answers 2

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A comment that points out an error to a post that is subsequently acted upon (by, e.g., editing the post) is then obsolete and can be deleted because of that. In the case of your "$-243$" comment, it was flagged as being obsolete (since the question was appropriately edited) and I deleted it (along with a couple others that similarly served no further purpose).

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Your Comments are still there. It's just that when an Answer (or Question) gets a certain number of Comments, the system hides some of the unvoted Comments so that space is saved on the page. Look for a link below the visible Comments that says "3 more comments" or similar.

See also this link to one of the Comments you seem to reference.

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  • $\begingroup$ I know that system hides the comments. That don't appear on my end when I click that. I can take a screen shot of the expanded comment section to show you. It is strange you can see it and I cant. $\endgroup$
    – dustin
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:22
  • $\begingroup$ Well, I saw you had some hidden comments on the Answer you posted, and jumped to a conclusion. That's a different Answer's comment that seemed to match your description. So if you made some Comments on that other Answer, I don't see them. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:26
  • $\begingroup$ The only people who can delete them besides me are moderators, correct? My comments were normal comments so I can't see why they would delete them. If you go to Nick Hekster's post, you will see a @dustin response to me but when you expand the comments, at least I don't see what I initial said. $\endgroup$
    – dustin
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:30
  • $\begingroup$ That's correct, and if you made a Comment on that thread (Nicky Hekster's Answer), then it does seem to have been deleted. I see user1729 addressing a Comment to you there, but also engaging with you underneath your own Answer. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:34
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    $\begingroup$ All the comments on my own answer haven't changed. It is only a comment on Nick and the OP that are missing. $\endgroup$
    – dustin
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:38
  • $\begingroup$ @dustin also flags can delete comments. (I cannot know if that happened and did not flag any, but just as response to you asking or stating that only you and mods could have deleted them. ) $\endgroup$
    – quid Mod
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:46
  • $\begingroup$ @quid My comments were how did you get 243x since it is -243x (not verbatim) and about wolfram online. Even if they were flagged, they weren't inappropriate or anything of a nature to be deleted. So they shouldn't have been flagged to begin with. $\endgroup$
    – dustin
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:50
  • $\begingroup$ @dustin I offered some factual information about how the site works. I do not wish to speculate about your comments. $\endgroup$
    – quid Mod
    Nov 14, 2014 at 0:56
  • $\begingroup$ @quid: My understanding is that "flags" are flags for moderator attention in all cases. Theoretically there could be a "review queue" for flagged comments, but I've never seen such a thing. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Nov 14, 2014 at 1:53
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    $\begingroup$ @hardmath There is no queue (other than the moderator flag queue) but sufficiently many flags delete a comment automatically, without mod involvement. The required number of flags depends on the flag reason, comment score and content; full algorithm is not disclosed as far as I know. $\endgroup$
    – user147263
    Nov 14, 2014 at 1:56

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