17
$\begingroup$

Typos happen often. On old posts there's a lot of clutter in the first comments that simply point out typos in the question or answer. I assume it's fine to flag these for deletion?

This seems fine since one of the provided reasons for flagging is that this comment is no longer needed. My only concern is that this a very minor thing to throw on the queue of stuff to review of those who review such stuff. (Do only diamond-mods look at flagged comments?)

Also, is it alright to flag comments that asked for details/clarification that were eventually added to a post, since those are no longer necessary?

$\endgroup$
1
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I'm not sure of the volume of such deletions, but they do occur (for obsolete Comments). Perhaps the Moderators can speak to how much attention is consumed by these flags. When I've commented and pointed out corrections, I typically delete them once the edits are made. Occasionally the "typo" aspect is entangled with a substantive observation and deletion would make responses less intelligible. I don't have a philosophy about what timing is appropriate for flagging the Comments of others, but I'm confident in your judgement. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented Jun 30, 2018 at 2:48

1 Answer 1

20
$\begingroup$

The typo-comments you mentioned fall precisely under "no longer relevant." Please do flag them.

It is also appropriate to flag comments that had asked for clarification that was later provided.

Comment flags are only reviewed by moderators. Don't worry about the volume. This type of flag is pretty easy to handle. If there are several such comments in a thread, please flag each of them. (Except if there is a large number, say more than three, of them, in which case you might consider a custom flag saying that there are many obsolete comments.)

$\endgroup$
6
  • 38
    $\begingroup$ "[I]f there is a large number, say more than three", and that ladies and gentlemen is how you know that you find yourself on a mathematics website. :-) $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Jun 30, 2018 at 9:18
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I will add a link to a previous discussion concerning the issue whether to flag only one comment or all of them: Preferred course of action for flagging of multiple obsolete comments. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 30, 2018 at 9:51
  • $\begingroup$ @Asaf's comment put me in mind of George Gamow's classic book, One Two Three ... Infinity. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented Jun 30, 2018 at 18:02
  • $\begingroup$ @hardmath: That is a source for many awful questions. It's depressing. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Jun 30, 2018 at 18:17
  • $\begingroup$ @AsafKaragila Mmm, in accordance to the big-numbers tag wiki, I will suggesting changing "three" to "a googol". $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 3, 2018 at 13:23
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ A googol? That's a measly "big" number; TREE(3), maybe. And if TREE(3) is "big" or course TREE(2) is at least "large." :-) $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Jul 3, 2018 at 19:40

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .