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In this question, in the accepted answer, I posted a comment which was a story about a time when I was in a bathroom stall and the guy next to me farted really loudly. The story goes on to explain that immediately after the fart, the automatic flush went off and I assumed it was some messy poops my neighbor was doing and started laughing.

It got deleted. It had 6 upvotes the last time I saw it, so I am assuming people found it amusing. But obviously, someone found it not appropriate and flagged it/deleted it.

I am not trying to "fight" the admin's decision, I am just curious as to what the guidelines are on posting comments on answers. Here is where my confusion is coming from:

  1. It was a simple commentary-like discussion on the exact topic the answer covered.
  2. It was not profane in any manner (unless of course poop, pee, and fart is considered profanity on here).
  3. It was not unnecessary. I thought it was a good example to describe how an outward acknowledgment of the loud fart could ease things for the guy next stall.
  4. People found it amusing. No one fought me over it or commented on my comment or mentioned how that comment offended them.

So, what could have caused the comment on this answer to be deleted?

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  • My two cents as a total "stranger" here: this site is doing its best to stay "professional" as much as possible and not allow questions that are, well, just for fun. With all due respect to that question you linked to, the subject of farting in toilets can't really be serious or professional, so agree with the site mods/community decision to remove the question itself. So the tip in general is to not answer or comment on those things, as they're likely to be deleted at some point. – Shadow Wizard is Vaccinating Jul 4 '18 at 8:48
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It's funny is exactly why it's removed at such a young age. Or it might invite more such funny anecdotes.

Although SE as a whole does leave some funny comments alone for a bit longer, the situation is different on IPS... Almost every question would invite such anecdotes in the comments. We do not want that. :)

That said, you are very welcome to share any fun anecdotes in our chat. Join the awkward silence.

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  • Huh, I didn't know that was a traditional practice in SE. That answers my question, thanks. – Crazy Cucumber Jan 10 '18 at 14:13
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    Oh for the love of Pete... every site thinks they're special when it comes to comments and answers. They really aren't. There's two special sites I can think of: puzzling and code golf, because most of their "questions" aren't questions (i.e. people with problems to solve.) This site is no different than any other in its need for properly curated comments, questions, and answers. The same criteria apply (good subjective, bad subjective being the hallmark) and moderators are just as vigilant about removing comments on other sites as they are here. – corsiKa Jan 10 '18 at 23:23
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    @corsiKa Psst.. don't spill the secret. – NVZ Jan 11 '18 at 2:40
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I guess that someone flagged it as being "chatty/obsolete" and the comment was removed by a moderator during the flag reviews.

Technically speaking, comments should only be there to ask for clarification or to offer supporting advice/information. The remaining comments there are concerned with the practice of apologising for making a noise (or not, as the case may be) and can be viewed as supporting/discussing the answer.

Your comment seemed to just be an anecdotal story that neither added to or detracted from the content of the answer.

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  • Ah, gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up. The whole topic was just funny to me and I thought a funny story would be a good addition to the topic, but not the place I guess. – Crazy Cucumber Jan 10 '18 at 14:05

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