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I had a comment pointing out a problem with this answer, which has not been addressed in any way - yet it was deleted.

I can't remember the exact phrasing but it essentially said the same thing as this comment, which was subsequently posted by another user:

You may also have caught someone who's said the exact same phrase ("Please head to our website...", "Make sure to set up a checkup in the next six months to a year") so often that it's become routine, down to the last inflection. – Nic Hartley

Also I did point out a possible problem to the Author of this question, and wanted to know if he was interested in an sightly frame-challenging Answer. Which was deleted in a very short time so I'm not sure the author saw that.

Why where those comments deleted, before they could serve their purpose of improving the respective posts?

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Well, those two comments you have mentioned were not suggesting improvements. That text under the post reads as "suggest improvements".

Your deleted comment in the first example,

enter image description here

It is basically what answers was saying already. There was nothing I can see that suggesting improvements here. Your comment was flagged and then deleted.

Your deleted comment in the second example,

enter image description here

It appears as an answer, though you mentioned you'd like to answer. So, your comment was flagged and removed.

Please remember that the comments on SE have a short life. They only exist for suggesting improvements or asking for clarifications, not for discussion and answer. And once the clarification is provided or the post is improved, they're obsolete and no longer needed. Therefore, they will be removed.

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    How is pointing out that a human does exactly the thing that the Author suggested for detecting a robot not point out a problem with the post? Should I write a ... and because of this, your answer is wrong! next to it, to ensure agitating the author?
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:32
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    @Daniel, take a look at this meta, it offers a great guidance on how to actually phrase your comments as a request for clarification or suggestion for improvement. In the case of your first comments, right now it's unclear whether you're saying 'your answer is wrong' > which is the kind of comment we don't allow, or whether you're actually asking the OP 'I know there's people that do this too, how do you account for that? Could you elaborate your answer?'
    – Tinkeringbell Mod
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:35
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    Just realized: It is basically what answers was saying already *No, exactly the opposite The answer was saying humans don´t do this so you can detect a robot that way. I worked for a call center for 5 years and i know for a fact this answer is wrong!
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:36
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    @Daniel Pointing out a problem isn't, suggesting an improvement, nor is it requesting clarification. This question explains what you can do if you disagree with an answer.
    – sphennings
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:36
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    @Daniel If the repeated statement is exactly the same (volume, word choice, inflection, etc.) as the first statement, you may have caught the AI. <= This is what the answer says. Please note the words in the small brackets. If frustrated agent repeats the same thing, they will raise the voice. So, you now know if it's AI or a real person.
    – A J Mod
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:37
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    @Tinkeringbell: I know there's people that do this too, how do you account for that?
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:37
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    @A J: No, actually. A frustrated agent does exactly the opposite. He sticks exactly to the script to not produce a fireable offence but neglects any modulation. Call center agents seldom raise their voice because the are usually warned not to do so.
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:41
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    @Daniel, if you know the answer is wrong because you have experience showing otherwise, by all accounts feel free to write your own answer, it was already discussed at length here. As mentioned in this answer, you might then provide your relevant experience and a link to that answer to say 'don't do this, but you can do this'. If you have no alternative to offer though, downvote the wrong answer and leave it at that.
    – Tinkeringbell Mod
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:44
  • @A J: For one thing I implemented a voice-recording and quality-assurance system so for a call center so I thin I know what i´m talking about. Also I find it very odd that you moderate comments on one hand and get in on the argument with your own opinion. So you deleted my comment because you did not agree?
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:44
  • @Tinkeringbell: How can I write an answer to an answer? I don´t know the answer to the original question as I know to little about AI.
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:46
  • @Daniel No. I didn't delete it. Your comment was flagged and then another moderator delete it.
    – A J Mod
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:49
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    @Daniel: Downvote, leave a comment that asks for clarification, and leave it at that. Also, if you have to ask why someone is saying something, you might want to consider mentioning to them that the best answers on this site are backed up with experience/sources (and if they don't, it might be appropriate to flag such answers as VLQ (make sure to leave that comment asking for clarification)).
    – Tinkeringbell Mod
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:59
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    @Tinkeringbell: I made the experience these kind of comments as you suggest tend to not work very well in reaching the goal. Taking a more conversational tone works well on other SE´s (in my experience). It seems this stack is set on producing low quality answers and frustrated users, though.
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 13:10
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Comments are not for arguing against an answer, they are for improving an answer.

If you have a differing opinion, the appropriate thing to do is to provide an answer of your own.

Always assume that any comment you leave will eventually get deleted. They are not made to be permanent.

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    1. Your Answer does not even apply to my question. As explained I did not have an answer on my own but had additional information. 2. I always assume a comment will get eventually deleted, but comments that are delete the almost instantly just waste a lot of peoples time for nothing and this is frankly quite disrespectful to the contributor - as such it should be reserved for offensive or at least for off-topic ones.
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 14:14
  • Also, if it´s true what you say, why was that comment not deleted? Because it happened the mods agreed with its content?
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 14:44
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    @Daniel mods are not the only ones who can delete comments. if enough community members flag your comment, it can be gone in seconds. If you're concerned about respect, you should carefully consider your comments to this answer.
    – user4548
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 14:51
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    ... you should carefully consider your comments to this answer. can you elaborate on that? I have literally no idea what you want to tell me here.
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 14:54
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    @Daniel We're not machines and we're not perfect. We do the best we can. Pointing at another comment that wasn't deleted and saying "but why not that one"... is more likely to get a "thanks for pointing it out, we'll delete it" than a "oh, we should reinstate your comment". We only see what we see in the course of using the site or what's flagged.
    – Catija Mod
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 15:49
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    @Catija: Highly unlikely in that case, given that you yourself did engage in those comments. Given the statement here your own comment would also have to be deleted.
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 22:00
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    @Daniel The comment you link here seems reasonably constructive, since you are clearly asking for a specific improvement. I'm not a mod but it seems reasonable to allow such comments to remain until OP addresses them, which I don't think he did. In contrast, the ones AJ posted screenshots of have no explicit question and read like they are just commentary.
    – Em C
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 0:29
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    @Em C: Now I´m even more confused, Catija said it was an oversight and now you say it is ok? Also the second commend I linked does not ask any question!
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 6:56
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    @Daniel I was referring to the comment you made which ended in "Could you improve your answer to show that?" Sorry for the confusion; listen to Catija over me ;) I'll just reiterate: mods are humans, if you see unnecessary comments, flag them so they see.
    – Em C
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 16:00
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In general, comments need to include a clear "action item" to make your suggested improvement or request for clarification clear to both the OP and mods. That means if you have a criticism for a post, you should state explicitly how the OP could address the criticism. This needs to be the kind of change the OP could reasonably be expected to make (i.e. not "you need to erase your whole answer and start over"). If you have a question, you should state it as such, usually indicated by a question mark.

In the two examples you've given (as quoted in @AJ's answer), I think if you had said something more like

You might want to address the possibility that some frustrated call-center agents will repeat pre-made sentences exactly ... have you tried turning it off and on again? (This is something I've experienced with real human beings.)

or

It seems to me your premise is hard to reach (you want to eat the cake, and have it too, so to say). Are you open to answers that address different outcomes?

it would have been easier to recognize the intent of your comments. This would have made it easier for the person addressed to respond appropriately, and would have made it easier for mods to see that you were, in fact, suggesting an improvement and requesting clarification, respectively, rather than just making a comment for its own sake.

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  • You may want to notice that my comment was not the only one deleted, it was an addendum to a comment stating that well-programmed AI´s are in fact able to vary in their repeated answers. I find annoying repetitions of the same obvious "you may want to address ..." preface to a comment counterproductive. Not only does it not contribute to the message, it unnecessarily makes comments longer and harder to read as well as potentially agitate the poster.
    – user6109
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 22:32
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    @Daniel I'm not anything like a mod, so I can't see deleted comments. I understand your reluctance to have twenty comments that all start "you should address", but the way the quoted comment was written it really isn't clear that there is a suggestion buried in the criticism. The fact that there were, apparently, a bunch of other similar comments makes it more important that you very clearly state your suggested improvement, so that it will easily stand out as meeting the criteria for "allowed" comments. That probably matters more here than on sites with fewer comments.
    – 1006a
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 15:14

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