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I must be stupid or this site has a weird interface. How do I reply to someone's question so that it shows as a threaded discussion item instead of a regular answer? I don't see any button or link to do it.

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    There are no threaded discussion items here, by design.
    – Reed Copsey
    Commented Oct 13, 2012 at 0:02
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    If you mean comments - you can't until you have 50 reputation (on anything but your own questions and answers)
    – Reed Copsey
    Commented Oct 13, 2012 at 0:02

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The Stack Exchange user interface is completely different than that of a traditional forum for a very specific reason: These are not traditional forums. Instead, Stack Overflow and the network of Stack Exchange sites are Q&A, or Questions and Answers sites.

The problem with many forums is that discussions tend to create a lot of noise and bury actual answers to problems. Just think about the last time you read through 4 pages of discussion only to find out that no one's suggestions solve your problem or that the link included on page 3 is now broken.

On Stack Exchange sites, the answers that are most helpful or that solve a problem are voted to the top. This helps a visitor quickly determine if there is a solution on that page and either benefit from that answer or quickly move on.

Furthermore, comments are known in the Stack Exchange community as second-class citizens. Although not always the case, their existence is intended to be temporary. Comments are intended to seek clarification on a question or help a user improve an answer. They are not intended to hold extended discussions or debate.

If a question is missing lots of detail, then it may need to be edited and improved, or flagged for moderator attention and either closed or removed.

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Commenting is available at 50 reputation. You're pretty close :). See here.

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I think you need a certain reputation score before you can comment on other people's post. You can always comment on your own. I think the score is 50 (and you're at 46, so you're close)

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you can leave a comment using the "add comment" link...

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