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I understand that a comment should add (or ask for) information, therefore a "thank you"-only comment will waste people's time.
While it is not encouraged to give thanks only on Stack Exchange, I still think that it is my (at least) responsibility to thank for a help. Plus, that extra comment will tell the person who give me value information that I get their message, and it is truly helpful.

If I am them, I would like to have a feedback to know whether my help really helps. After all, if I feel wasting time to read one more comment, I wouldn't spend time helping at the first place (but this is highly opinion, I admit). I think other people will agree with me too.

My point is: Even a simple thank you comment transfers the bit that the helper's help actually helps. I say the helper in general, not explicit the answerer or commenter because:

  • Yes, simply accepting the answer will give them 25 reputation points as thank. But there may be more than an answer that actually helps you, and while you can't accept it, that answer do give you a new way to think about the problem. I wish I could give them 25 reputation points without the need of accepting.
  • Sometimes someone just drop me a keyword, so that I can google better. And in general, an upvote can not give the commenter reputation points, so how can I inform them that their information is helpful?

When reading the question Is it acceptable to write a thank you in a comment?, I think a thank you comment lays between give constructive criticism and add relevant minor information.

So, what do you think?

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  • the point is there is possible to have more than one answer in a question – Ooker Apr 29 '15 at 10:59
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    related: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/198669/… - I still act according to my answer there – Kate Gregory Apr 29 '15 at 11:30
  • @KateGregory but you don't always say "oh my gosh bla bla bla thank you", don't you? – Ooker Apr 29 '15 at 12:06
  • I would only say the big huge thankyou speech if it really was a big deal and I was excited. I certainly don't always say it and I don't think anybody should. – Kate Gregory Apr 29 '15 at 12:07
  • @KateGregory but since upvote a comment doesn't make any rep, how can you send the "thank you" message to the commenter who answer my question without make an extra comment, like the one below? – Ooker Apr 29 '15 at 12:12
  • ok that's a different question. And one that's been asked before. Search "answer in a comment". One reason not to answer in a comment is that it's hard for anyone to indicate that the answer helped. – Kate Gregory Apr 29 '15 at 12:17
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    @KateGregory find it out: What to do with questions that have been self-resolved as a comment instead of an answer? – Ooker Apr 29 '15 at 12:52
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    I don't understand your question. Your question seems to be "I know I shouldn't post a comment saying thank you, but I really want to; should I post a comment saying thank you?" The answer is of course "No" -- but it sounds like you already know that. So what's the question? – D.W. Apr 30 '15 at 6:12
  • @D.W. I have updated the question. PS: the new UI/UX really helps me to think how to improve it. – Ooker Apr 30 '15 at 8:30
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I comment with thank you as well but with more information. I add why I'm thanking them and in some cases what I did extra to make it work. Also maybe some additional notes to the answer or questions.

So just to sum it up:

You can say thank you, add why you're thanking them. Dont just say thank you. Give useful information in the comment.

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As is said in the first answer to this meta question, if you add something to your thank you, for example what you found especially helpful, then that should be ok. (Isn't it a bit like in real life, when it's way more appreciated to know what you are being thanked for?)

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  • My point is, even a simply "thank you" one, the comment still has useful information: a respond to the helper that their help actually helps – Ooker Apr 29 '15 at 9:02
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    @Ooker If you comment just to say thank you, you can at least add why you're thanking them. – Loko Apr 29 '15 at 9:11
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    @Loko this is what I'm looking for. Erm, thank you. – Ooker Apr 29 '15 at 11:01
  • @Loko, I think you should make your comment a completely answer, as discussed above – Ooker Apr 29 '15 at 12:53

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