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As discussed in Should we be allowed to edit comments, one simple solution is the digg.com comments way. I don't like digg.com nor use it but their method is quite an intelligent way of allowing you to edit typos.

Basically when you post a comment, you are given 30 seconds (or it might be 1 minute) to change that comment. After that the comment is locked and cached, and you can only delete it.

It sounds annoying to code, but could be a good compromise between the current system and plain out deleting?

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3 Answers 3

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You can now edit your own comments after you post them, within a 5 minute window.

How do you know a comment has been edited? A little pencil icon will appear next to it. The mouseover title tooltip explains what this pencil icon means, and also provides a count of how many times the comment was edited in that 5 minute window.

Moderators can edit any comments at any time. This action is logged and visible in that moderator's user history to other moderators.

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    I wish I had something useful to say so I can try out this comment-edit thing. Opps. [Post Edit] - Very cool.
    – Robert Cartaino
    Dec 27, 2009 at 15:57
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You also have to remember that the character limit on a site like Digg's comments are FAR MORE than on StackOverflow, which would make the chances of long-winded comments that need to be accurately written more important. SO's comment system is not supposed to be so heavily relied upon and full featured.

Your suggestion of a short time limit to fix comments I could agree with just because it wouldn't bother me, but overall I think it would be best if we try and stay away from making the comments as "heavy" as comments on Digg or other sites because it will probably end up starting to distract a lot more from the question and answers themselves.

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    Upvote. Comments are not supposed to be answers here.
    – SDsolar
    Jan 2, 2017 at 17:19
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Given the way things sometimes move here, you could have 2-3 comments to your own comment in that time. It would make things rather awkward.

Just looking at your comment before hitting the Add Comment button can go a long way in solving problems. And you can always delete and repost the comment. It seems almost the same thing.

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    Upvote. When I get negative comments in response to mine I sometimes have fun just deleting mine so the negativity does not stick to me. Even if they reference my name, at least it minimizes my involvement in quarrels. I have no interest in all that.
    – SDsolar
    Jan 2, 2017 at 17:21

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