# Delete comment?



## boadicea7

Is it possible to delete a comment and how?


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## ewie

It's possible to delete one of your own posts, Bo, but only within 24 hours of posting it

Click the Edit button, then the delete button, then 'Delete Message'.  You don't _have to_ give a reason.


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## Already-Seen

I'd like to add that the only comment that you cannot delete (and that is your own comment, of course) is the first post of a thread.


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## jann

If you're going to delete a comment, please do so judiciously.  Of course there is no issue with deleting an accidental duplicate post, or with removing something immediately after you posted it because you realize it was somehow inaccurate or problematic.  But if you remove the contents of a post after other people have seen it and replied, it makes threads confusing... and we discourage such deletions.  If you are concerned that a mistake you made might confuse others, it is better to Edit your post instead of deleting it entirely, crossing out the erroneous information and marking that you have corrected your comments.  As a side note, we do not remove questions once they have been answered (and we request that you do not attempt to do so).  Since all threads become part of our archives, the questions and answers received will be helpful to others in the future.


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## swift

I should like to add a few words to Jann's statement. Even though giving a reason for deleting your post is not mandatory, it might be suitable to explain why you did so when your post has been visible for several hours. It will be easier for moderators to decide whether or not to delete other messages containing quotations of your comment.


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## ewie

swift said:


> It will be easier for moderators to decide whether or not to delete other messages containing quotations of your comment ...


... or to _reinstate _your message


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## Loob

Scary thought, ewie.... 

So if I, within 24 hours of posting something fatuous*, decide to delete it, it's open to the mods to reinstate it?
[*it happens _a lot]_

I agree, though, that it's impolite and confusing to delete something which has already been replied to.


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## swift

Loob said:


> Scary thought, ewie...


Ewie is always telling perturbing tales...



> So if I, within 24 hours of posting something fatuous*, decide to delete it, it's open to the mods to reinstate it?



Yes, it is. It has happened to me to have a post reinstated after deletion because moderators think "that it's impolite and confusing to delete something which has already been replied to".


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## ewie

I don't think I've reinstated a self-deleted post more than three times in 18 months of ermmmmmmoderating, and it's only been because the deletion has been quoted and so leaving it deleted has ballsed up the subsequent posts.  (Approximately.)


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## jann

I don't restore user-deleted posts very often either.  The most common situation is this one:

Sometimes we have people, often newly-registered members, who don't realize that the archives are a searchable database, and that we keep old threads because the answers may be useful to others in the future.  Sometimes these people assume that once a question has been answered, it should be deleted.  When they see that their thread is still visible several hours later, they sometimes go back and edit their post to replace the question with [...], etc.   Occasionally, we have students who have asked for unauthorized help with schoolwork and wish to cover their tracks after the fact.  

In these cases, we restore the original text of the post.


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## Loob

Understood!


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