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Dear administrators of StackExchange/AskUbuntu, restriction "You must have 50 reputation to comment" blocks many useful comments and tips !!! I'm not a geek who spends his leisure time here and has 50 reputations, I'm just a common being who's using Ubuntu and who has found this site by a search engine when trying to resolve an issue (upgrade of 20 to 22 in my case). I've finally resolved the issue and I'd like to share the how-to with the others on AskUbuntu. With this restriction, I simply cannot and therefore hundreds of other "not-geek-beings" will spend their time again struggling with the same issue... Please remove it, it doesn't harmonize with Linux philosophy.

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    You can always post a question and/or answer. Why would you comment to share your experience?
    – Pilot6
    Commented Jan 14, 2023 at 12:20
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    Why not answer your own question, That is allowed. If it is a great answer you might get your rep up to 50. No points for comments.
    – C.S.Cameron
    Commented Jan 14, 2023 at 14:08
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    Right, if you found a question here that addresses your question, and you have an answer, then that's the perfect opportunity to post an answer to it. If you found an answer that needs more information, you can propose an Edit to it. Or, if your situation was slightly different, then you can post your own question (explaining why it's different from the other one you found) along with your own answer, that you can then (after a small waiting period) even self-accept. That's actually a very Linux-style approach to open-information-sharing, IMHO.
    – NotTheDr01ds
    Commented Jan 14, 2023 at 14:34
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    We do roll out privileges gradually here for a few reasons - (A) It slows down spam, since it's almost impossible for a spammer to get 50 rep before they are nuked, (B) it introduces you to features of the site slowly, so that you learn how to use them before you gain more privileges. For instance, you've now found that the main site isn't the right place to post questions about the main site ;-). We have Meta (as do all SE sites) for that.
    – NotTheDr01ds
    Commented Jan 14, 2023 at 14:37
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    Seems like a classic misuse of site features. You want to comment in your own problem. Instead, you should post an answer. You DO have enough reputation to post an answer. This is exactly why it takes reputation to post comments.
    – user535733
    Commented Jan 14, 2023 at 14:40
  • Let me offer yet another angle that others did not, yet, I feel it helped me most to come to terms with this and perhaps some other restrictions. I believe, a highly prioritized end-goal of the entire SE platform, and as a part of it, of AskUbuntu as well, is to produce, to uphold and to deliver high quality information. High quality in terms of accuracy and helpfulness, but high quality as well in terms of presentation. As in, how easy it is to consume for someone who comes across a page through a web search result. "Signal / noise ratio". There's a goal to adhere to a level of a standard.
    – Levente
    Commented Jan 14, 2023 at 16:46
  • Comments are temporary in nature and they are used to provide constructive feedback or to ask for clarification. Comments should not be used to answer questions. New users often don't understand how AU is different than other sites. We have high standards for quality. We don't allow lengthy discussion or other superfluous text that crowds out helpful information. Removing superfluous/unnecessary/unhelpful comments uses up valuable moderation time. Furthermore, 50 rep is an easy bar to clear. We hope by that time you know when not to comment. See: askubuntu.com/help/privileges/comment
    – Nmath
    Commented Jan 14, 2023 at 20:37
  • Thank you for clarification, then it implies another enhancement: Please add "You can answer instead" for newcomers to the message "You must have 50 reputation to comment", i.e. "You must have 50 reputation to comment. You can answer instead". Because currently it's not there, I've wasted a lot of time on that, pfffff
    – U Buntů
    Commented Jan 15, 2023 at 9:11
  • @UBuntů You can go through the askubuntu.com/tour. It is already "added" there.
    – Pilot6
    Commented Jan 15, 2023 at 14:04
  • Please keep in mind that although the mechanics of the site will allow you to do so, you should only post actual answers in the answer field, not comments. Comments-posted-as-answers will be deleted.
    – Organic Marble
    Commented Jan 16, 2023 at 22:59

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