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I've recently started using the "Obsolete" comment flag for comments that add no value to a post, but that are intended at notifying a user of something - like a "Thank you!" comment, for example.

My reasoning is that, once the user has been notified (they got "Thank you!" in their notifications inbox), the comment doesn't serve any purpose anymore, hence "obsolete".

Am I thinking correctly about these flags? If not, then what would be the reason to flag a comment as "obsolete"?

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    \$\begingroup\$ I think some "Thank you" comments are the ones that should be kept the most. \$\endgroup\$
    – Simon Forsberg
    Apr 1, 2014 at 16:23

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Remember, Comments are ephemeral ...

General Obsolete comments

The most common 'obsolete' comments on CodeReview are comments like:

Hi, and welcome to CodeReview. Your question is off-topic because your code is only available through a link. Please update your question with the actual code.

If you see comments like that, which are still around after the question has been updated, then the comment is obsolete. Flag it.

Other comments are similar, but are on answers where there were problems with an answer, and over time the answer was adjusted to include the recommendations from the comments. Once the answer incorporates the information from the comments, then, technically, the comments are obsolete. Using your discretion, Flag them.

Thanks

These comments are not obsolete, but rather, are 'too chatty'.

CodeReview is not a forum, and appreciation should be shown with voting.

Personally, I like receiving these comments, but once the message has been received, they are too chatty. Using your discretion, Flag them (too chatty).

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    \$\begingroup\$ Personally, I like receiving these "Thanks" comments, and I think it will give a more positive view of the entire site if some of them are kept. \$\endgroup\$
    – Simon Forsberg
    Apr 1, 2014 at 17:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ Awesome, thanks! \$\endgroup\$
    – Mathieu Guindon
    Apr 1, 2014 at 17:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ ^^^ Feel free to mark the above as 'too chatty' ... ;-) . \$\endgroup\$
    – rolfl
    Apr 1, 2014 at 17:16
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    \$\begingroup\$ I personally think a thanks comment is helpful to leave in place, as it gives new users a feel for the friendliness of the site, but a stack of thanks comments should be thinned down. I would put longer thanks comments that explain a specific way it was helpful in a separate category and be much less likely to suggest removing them. \$\endgroup\$
    – trichoplax is on Codidact now
    Apr 16, 2014 at 13:23

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