# Comment on articles

## Comments on an article

An article comment is a reader's written response attached to an article. Use comments to add
discussion to an article, read the responses already attached to it, or remove a comment owned by
your signed-in account.

| If you need to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Find the article that contains the comments | [Find articles](doc:find-articles), then [Find and open the article](#find-and-open-the-article) |
| Read existing comments or identify the available comment controls | [Read the comment area](#read-the-comment-area) |
| Add a response | [Add a comment](#add-a-comment) |
| Remove a comment you own | [Delete your comment](#delete-your-comment) |
| Sign in before commenting | [Sign in](doc:sign-in) |
| Create an account before commenting | [Sign up](doc:sign-up) |
| Manage the article itself | [Read and manage an article](doc:read-and-manage-an-article) |
| Find help for an error message | [General error messages](doc:general-error-messages) |

Updating an existing comment is outside this task. The article record carries the comments area;
the wider article surface and its author actions belong to [Read and manage an article](doc:read-and-manage-an-article).

## Before you start

**Prerequisites**

- Know which article you want to discuss.
- Open that article's record before working with its comments.
- Sign in before adding a comment.
- Sign in with the account that owns a comment before deleting it.

The article loads its comments together with the article record. Existing comments therefore appear
in the article's comment area when the record opens.

## Find and open the article

Use this procedure when you need to reach the article whose comments you want to read or manage.

**Prerequisites**

- Know which article you want to open.

**Steps**

1. Open the article record.
2. Confirm that the article record is displayed.
3. Scroll to the comment area.

**Result:** The article record is open and its returned comments are available in the comment area.

## Read the comment area

The comment area contains the existing comments and, for a signed-in reader, a field for entering
new text and a control for posting it. A signed-out reader sees links to the account screens instead.

| What you want to do | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Read responses already attached to the article | The comments listed below the article |
| Enter a response | The multiline field with the placeholder **Write a comment...** |
| Submit a response | **Post Comment** below the comment field |
| Sign in before commenting | **Sign in** in the signed-out comment area |
| Create an account before commenting | **sign up** in the signed-out comment area |
| Remove your own response | The trash icon on a comment owned by your signed-in account |

The delete icon appears for a comment when the signed-in username matches the comment author's
username. It does not appear for a comment owned by another account.

## Add a comment

Use this procedure to attach a new written response to the open article.

**Prerequisites**

- The article record is open.
- You are signed in.

**Steps**

1. Select the **Write a comment...** field.
2. Enter the response text.
3. Select **Post Comment**.

The field clears when the submission is started. The new comment is added to the article when the
comment request succeeds.

**Result:** The comment field is clear and the submitted comment appears in the article's comment area.

## Delete your comment

Use this procedure to remove a comment belonging to your signed-in account.

**Prerequisites**

- The article record is open.
- The comment belongs to your signed-in account.

**Steps**

1. Locate your comment in the article's comment area.
2. Select the trash icon beside your own comment.

The trash icon is available when the signed-in username matches the comment author's username.

**Result:** The selected comment is removed from the article's comment list.

## Handle access and comment errors

The signed-in state determines whether the comment field and posting control are available. Use the
route that matches what you want to do:

| If you need to… | Select |
|---|---|
| Enter or delete a comment with an existing account | **Sign in** |
| Create an account before entering a comment | **sign up** |

**Prerequisites**

- For **Sign in**, have an existing account.

**Steps**

1. If the comment field is unavailable, select **Sign in** for an existing account or **sign up**
   to create one.
2. Open the article record again after completing the account route.

If a comment request fails, read the message shown beside the comment area before trying the
comment action again.

**Result:** You are on the appropriate account route, or you can read the returned error beside the
comment area.

## Continue with the article

After the comment task, continue with [Read and manage an article](doc:read-and-manage-an-article)
for the article record and its author actions. To find another article, use [Find articles](doc:find-articles).