When my answer is short, shall I post it as a comment instead?

Question

I just have a short answer, to a question. Shall I post it as a comment then instead, because it's short?

Answer 1

It would be better to post an answer. An answer can be voted on and marked as accepted answer.

Sometimes comments are not being read and if there are several comments and the "view more comments" option appear then the comments are not visible before clicking on it making it less likely for the comments to be seen.

This is an Q & A Forum so answers would be preferable.

Short answers can be valuable if they are precise, non-wavering, accurate and address the question.

I think there is a greater requirement for the above mentioned qualities when the answer is short.

Answer 2

No, ideally try instead to post an answer as an answer, not as a comment.

Comments are not made for answers: comment are mostly for asking for clarifications or for suggesting improvements to the question.

Several of the answers to Should we allow/encourage short answers? say we may accept short answers, provided that they're "clear" and "do actually answer the question" and are not "mysterious".

Advantages of posting as an answer:

• Some people only read answers not comments
• Comments are (theoretically) more ephemeral and more likely to be deleted than answers
• Answers can be upvoted and downvoted
• Answers can be questioned (using comments), and improved/expanded (using edits)
• An answer can be "accepted" (if your answer is correct but only posted as a comment, then the OP will be unable to mark your answer as the 'accepted' answer even if it's the best answer)