Asking questions in answers comments

Question

I answered this question and the OP keeps asking more questions by posting comments on my answer.

Now these extra questions could be answered, but IMO it's starting to get further from the original question. To me, it looks like the OP is asking one question but really is using the 5 Whys technique by using the comment section.

That lowers the quality of the original question and also prevents other members from eventually gaining reputation.

Now, the Help page does have this interesting statement;

Please do not add a comment on your question or on an answer to say "Thank you". Comments are meant for requesting clarification, leaving constructive criticism, or adding relevant but minor additional information – not for socializing. If you want to say "thank you," vote on or accept that person's answer, or simply pay it forward by providing a great answer to someone else's question.

Although it says "requesting clarification" is OK, where do we draw the line between clarifications and asking a new question altogether?

Answer 1

In the question you cited, the user is simply asking for clarification about your answer; there is nothing that requires you to continue answering his questions. However, there is a chance someone could come along after you and provide a more comprehensive answer that gets accepted because it responds to all his concerns.

Although it says "requesting clarification" is OK, where do we draw the line between clarifications and asking a new question altogether?

It's somewhat subjective, but I usually consider asking for a completely new question when the clarifying comments start creeping outside the original scope of the thread. For instance, if someone asks a question about how the Cisco ASA handles TCP window-scale options, and then in the comments they ask about the PPS throughput of a router attached to the firewall. The router has nothing to do with the original question, and in most cases, it has nothing to do with processing window scale options... that clearly should be a different question.

However, let's suppose the followup question in the comments was about how the TCP window-scale option is handled in a Palo Alto Firewall... it's debatable whether you should require them to ask a different question, particularly if you already know the answer.