Question

what's the difference between an answer and a comment

Comments

This is a comment.  People can reply to it, but not up- or down-vote it.  Comments are not logged on your G2G profile.  A question with all comments and no answers shows as 'Unanswered' on G2G.

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Hello Janie.

See also:

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/224182/when-should-you-comment-instead-of-answer-a-question

Answer 1

They are used interchangeably sometimes.  I use a comment if I have additional questions to ask, a partial answer, or just a comment on the entry.

I use the answer for actual, full answers.

Comments

Above is an answer.  People can up- or down-vote it, or choose it as Best Answer.  You can usually give a Thank You to someone who answers.  Answers are logged in your G2G profile.

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I agree with Kitty. I use answer when I think I am offering a solution or a new opinion. I use comments when I am asking for more information, adding clarifications or saying what I think about a previous answer.

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While answers and comments sometimes are used interchangeably in G2G, they shouldn't be. As Chris mentions in a comment to an answer below, a comment which has been mis-posted as an answer can cause the associated question to be skipped over by G2Gers that are focused on trying to provide answers to the many unanswered questions that exist here. When I began participating in G2G, I would sometimes accidentally post my comment as an answer. Fortunately I found that I could edit my answer and click the box to easily convert it to a comment.

Answer 2

Is it also the fact that answers contribute more to your G2G profile score than comments, I believe.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Comments

That is true, answers get points, however if you ''answer'' is really a comment, a request for more info, dates, locations, etc.  it shouldn't be posted as an answer.  Then the question appears to have been answered, (might be skipped over) when it really has not.

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And vice versa!