Why is the link to Ask Different Chat sometimes missing from Ask Different meta?

Question

In an answer to Apple Chat Room:

The link to Ask Different Chat is sometimes missing from the right hand column of Ask Different meta.

In the meta page to the left of that screenshot:

• no link.

Reloading the pages does not resolve the inconsistency. I'll upload a movie to the following folder:

• http://www.wuala.com/%23%23Apple-support/members/grahamperrin/2011/08/19/a/

Please, is the randomness by design? Or is there some other explanation?

Whatever the reason: the inconsistency around a key feature is disorienting, smells a little buggy.

Answer 1

The sidebar ad will not appear on questions until questions have more than 1 answer.

This is to

• focus on the question

• prevent the sidebar from becoming absurdly tall, much taller than the central area of the page itself