I asked a question which has received two downvotes and one upvote.

Initially a user left a comment explaining their downvote. I responded to his feedback in another comment, where I also linked to a meta question. Both the user's comment and my own are now deleted. This seems to have been done by @patrix.

I know that comments are fleeting on SE, but users are also encouraged to explain their downvotes. So, shouldn't this explanation stay in the comments as long as the downvote is there? That way it can be easier for future visitors to see why it was downvoted. Also, it can give those who disagree a chance to comment as well. I know many comments can be deleted without issue, but shouldn't comments that explain downvotes be allowed to stay?

Patrix also added some information elicited from the comments to OP, and that is helpful. If that was the only function of the comments, there would obviously be no problem with removing them. But in this case the comments also had another function, namely explaining the downvotes.

Can anyone give me some input regarding this issue?