diff --git a/web/src/components/community/BodyComposer.test.tsx b/web/src/components/community/BodyComposer.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..15776a75e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/components/community/BodyComposer.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+// Write, Preview, Post: the comment went up and the field came back as an
+// empty preview box, the Preview tab still picked and greyed out, no textarea
+// anywhere. Writing a second comment meant finding "Write" first. A preview
+// of nothing is what the disabled tab is there to prevent, so the field goes
+// back to Write when its text goes.
+
+import { fireEvent, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { useState } from "react";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import BodyComposer from "./BodyComposer";
+import CommentSection from "./CommentSection";
+
+const refresh = vi.fn();
+vi.mock("next/navigation", () => ({ useRouter: () => ({ refresh, push: vi.fn() }) }));
+vi.mock("@/lib/community/auth-client", () => ({
+  authClient: {
+    useSession: () => ({ data: { user: { id: "u1", username: "ada" } }, isPending: false }),
+  },
+}));
+
+function Field({ initial }: { initial: string }) {
+  const [value, setValue] = useState(initial);
+  return (
+    <>
+      <BodyComposer value={value} onChange={setValue} maxLength={2000} label="Comment" grow="comment" />
+      <button type="button" onClick={() => setValue("")}>
+        clear
+      </button>
+    </>
+  );
+}
+
+const tab = (name: string) => screen.getByRole("tab", { name });
+
+describe("BodyComposer", () => {
+  it("goes back to Write when its text is cleared while previewing", () => {
+    render(<Field initial="**hello**" />);
+    fireEvent.click(tab("Preview"));
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("textbox", { name: "Comment" })).toBeNull();
+    expect(tab("Preview").getAttribute("aria-selected")).toBe("true");
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "clear" }));
+
+    expect((screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Comment" }) as HTMLTextAreaElement).value).toBe("");
+    expect(tab("Write").getAttribute("aria-selected")).toBe("true");
+    expect(tab("Preview").getAttribute("aria-selected")).toBe("false");
+    expect((tab("Preview") as HTMLButtonElement).disabled).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("stays on Write as the next text is typed", () => {
+    render(<Field initial="first" />);
+    fireEvent.click(tab("Preview"));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "clear" }));
+
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Comment" }), { target: { value: "s" } });
+
+    // One letter in, the field is still a textarea; the old preview does not
+    // come back on its own.
+    expect((screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Comment" }) as HTMLTextAreaElement).value).toBe("s");
+    expect(tab("Write").getAttribute("aria-selected")).toBe("true");
+    expect((tab("Preview") as HTMLButtonElement).disabled).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the preview while the text is there", () => {
+    render(<Field initial="still here" />);
+    fireEvent.click(tab("Preview"));
+    expect(screen.getByText("still here")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("textbox", { name: "Comment" })).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("posting from Preview", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(Response.json({ ok: true }, { status: 201 })));
+  });
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+    refresh.mockReset();
+  });
+
+  it("brings the comment field back empty, on Write", async () => {
+    render(<CommentSection patternId="p1" comments={[]} />);
+    fireEvent.change(screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Comment" }), { target: { value: "nice *knobs*" } });
+    fireEvent.click(tab("Preview"));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Post" }));
+
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(refresh).toHaveBeenCalled());
+    expect((screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Comment" }) as HTMLTextAreaElement).value).toBe("");
+    expect(tab("Write").getAttribute("aria-selected")).toBe("true");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/web/src/components/community/BodyComposer.tsx b/web/src/components/community/BodyComposer.tsx
index 556e16ca5..0ce34ac6e 100644
--- a/web/src/components/community/BodyComposer.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/community/BodyComposer.tsx
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ export default function BodyComposer({
   autoFocus?: boolean;
 }) {
   const [previewing, setPreviewing] = useState(false);
+  // Posting from Preview clears the text under it. Left there, the field was
+  // a preview of nothing with its tab greyed out and no textarea to write the
+  // next comment in. Adjusted during render, guarded, like AuthStatus's latch.
+  const hasText = value.trim().length > 0;
+  if (previewing && !hasText) setPreviewing(false);
   const ref = useAutoGrow<HTMLTextAreaElement>(previewing ? "" : value);
 
   return (
@@ -53,7 +58,7 @@ export default function BodyComposer({
           data-active={previewing}
           // Nothing to preview is worth saying out loud rather than showing an
           // empty box that looks like a broken renderer.
-          disabled={value.trim().length === 0}
+          disabled={!hasText}
           onClick={() => setPreviewing(true)}
         >
           Preview