Combining two columns on a id - mysql

Question

this is my database
database schema http://slashdir.com/php/blogg/images/bloggdb.png
What i want to do, is, for a given userid, show the total times he has been reported.
I have read various other questions on the matter, but I'm still stumped.
The latest query i tried was
select
sum(posts.timesreported + comments.timesreported) AS total_reports
FROM
posts
INNER JOIN comments ON (posts.userid = comments.userid)
WHERE posts.userid=5 AND comments.userid=5;
But this must be wrong as the number i get is much too high
Thanks!

Answer 1

SELECT
CASE WHEN NULL
THEN 0
ELSE (select sum(posts.timesreported) AS total_posts_reports
FROM posts INNER JOIN users ON (posts.userid = users.id)
WHERE posts.userid=5)
END
+
CASE WHEN NULL
THEN 0
ELSE (select sum(comments.timesreported) AS total_comments_reports
FROM comments INNER JOIN users ON (comments.userid = users.id)
WHERE comments.userid=5)
END
FROM DUAL;

Answer 2

Instead of
sum(posts.timesreported + comments.timesreported) AS total_reports
try
sum(posts.timesreported) + sum(comments.timesreported) AS total_reports
and I think you need to group by userId

Answer 3

WHERE posts.userid=5 AND comments.userid=5; is unnecessary since the tables are joined.
And sum operator is not correct logically
Use this query
select
sum(posts.timesreported) + sum(comments.timesreported) AS total_reports
FROM
posts
INNER JOIN comments ON (posts.userid = comments.userid)
WHERE posts.userid=5

Answer 4

It looks like your collecting the sum PRIOR to singling out the user. Perhaps this is adding those column values for all users prior to the join? What happens if you SELECT *, perform your INNER JOIN where userid = 5. Save the column values as two variables and then try to add them. Do you get the same result?
This might help you error check to see if the above theory is accurate.
<?php
// Connects to your Database
mysql_connect("your.hostaddress.com", "username", "password") or die(mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("Database_Name") or die(mysql_error());
//Run Query
$NUM1=mysql_query("SELECT Field1 FROM Table WHERE user.key=5");
$NUM2=mysql_query("SELECT Field2 FROM Table WHERE user.key=5");
//Print Each Result
echo 'Num1 = '.$NUM1;
echo 'Num2 = '.$NUM2;
//Print Total
$TOTAL = $NUM1 + $NUM2;
echo 'Total = '.$TOTAL;
?>