Sometimes you can’t think of anything to say, but you can think of a video on YouTube that will make your point perfectly. That’s when you might want to bust out a new feature we added to the comments. Just drop a link to a youtube video and then our computer gnomes will go make that video magically appear in the comments in a thumbnail size. When you see one of these, click “watch video” to watch it. Click “stop video” to make it go back to thumbnail. Nifty.
More From Consumerist
-
YouTube Launches New iOS App Just In Time For That New Phone Everyone's Been Waiting For
-
YouTube Thinks You’ll All Be Nicer To Each Other If You Use Your Real Name To Comment
-
YouTube’s Subscription Service Kicks Off With Sesame Street, Ultimate Fighting Channels
-
Newt Gingrich Needs Your Help To Name These Newfangled Internet Phones
-
MasterCard’s New MasterPass Seeks To Cut Out That Annoying “Waiting To Checkout” Thing
@Sherryness:
…and if you are, the style of the blockquote formatting is entirely programed by Consumerist. Blockquote is just a tag, how that tag is treated depends on how Consumerist sets it up. The giant leading quote graphic would not necessarily have been my first choice, but I do like the indent and contrasting background color.
@loquaciousmusic:
Only, I should think, if nobody has commented since you posted them. Deleting comments that are part of a discussion thread can make the the thread nonsensical.
@Skeptic:
What’s your point?
@Sherryness:
That if you don’t like the “larger than life” quote graphics that they are not my doing
@loquaciousmusic: No, we can’t have that! Once you say something on the interwebz it should haunt you forever. It’s the blog equivalent of “think before you speak.” Which is why we don’t use our real names.
Everyone knows what a blockquote is, and most people find them annoying. You’re the only one I see using them. As long as we’re requesting features in this thread, instead of enjoying the original subject, may I request a feature that will block the comments of kill-joys and those who wander severely off subject?
“Which is why we don’t use our real names.”
Speak for yourself…
I don’t get how this works.. so I just put a link in there like this:
[tinyurl.com]
Don’t take it personally:
+ Watch video
@QuantumRiff:
You are exactly the reason why this site shouldn’t support video. What I like about consumerist.com is that it’s clean and straightforward. Now we need to filter out the b.s. videos like the one you posted.
Actually, your Sherryness, not everyone knows what a blockquote is. It is rather elitist of you to assume that everyone knows HTML tags. This is “Consumerist,” where consumers, who may or may not know HTML, can read about and discuss consumer issues.
As to why people don’t use blockquotes? Well, some people may not like the aesthetics of the graphic distinction they make for quotes vs responses, but you certainly can’t deny the fact they make the quote clear. As to why people don’t use them, well, you may hate them, but I suspect most people don’t use them because of the inconvenience of writing out the tags, that and there are all those people who’s existence you affirmatively deny, people who’ve never heard of a blockquote.
As to “relevance,” thread discussions are based on the inspiration of the OP and aren’t necessarily going to be a credulous litany of Hosannas and “dittos,” for such would be a useless and uninteresting drivel rather than a vibrant discussion that gets everybody involved and increasing the page views. So, I for one would not like to see comments be modded by your standards.
@Sherryness: I was a freshman in high school when that song came out. Aaah, 1993. Good times.
I think I’m going to go smoke a cigarette now — even though I don’t smoke.
@Skeptic:
I’m all for for lively and vibrant debate, but whining about the features you’d rather have, instead of the feature up for discussion, just makes you look like you don’t “get it.” (Notice my use of the end quote – and I didn’t even go to college.) There is a huge difference between legitimate debate and opportunistic whinging. Not every post is an opportunity to turn the subject to what you’d rather be discussing. I’ve seen a lot of that on Consumerist lately and, frankly, it kind of kills it for me. Additionally, I’d like it, if you’re going to quote me, if you’d put an end quote at the end of my comment when you start talking. It’s common courtesy.
@loquaciousmusic:
Denis Leary encapsulated a lot in that video and song. I guess that is why I like the multi-media of the internet, even though I was against it at first. Sometimes a picture really is worth 1,000 words or more.
This is going to be awful.
IIRC, they taught us punctuation in elementary and high school rather than college, but that is neither here nor there since anyone can be smart and well informed regardless of their formal schooling.
As to your accusations of irrelevant discussion, we are going to have to disagree. A topic where comment forum features, even a new one, are discussed is the relevant forum thread to discuss how the new feature fits in with the current feature set, or lack thereof. There is no more appropriate thread to bring up such issues, especially since there is no “Features We Haven’t Added” thread that is more specifically tailored to the topic I raise in conjunction with the YouTube embed.
Now, as to why I use blockquotes. There is one and only one reason I use them: clarity. I like clear communication. I think that paragraphs should be short and cohesive. Sentences should be short. And quotes should be clear and in context. I think blockquotes help with the latter.
So, when I respond to a post I like it to be clear what I’m responding to and I like to make clear quotes so that I correctly characterize the poster’s message. For short citations I may use in-line quotes, but for larger blocks of text or for “reply to” responses, I’ll use blockquotes.
Not everyone shares my obsession with clarity and for visually organized writing so not everyone will be as interested in the use of blockquotes as I am. But for those who are interested in clarity, I think basic formatting buttons would be a useful and much needed addition to the functionality of the comments engine.
@Sherryness: God I love that song. Even if I do like block quotes, I still like you.
BTW, I don’t think you do get “blockquote.” A blockquote is an indented quote rather than one that necessarily uses quotation marks. The large quotation mark graphic is not a literal quotation mark but a graphic indicator for the blockquote. There is no “end quote” to close your quotation, rather the change in indentation indicates the transition.
div#main{overflow:visible;}
Then let’s try this:
+ Watch video
i wish they’d start supporting strike. i think that would’ve been more useful than video links. maybe next update :*(
Wow. What could be better? I don’t know…Robert Loggia?
+ Watch video
The interesting thing I see coming out of this is, a lot of people who are talking about needing an edit button seem to be saying “DOH! That was stupid, I wish I could take that back”. Given the sometimes acrimonious tone of the comments, it’s interesting to see that some people wish they could modify those comments later.
@humphrmi: “a lot of people who are talking about needing an edit button seem to be saying “DOH! That was stupid, I wish I could take that back”.
And who made you Miss Cleo? I want the edit button for the numerous typos I invariably make, or to add additional information, or to phrase something more clearly. I’ve never felt the need to “take something back.”
an edit button that shows what gives a reason for what was edited is needed way more than this shit.
how friggin long will these comments get with videos every other comment too? if people want to post a video just link to it and maybe someone will care enough about what your saying to look at it.
hay guys I’m doin it!
+ Watch video
What I’m wondering is whether anyone asked for this? Did anyone say, “I love Consumerist and the forums, but isn’t there anyway I can embed a YouTube clip in my comment? I just totally can’t reasonably discuss bad customer service unless I can post a YouTube machina of “The Internet is for Porn” as an embed.”
cool feature!
+ Watch video
@mac-phisto: I’ve been asking for strikethrough for a long time now.
+ Watch video
Useless but cool.
+ Watch video
@Ben Popken: Some of us don’t use that browser. It would be nice to have functionality for all users of the website, not just certain browser users. *shrug*
@Sherryness: “…get it.” Isn’t that like air quotes and not necessary? Just sayin’.
@synergy:
Nobody “air quotes” with just their right hand!
@Skeptic:
“Now, as to why I use blockquotes. There is one and only one reason I use them: clarity. I like clear communication. I think that paragraphs should be short and cohesive. “
Except for when YOU are the one doing the writing. Who has the longest post in this thread? Give it up.
Ahem, you mean the one divided up into 5 short paragraphs?
Snark works better when you are actually right. So, not so much in your case.
I also notice that you don’t try and defend your earlier, and incorrect, snarky point about the use of “end quotes” which blockquotes don’t, in fact use or require. Funny that you didn’t know that since, as you said, “Everyone knows what a blockquote is…” Hmm…then I guess you don’t exist.
Also, look at how much clearer my quote of you is than yours is of me thanks to the use of the blockquote tag.
Snark. QED.
I think the general consensus in this thread, whatever your opinion of blockquote, is that the youtube embedding is not necessary.
But Ben probably has no control over what his Gawker overlords have decided to impose upon us…
Hey, those of you who’ve been around longer than I (and I’ve been around for a while, lurking for many months before I started posting) – umm, was Consumerist always run by Gawker? Or did it start out independent?
@Skeptic:
I also notice that you don’t try and defend your earlier, and incorrect, snarky point about the use of “end quotes” which blockquotes don’t, in fact use or require. Funny that you didn’t know that since, as you said, “Everyone knows what a blockquote is…”
Seemed self-explanatory, but since you dont’t seem to get it, I’ll elaborate. That is yet another reason block “quotes” are lame! They don’t end-quote. duh…. Is English your first language?
Ah the Ad Hominem attack. Truly the sign of someone with a sound argument.
It doesn’t seem as though you get the idea of the stylized quotation graphic used in the Consumerist blockquote style: it is symbolic, not literal. Perhaps the darker colored background and intended text are insufficient of an indicator for you? Unless you are using Lynx or a screen reader (which should read the blockquote tag) you have no reason to complain, especially since “Everyone knows what a blockquote is,” according to you.
You don’t seem to acknowledge the bit about how blockquotes are an intended quotation style that don’t necessarily use quotation marks.
+ Watch video
That being out of my system, this strikes me as a feature of marginal utility but marginal annoyance, since you do have to click on something in order to view the videos, instead of them loading automatically. Still, stuff like this is why I have Flashblock.
I’m reminded of a past life where we would get our programming asses kicked for working on new, pretty, or useless things instead of working to fix old broken things.
“Very cool, but I don’t believe a better Asteroids score is in the spec.”
Whoops,
“intended quotation” —> “indented quotation”
Boy, strike through and an edit button sure would come in handy….
(See how when I make a mistake, SHERRYNESS, I try to correct it rather than blindly insisting I’m correct and making Ad Hominem attacks? Perhaps you should give it a try?)
@Ben Popken: Thanks for the tip, that grease monkey script is much better!
OK, THIS is what YouTube was invented for:
+ Watch video
yeah thats nice. Let me know when you enable embedded xtube.
You’ve been McRoll’d
+ Watch video
+ Watch video
This is a commercial for So-net, a Japanese ISP run by (you guessed it) Sony. It’s for their fiber service running at 100M symmetric.
+ Watch video
Odd that the first one didn’t work- how about this one?