Consumerist Comments Revamped
We're rolling out a majorly revamped comments system today (it's not live yet, but will be soon) that should make communicating on the site much easier. The biggest change is the introduction of "threaded comments" to replace the straight chronologically ordered system. The idea is to organize replies more logically and make discussing the post at hand--and other users' reactions to it--easier to do and digest. Hit up any post with comments to start tinkering with the new system yourself, or read on to get the full rundown of what's changed and why.
What's threaded commenting?
Threading is a way to make comments read more like conversations instead of a bunch of disconnected single replies. Now, when someone says something interesting enough to get replies from other readers, all those replies will appear directly below the original comment. Each of these blocks is called a "thread"--kind of like in Gmail.
The first comment in a thread will have a few distinguishing features, among them, the number of replies in the thread along with the time of the most recent reply.
Click the arrow on the lower right side to open a reply input box directly underneath the comment--there's no need to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to reply.
Once your reply publishes, you'll notice that like in an IM conversation, your avatar will appear on the right.
Replies to replies--sometimes known as second or third (or fourth) level replies--will not be indented as is the custom in most forums. Instead, second and third level replies will be collapsed.
What happens when you reply to a reply? Why aren't threads indented like in most tech forums, like Digg?
Replies to replies--sometimes known as second or third (or fourth) level replies--will not be indented as is the custom in most forums. Instead, the avatar will switch sides again--like in an IM conversation. All even numbered nested replies (second, fourth, etc.) will appear on the left side, while odd numbered replies will be on the right. Second and third level replies will also be collapsed.
Are threads still displayed in chronological order?
Each conversation will be displayed in chronological order. But organization of the conversations overall will be displayed based on popularity. The most popular conversations will migrate to the top. The most recent comment that has no replies will appear on top for 15 minutes before being filtered down. If a more active conversation receives a reply within those 15 minutes, that conversation will overtake the stand-alone comment.
Where did the plus and minus go?
The plus and minus, which was used to friend or un-friend a fellow commenter, has been replaced by a heart. Your friends will show up with a red heart, and the rest are empty.
What's the deal with the star again?
Star commenters were readers who have 25 or more followers, or were designated as stars by a comments admin. With the introduction of threading, the number of followers required to attain star is increasing to 40. Commenter admins also hand out stars to commenters who may not have 40 followers, but illuminate our lives with flashes of brilliance.
Is there a way to view comments "old-school" style?
You can switch to the old style comments layout by clicking the "classic view" link in the comments bar at the top of the threads.
Don't forget that we also have a Consumerist Comments code which are the guidelines for what kinds of comments to make, and to make sure you don't get banned.
So, commenters--go ahead and kick the tires on threaded comments right here--and let us know what you think about the changes.
(Photo: Getty)
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Comments:
Yay
No! The biggest change is that you'll be taking away my newly-earned star! WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!
ah crap- Well you can find all my comments at the bottom :)
Good addition consumerist! It should make it easier to follow conversations.
NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
I hate change!
These changes are probably good, however it will make it far more difficult to locate new comments that have been posted since you last read the article.
what determines the "popularity" of a comment? is it just replies?
@Mollyg: You should only need to switch to classic view to get a chronological list.
Is there a way to view comments "old-school" style?You can switch to the old style comments layout by clicking the "classic view" link in the comments bar at the top of the threads.
[Kicks tires..... car explodes]
What's wrong with simple comment comments?
There's way too much social-networking fluff in this.
umm...is this browser-specific? i see no change in IE6 or in ff3. rollout not complete yet?
also...what happens when you reply to multiple posters - do you just appear nested under the first person you respond to?
Dagnabbit, 40 followers? I'll never get a star now as I certainly won't illuminate anyones lives with flashes of brilliance. I do like the threading though, should be very helpful for those posts that get over 100+ comments.
@mac-phisto: I'm in Firefox 3, and I'm not seeing a change at all. Are other people actually seeing something different?
The change hasn't happened yet, it should in a few minutes, this is just a preview post.
@Ben Popken: I'm assuming that average, workaday commenters won't actually have the links to 'disemvowel', 'give star', 'ban', etc. that you have in your screenshot... You've given us a glimpse into the all-powerful hand of the moderator. nice...
@Ben Popken: looks pretty cool...i could live with this change.
as bladefist mentions - will ROZ be receiving some upgrades to the banhammer as well?
Looks like (so far) only 20 comments per page. :(
Also noticing that this is erolling out network wide, but we're the only site (amongst those I read) "in the know" ;)
I do see a change with FireFox 3. It seems a bit buggy though (when replying to another comment). This might be because I'm not validated yet?
Hmm, I clicked the 'Classic View' button and don't see any difference.
The time stamp is very...ghostly.
I don't like that it's now 20 comments/ page versus 100.
So what about strikethrough? How do you do that in comments?
Yeah, been waiting for this for awhile! Glad Gawker is finally getting with the program. Although, some posts can have 200+ comments, and I'm not sure if I'll feel like going through 10 pages of comments, if you can only fit 20 on a page now (vs 100).
@silver-bolt: You're seeing the lack of a custom style sheet (CSS). That will resolve itself shortly. Out with the old, in with the new, brief lull between the two.
@Ben Popken: It was all nice and neat and skiffy looking for a minute, but now its back to the fugly... Guess Ill go to work and check in an hour then.
Hmm, I still don't see anything different (FF3). Other than the 20 comment per page limit (which sucks, by the way), the comment formatting now looks like some css lines are missing. The time is oddly located in comments and in the reply box (where it overlays my typing), there's no borders around anything, and there's still "@name:" reply markers in comments.
@ViperBorg: It's applied here now, too. I like the smooth sliding when you hit the reply button. Very nice.
Sounds cool. Can this comment be threaded?