UPDATE: It's getting worked on!
Comments still not functioning correctly for you? As Ben suggested, I've opened a complaint on GetSatisfaction.com to try to reach Gawker's tech team. If the comment reply/preview feature is still broken for you (it seems to be working for some, not others), why not head over there and add your two cents to my complaint? [GetSatisfaction.com]
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Comments:
It's really odd for me. The other day, I logged in and it just *worked*. For about 2 or 3 replies, then it stopped. I didn't go to gawker.com first (a few people found that worked). In fact, the few times I tried going to gawker.com first, it still didn't work. And as others have pointed out, it's not browser-specific.
When it does not work, hovering my mouse over a "reply" button yields a URL of the story, ending in "#" (thus, "top of page"). I was thinking, if you guys told us how to munge the URL ourselves to force a reply into it, maybe that could be a workaround... until Gawker gets their shite together...
Ya there is some sorta of scripting error. Sometimes it works, and sometime it doesn't. As a web designer myself this can be sometimes two scripts cancelling each other out or interfering.
But I know with IE8 right now, that status code is "Done, but with errors on page"
Too much hassle. I'm not going to create and verify an account at getsatisfaction.com just to vote.
Why bothering Gawker when Consumerist is no longer part of that network? If there is a programing problem then it should be addressed based on the terms in the ConsumerReports/Gawker contract.
Consumerist cant reach their own tech team? Oh the sickening irony :( Hopefully it will be fixed soon.
@animatedantmo: LOL.
Gawker outsources support to Geek Squad!
@Chris Walters: Seems to work fine with me. But why with the sale, did you not get a direct line to contact technical support?
"The more people who report this problem, the more it gets noticed."
????
This sounds like a Consumerist story where if the company is exposed to enough shame they will finally fix the problem so many people have been complaining about.
It's just really weird why it's working for some people and not for others...and intermittently at that.
I've gotten so used to not hitting the reply button though! Do we have a cat for this?
@humphrmi: I have been suggesting to many to manually erase that # and anything after it from the URL bar, then hitting enter. That seems to reload the page "anew". Haven't had any problems myself. I wonder if someone could replicate the problem repeatedly, to give a step by step "script" to tech support.
@Chris Walters: So Gawker sells Consumerist, we get you and Carey back, AND one year of tech support? Can ANYONE find a downside there?
I have one browser instance in which replying will work (it has the login status info in the black toolbar at the top) and one instance in which replying won't work (no login info in the toolbar; the toolbar stops at "Most Recent" and the Most recent/popular/discussed selection won't appear).
Not surprisingly, the page source is substantially different. It doesn't seem like it should be rocket science to fix.
Sounds like a cookie program (domain set right) or session problem.
(domain not set right)**
I went through Gawker and reply now works, but I still don't have a preview button.
@LJKelley: I get problems up the wazoo at the office, more than half the time, I can't even load the page, since some part of consumerists page seems to come from ak.connect.facebook.com and anything related to facebook is blocked at the office.
For me, at least, the issue is intermittent...
fwiw, i added "adblock plus" to ff3 (search in add-ons...look for the stop sign ABP logo), subscribed to all the recommended lists & now i have no problems replying (i did before). i feel bad doing it b/c the CU content is gone, but it's unbearable not to be able to reply sometimes.
it's completely hosed in chrome & i only use ie for work sites, so i dunno what the dilly is there.
i'm guessing there's scripting errors either in the ads or in the coding for the adspace.
I am just another one with the reply issue. I would have replied directly to the original message, but I can't so... yeah...
Also to add, maybe this is a good incentive to look to transitioning to something different? I dunno... something with an edit maybe?
You know, another interesting concept? It seems to work correctly until I login... Then once I login, it won't work at all anymore regardless.
Which brings me to mention, I can't actually logout... Only real way is wiping the cookies, otherwise I can't logout in any way.
Also, the things like Display, Expanded, and Most Recent? None of that works either...
reply never stopped working for me.
but the preview checkbox disappeared - why is nobody lamenting the death of the preview checkbox??? (or really, the death of the preview)
It worked ONCE yesterday. The only time in like, a week.
Reply has only worked for me maybe one time this past week.
HONK IF YOU DEMAND SATISFACTION
[/Simpsons reference]
@mac-phisto: This is a significant piece of information. I have adblock plus installed in FF and have never had a problem replying. The guy from comsumerist or mac-phisto should put this comment over on the getsatisfaction.com complaint, I think it would be helpful. Ad coding can be horrible and I would not be surprised in the least if this was related to the problem.
mac-phisto, maybe you could try turning ABP off for consumerist and see if the problem returns.
@TacoChuck: I just did that, I turned ADP off for consumerist and yes, then I couldn't not use the reply button, turned it back on and then the reply button worked. This is a good catch mac-phisto, I doubt they will benefit from it, as they probably will never get your information, but you have made the most progress on the problem of anyone.
@Chris Walters: Go see mac-phisto's comment below. The problem is related to the ads on the page, using FF and adblock plus to turn off the ads fixes the reply problem, I just tested it myself.
Look, if you wanna comment properly, just go to the story, then change Consumerist.com in the address bar to Gizmodo.com or something like that. Reply should would because it works for the other sites.
Still b0rked. Here's what I put on the getsatisfaction.com thread:
I am having this problem on one machine, but not another.The working machine is running Windows XP with Firefox 3.0.7.
The failing machine is running Ubuntu Linux 8.10 with Firefox 3.0.7.The effect that I am seeing is that if I click a reply icon, instead of getting a reply box added to that branch of the discussion, I just get shuttled straight to the top of the page.
Copy link location from one of the threads gets: [consumerist.com]
Of course, the URL I entered got changed to a link by the Gawker software, and I wouldn't have known that because I also have no $@&! show preview button!
@TacoChuck: i'll throw a reply over there. i figured i'd post it here b/c not everyone is going to click-thru.
Nothing like the company who got paid for you to help you tank because your site now irritates your users.
@Chris Walters: You think as a writer for the consumerist you could have written a more coherent, less whiny service request.
If I was the IT guy reading your complaint I would take my time helping you out.
A year of tech support? So CU bought the extended warranty?
@SpaceBat_GitEmSteveDave: Tech support is only one year? And it's not responsive, evidently. Also, awesome tribute to SpaceBat there.
@MrsLopsided: If only this was addressed in the very first comment of this article, so that anyone reading it would know...
Commented over there. FYI, people, you don't have to verify your account to comment.
Sometimes "reply to" works for me. Sometimes it sends me back to the top of the page with no reply window.
I've tried (as others suggested) going to a Gawker site first, signing in, and returning to Consumerist, but it has not made a difference.
At random times for seemingly no reason, the reply function will work for me. The randomness is annoying!
Hmmm, just tried, and it's not working right now.
Wonder what happened to "break" the system that worked great for so long?
In case anyone is wondering why this is Gawker's problem to solve: as part of the sale of our site to Consumers Union, Gawker agreed to provide hosting and technical support for a year, or something like that.