The upcoming change to the commenting system is confusing as hell

"DasWauto" (DasWauto) 10/03/2013 at 10:50 • Filed to: Kinja Help, Cotomersevis

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This post is meant as feedback to the folks that are running the tech side of these sites; add your opinion/comments/suggestions in the replies. The way comments and replies are arranged is extremely difficult to follow. When looking at all replies, it's just a stream of everything, no separation between comments and replies.

You have to click on a comment or reply to make sense of a conversation.

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That is just plain stupid.

I actually like the idea of the resharing feature and I think it could be interesting to use it but why change the comments section? In the current commenting system, it is easy to go over replies to a post and see which ones I might want to participate in. This new system is difficult to follow and at the moment, discouraging my participation.

I can appreciate going [back] to a vertical layout of the comments (looks like we're going full circle and coming back to version 4.0 [and 5.0, dysfunctional as it may have been]), just fix the way comments and replies are laid out and it will be fine.

Lauren Bertolini > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 10:56

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The replies on that post are part of a new reply format we're currently testing over at Valleywag, but it's still a work in progress (and not tied the share feature). You can expect more updates before it pushes out across the platform.

ttyymmnn > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 10:57

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Thanks for doing this. I haven't taken the time to figure out what the devil is going on with comments. But if ND is so gung-ho about monetizing our comments, he needs to find a way to make it organized and readable.

Slave2anMG > Lauren Bertolini 10/03/2013 at 11:00

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This is incredibly confusing. Wickedly so. The existing Kinja isn't the most stable thing on the planet...it would be good if Denton would let youse guys stabilize THAT before making yet more changes.

DasWauto > Lauren Bertolini 10/03/2013 at 11:01

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That's good to hear. Like I said, I'm just offering my feedback on it and I hope it can be used constructively.

Ex. President Mack41 > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 11:08

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So you're telling me I peek in to maybe post more and we're getting hit with another bad commenting change that I'll have to learn?

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

Lauren Bertolini > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 11:09

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Yep, we appreciate it. And will definitely take it into consideration. We're aware that navigation is something that still needs some tinkering.

VanMan > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 11:11

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Agreed... I have settled in with the new systems, but comments are still just that: comments. There aren't any conversations, just random people shouting random things to random things they hear. No order or logical/chronological flow. No nested comments.

As said before: easy-ish to follow in a thread like this at this time, but try reading the "conversation" on a 280+ reply like the Range Rover vs. Biker threads. It's just a random string of statements, replies, retaliations and clarifications.

It seems you can click on a comment to see the thread, but to be honnest I haven't figured this one out yet. The times I did click I got to all replies for the user, not a conversation. And then there is the "how to get back to where you started from" problem... Once I click, it's easier to just close the tab and continue to another story, as it reloads and reloads and reloads and eventually dumps you somehwere near-ish to where you started, and you then have to go hunt for your place. Erm, no thanks.

Or is there a youtube of how this (is supposed to) works?

DasWauto > Ex. President Mack41 10/03/2013 at 11:12

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Not yet, but shoon, very shoon.

Actually, I don't know when. The commenting system change is separate from the new 'resharing' feature coming in 2 weeks so I would guess some time after that. No reason to panic, yet...

Ex. President Mack41 > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 11:14

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Why do they reinvent the comments every 6 months or so? It's silly.

DasWauto > Ex. President Mack41 10/03/2013 at 11:16

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I think they get scared and compulsively feel the need to change things when something is logical and works consistently for too long.

Yes, change for the sake of change is stupid.

Ex. President Mack41 > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 11:20

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The logical end is adopting facebook for comments like most news sites do. I feel a few years down the road that'll be the logical step, take out some of the anonymity to raise accountability.

Bird > Ex. President Mack41 10/03/2013 at 12:16

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I refuse to use Facebook as a login to anything, or to use it to comment. I'd leave here if that were the case. I like to control who I'm talking too. If I want to have a conversation about cars on a car website, my facebook friends don't need to hear about it. It's more advantageous to the blog using the facebook system to drive pageviews up.

It's not anonymity that drives that choice. I've posted enough personal info here that anyone could figure out what I do, where I live, etc. It's just that I shouldn't need to tell everyone I know something, just to comment to one person about it.

DailyTurismo > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 12:19

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Wait, let me get this straight...you want me to read the other users comments on my posts? I'm confused. And what is this FP place people keep talking about...it seems scary...

DailyTurismo > DasWauto 10/03/2013 at 12:20

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When will now be then?

Sooooooooooon..

Ex. President Mack41 > Bird 10/03/2013 at 12:35

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I don't have anything attached to my facebook account and rarely use it. I didn't know that commenting on something would put that on your stream. If you could disable that I don't see the problem, at the very least it would set one comment system that doesn't change every 6 months. I just want some consistency from Gawker, just leave it alone already, no layout or coding is going to increase the quality of commenter, offer higher quality pieces and the comments will get better.

Bird > Ex. President Mack41 10/03/2013 at 12:50

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Oh yeah I'm all with you on consistency...change happens a little too often here. I just hate facebook login with a passion!