A week ago I asked what readers though about the new format updates, and overwhelmingly, readers have approved of the changes as seen in the results at right.
About 25% of the respondents were unsure, and I get that, you have to try new things out to decide.
Some people hate it. I suspect a lot of that has to do with the threaded comments that I enabled that day, though some people are simply resistant to change. I get that too.
Today I want to do three things:
1. Pass on some tips for using the new format (which I have decided to keep)
2. Put some misconceptions to rest.
3. Query readers about threaded comments, which some people love and some people hate.
First let’s cover some things I’ve learned in the past week.
1. Tips for using the new format
Issue: The front page may look different to different users based on your browser window size and/or screen resolution.
This is normal, because the theme is designed to detect and format the output of WUWT based on your display.
For example, if your screen resolution is set for 1024×768 pixels (such as many older computers and monitors) you’ll get a front page that looks something like this:
For those running larger monitors, such as an HD monitor at 1920×1080 or larger, you’ll get a screen that looks something like this:
Note that when running a larger screen size, you get a drop shadow edge with grey background on each side. Some people reported this as some sort of problem, but this is normal. The design has an upper width limit. If it didn’t, things like the sidebar would never work right.
Note also when running higher resolutions, you get the vertical capsules of the 4 most recent stories where when running the lower resolution, you do not. If you aren’t seeing these, you may want to increase your browser window size and/or your screen resolution if your monitor allows it.
Having used every computer monitor style since the era of ASR-33 teletypes and 80 character 10″ CRT green screens, I can tell you that if you not upgraded to a wide screen HD computer monitor yet, you are missing out on a lot.
TIP: To get the most out of WUWT, run a screen/monitor resolution of at least 1280×1024.
Issue: Some people complained about font sizes, either too large or too small. That is easily remedied.
If you have not figured this out yet, use the browser zoom function. All browsers support this. I’ve played around with fonts for over a week now, and I think I have a good mix that “most” people can read. However, there are some older or oddball computer and or browser setups that don’t render fonts correctly, and they look bad on a handful of those.
TIP: Use the CTRL key and the mouse wheel (if you have one to change the zoom up or down) Pressing the CTRL and + keys or the CTRL and – keys simultaneously will change the browser zoom. Pressing CTRL and 0 (zero) will reset to default.
Issue: Some people reported that they can’t see elements on the screen we have been discussing, or that the page rendering looks odd.
This is likely related to your computer hardware and/or browser.
There’s not much I can do about that except to say that the current theme expects a modern computer and a modern browser. If you are still running IE 6 and FireFox 4, then you’ll never get the benefits of the improvements we made. Here is a breakdown of browser versions in use on the net today:
Source: http://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=2&qpcustomd=0
And by browser name:
Source: http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser-ww-monthly-201308-201408-bar
TIP: Use a modern browser, and one that is updated. Chrome works best I’ve found, followed by Firefox 31, and IE9 or better. Opera, not so much, and it is not recommended. Android web browsers are still hit and miss, but Apple users on modern versions of Safari seem to be doing OK with WUWT.
Issue: With the new threaded comments, some people say they won’t be able to determine if somebody replied to them without reading through the entire comment thread, and thus that’s a reason not to participate anymore.
I can understand where you are coming from, but there is an easy solution to this that is actually more precise than simply looking at the bottom few comments in a linear comment thread, and hope to see replies to your comments there.
TIP: Use the “find within the page” search feature supported by all browsers. Pressing CTRL and F keys simultaneously brings up the search dialog. It looks like this on FireFox:
Commenter Kadaka sums it up nicely:
I have adapted.
I can find new comments by searching the page for a day like “august 31″, I can find by hour like “august 30, 2014 at 11″ and note am or pm. I can find replies to me by my handle.
In a small way nested comments are better, as before there were a-holes who would give derogatory replies using my words without using my handle, or use some version of my name. I’d have to scan the list to catch them.
Now, when they use the reply option, there it is near my handle, easy to find.
So with that in mind, the comment threading has advantages if you learn how to make use of them.
2. Put some misconceptions to rest.
A number of people have made suggestions about moving WUWT off of wordpress.com and onto some self hosting. Likewise a number of people have made comments about using wordpress plugins to solve issues or add features.
I can’t do either right now. Moving WUWT to private hosting is a HUGE undertaking and has large risks. We have over 10,000 articles, over a million comments, and over 3 gigs of image and video content that must all remain perfectly linked and synchronized.
I’ve studied the issue for months. I studied it more last week. It won’t be easy, and then I’m at the mercy of a company that may decide later to terminate the arrangement, get sold, go broke, or start censoring content because they get pressure from outsiders. I have less risk on my current setup with wordpress.com
Right now, WordPress.com and its parent company, Automatic are in my corner. Why? Well it has something to do with something I can’t talk about by an agreement I have. Suffice it to say that Al Gore got involved in an issue a couple of years ago, and WUWT was the focus. WordPress/Automatic took the high ground on my behalf and WUWT remains in the top 10 blogs on wordpress.com worldwide.
While wordpress.com almost lost me to the recent “beep boop editor” change, they have shown by their actions that they are still a company that listens to its users, and they rescinded the change last week.
So while I’m limited to what I can do on wordpress.com hosting (like being unable to install plugins, edit code to provide special tweaks beyond CSS, or provide some specialized themes) I can say I have better safety with them from attack, not only from things like IP based DDoS attacks, but also from business/dogma attacks. They hold the First Amendment dear and reject the calls of those would see WUWT shut down. I can’t really find a better deal anywhere, especially since wordpress.com hosting is free for unlimited traffic.
So, I’ve decided to stay awhile longer. I really don’t need more work to manage WUWT nor do I want to live under the threat of censorship for daring to speak an unpopular truth.
3. Query readers about threaded comments, which some people love and some people hate.
OK we’ve had a week trying threaded comments. Let’s find out how the readership feels about it.
Again, thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading WUWT.
– Anthony Watts
P.S. Many people have expressed their thanks to me for keeping WUWT going, and I appreciate all those notes. To help keep WUWT strong, please always remember to SHARE on Facebook, TWEET stories, and use other forms of social media to tell others about what we do here. There’s a bar at the bottom of each story with easy links. Please use it:
One thing the Pro AGW crowd does better than climate skeptics is to make use of social media to “get the word out” I’m asking that we all do better there, even though you may find much of social media unpalatable. – Anthony
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Can you post comments in reverse time order, with newest one on top?
I’ll check
I disagree. I prefer the first comments first.
Or there an control to make a personal choice. Have seen it on other sites.
Is this the first comment?
perhaps you could arrange for the first line of a reply to be at the end and the last line at the top, too. That would make it less confusing when trying to read backwards trough a thread of replies 😉
No, seriously we all read from top to bottom, that’s the way it scans quickest. It would be a nightmare to be jumping up, reading down a comment then jumping further up, trying work out where we are and whether we’ve already read it .
Please leave things in the traditional, logical order.
Why not default to oldest comment first. Then give people choice to reverse it.
oldest comment first please.
Leif apparently “grew up” using Microsoft and didn’t learn the evils of top posting as those of us who started out using mailing lists and usenet learned.
On another note, can you insure that article authors are shown in the short headline whatever you call ’em on the main page? I always liked that in the old format and it would be a shame to lose it.
check
I’ll
– We’re all going to sound like Yoda now 🙂
I also prefer 1st comments first; perfect solution is to implement as an individual option (if supported by website).
In any event, I continue to strongly support threaded comments (I frequently don’t have time to pick thru 100 comments to follow an interesting thread).
Oh, no! Leif predates me on a few things. And I had to help invent Email before people created mailing lists! Sorry about how that spam thing turned out.
I tried – and failed – a while back to find one of the exchanges Leif and I had about DEC and SDS systems, back when you moved computers with forklifts.
Ric
—
> A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
>> Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
>>> A: Top-posting.
>>>> Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet and in e-mail?
mit-eddie!alliant!werme http://WermeNH.com/
Ric Werme September 2, 2014 at 4:57 pm
“Leif apparently “grew up” using Microsoft and didn’t learn the evils of top posting as those of us who started out using mailing lists and usenet learned.”
Oh, no! Leif predates me on a few things.
The computer I grew up with:
http://www.leif.org/research/GIER.jpg circa 1964
7 K memory or 1 miilion times smaller than the one I use today
0.7 kips or some 5 million times slower than the one I type this one
so I am about 10 times more productive today than back then…
Disagree, please leave it as it is.
Nobody reads books from back to forth.
I seem to be with the majority here – I prefer oldest first. It makes reading the comments easier as they make more sense in the order posted.
If you decide to go with it, please make it an option. (assuming it’s an option available to you at all)
“back when you moved computers with forklifts”
Hrmph. I’ve heard it took as many as 3 engineers, a small crane, and a couple hours time to add half a meg of memory to Cybers back in the 1980s.
Well, the new form seems to work after a fashion (which is more than I can say for many news and magazine sites on my early version of Safari), but many of the “reply” links that should be here are AWOL.
I have to agree that “top posting”, and quote headings with different levels of chevrons or bars or indenting from the quoted material itself, are annoying (as is the Balkanizing of discussions since usenet news was assaulted by the barbarian spammer hordes).
Using Microsoft systems has jack to do with comment ordering. Newest comment on top encourages comment spam and makes following a discussion incredibly difficult.
Hint: If you are notified of new comments by email you will get the comments in the order they are posted.
Please no. Not unless there is an option for users to switch back to oldest at the top. We read from top to bottom and to follow a thread from bottom to top would drive some mad. If you think format changes cause people to rant just try starting a “top to bottom or bottom to top” discussion sometime when you are bored.
Vice
Versa
Not
Bottom
To
Top
From
Read
People
Type thing explodes.
Duster September 2, 2014 at 2:02 pm
Leif apparently “grew up” using Microsoft and didn’t learn the evils of top posting as those of us who started out using mailing lists and usenet learned.
The rule should be that the position of the top-level comment is governed by the latest time of any of the comments linked to it. If so, there is no ‘evil’ to ‘top posting’. The ideal would, of course, to have it both ways [selectable] so the masochists can be satisfied too.
An example of the evils of threaded comments without top posting [or bottom posting with the same rule] is Curry’s blog.
Leif you apparently missed that episode of “Computer Holy Wars” where there is one and only one way and that’s that! 😉
I’ve read with both for so long it doesn’t bother me but whoa can you get a good argument going by saying one is superior to the other. I prefer oldest at top but like I said I’ve worked with both for so long I’ll make do with whatever is here.
Cheers
No, I didn’t miss anything, but if I had just gone to the bottom of all the comments to see what was new, I would have missed your latest comment. Luckily, my top-level comment was the first of all, so I did get your latest comment. The ‘best’ rule would seem to be that if there is a new comment in a thread, then the thread is promoted to be either to first one or the last one. I prefer the first one, but can accept and live with the last one. The important point is not to miss the new comment because it is in the middle of 100 other comments.
P.S. be somewhat careful not to assume that people have ‘missed something’ just because they have a different opinion.
@Leif,
Rereading your original comment, I believe I misunderstood your remark. I was thinking about threading which is a different issue. Of course the newest comment on a – what’d’yah call it? – topic? can be at the top. If I did misunderstand it, my apologies; if I didin’t, well heck.
There may be some confusion here. Some terminology may be needed:
Post: the article describing a topic
Comment: a comment attached to the post
Thread: a sequence of comments connected by each being a reply to a specific comment
This introduces a hierarchy: a post has many comments on level 1, each being a thread. Each thread may have a sequence of comments at level 2. Each of there may have further comments on level 3, and so on.
Within a post, threads may occur with the oldest one first or the newest one first. Within a thread, comments are read in order, i.e. oldest one first. If a new comment at any level arrives the thread ‘inherits’ the arrival time and is placed either last or first, depending on the policy chosen. In this way, new comments do not get ‘hidden’ in the middle of hundreds of other comments. This was my idea. I don’t know if WP can support this, but, if not, would raise it to a suggestion for them.
Thus, the most recent reply is ALWAYS at the bottom of the page, regardless of which date-time-group the first comment that began that specific conversation/thread the reply is a child/grandchild/stepchild of, right?
Thank you. .mod
or at the top, depending on one’s preference. But, as this reply shows, I can’t even figure out how to reply. There is no link to click on…
Ditto on Leif’s request, reverse time order listings are very handy.
….. Contingent on it being an option button as opposed to the default. Chronological order is best as the default with a newest-first button as an option.
I’d go from “Love” to “Hate” with a reverse time order. Thread flow would be counter to paragraph flow.
Agree.
You could have an entire separate forum for discussions about blog stories (and so much more). If you allowed everyone to contribute, it might be the busiest forum on climate ever. I will bet money volunteers would be happy to Moderate it, run it and even pay for the cost.
Just a suggestion. I like the new look, and the threaded responses. The problem with commentary is the amount, not the format.
Or at least the option to put threads in time order. Personally, I favor oldest to newest. But otherwise like the threading. Other blogs with newest comments on top can be confusing to the occasional reader.
Also, some collapse threads to the first comment which would be a nice feature particularly on an cell phone browser. Then it would be easier to scroll around.
A,
Thanks for doing what you do so well!
Mac
The new font type is much more difficult to read. The one used in quotes is perfect.
Otherwise, the new format is good/great in general.
Agree, serif fonts don’t suit the medium, sans serif far easier to read
The font type, size and color you see in your browser is under your control. Each browser lest you customize your fonts (as well as a lot more).
I run IE 8, and find that the screen does not look like your examples, a straightforward text taking up about 3/4 of the screen, with a thin sidebar on the right.
And threaded comments are an absolute pest. If I click on ‘reply’ what I write seems to disappear into the wide blue yonder. Fill in the comments form, and there is a far better chance it will appear. At the bottom , where it should be.,
Dudley, that’s the best argument I’ve seen for upgrading to a modern browser yet, thanks!
What would be really cool is if WordPress eventually had a button option for a raw chronological unthreaded sort with each post in the raw chronological sequence topped with a link to the post it is replying to. It is then possible to speed read posts and responses to quickly find those subtopics of that are of interest. (Including reverse unthreaded raw chronological order as well.)
This is probably a complicated piece of software coding to do, but it would be well worth it for those users like myself who speed scan the comments. Maybe this task could be outsourced to the Elbonian Ministry of Complex SQL Queries as a funded software research effort.
I hope that you are sending some the suggestions that WordPress won’t let you do on to them. I’m sure they’d rather people go with the paid service but they must get something from the free version. Perhaps incorporating some of the suggestions in the free version would entice more bloggers to sign up with them.
PS Thanks again for what you do. The information you make available here is important. And that you’ve taken so much time and put forth so much effort to try and satisfy your readers says a lot about you.
PPS I voted “on the fence” because I’ll adapt to either. This is your “living room”, not mine.
Dudley,
Upgrade your browser soonest.
Thanks, fms amd Anthony, but IE8 works very well. Why go to something else that might not. In any case the only problem is the idiotic messages that I occasionally telling me to update my browser – if I click on them for update, they then tell me I have the latest version. Why go to another version so that Microsoft can put bugs in it, and then take credit for taking them out?
@Dudley Horscroft
IE8 can’t handle most of the modern CSS3 features as well as widespreaded jQuery.
Time to update or abandon IE in general with all its security flaws and use a non-Mickysoft browser, like FireFox.
Not to mention the ability to run a 64-bit version of the program.
Dudley, do you still run 16-bit Windows programs as well? :))
Why are you using IE8? Using a 5 year old browser is an eternity by Web Standards.
If you are using…
Windows XP, you need to upgrade your OS.
Windows Vista, upgrade to IE9
Windows 7, upgrade to IE11
Windows 9, upgrade to IE11
Otherwise use the latest version of Chrome or Firefox.
No website owner should waste their time supporting an obsolete web browser.
Anthony, I think you’ve worked hard to get the site looking more up to date. It’s extremely good. I’m getting used to threaded – which is strange considering I’ve been a long-time user of DISQUS and it’s threaded comments (can’t put my finger on that….).
I do have a couple or three niggles though:
1. Can you reduce the indent on the threads so that a third thread reply isn’t too narrow to view?
2. Any chance that the comments counter will return on the summary of the post?
3. I still love the font that comments are written in – but not the font they subsequently display in.
Answers:
1. Maybe, I’ll look
2. I have a ticket in with wordpress.com about this, the feature is actually missing from the theme.
3. I have people that want serif fonts, people that want sans serif fonts, and other requests. No win for me.
Please darken the low-level text a bit more.
rogerknights
1. define “low level text”
2. how do you know the problem isn’t with your monitor settings?
[2.] I have code running now to fish the comment counter out of the individual posts, and my display in “Ric Werme’s Guide to WUWT” is displaying comment counts again. It is a poor substitute for what WP used to provide, as I update the data once a day (0500 ET, a couple hours after the change of day in WP time).
Checking http://home.comcast.net/~ewerme/wuwt/index.html in the PT morning is a semi-useful to see which posts are popular and which still have a discussion.
I do get the sense that posts have a longer “active lifetime” now thanks to the infinite scroll on the home page, that was one of Anthony’s goals.
[3.] Stick with serifs. I used to be a fan of Helvetica sans-serifs, but have come around to the Times Roman set. Sans serif is okay for headlines and vital for crossword solutions. 🙂
“3. I have people that want serif fonts, people that want sans serif fonts, and other requests. No win for me.”
User style sheets: http://webdesign.about.com/od/userstylesheets/a/aa010906.htm
The indent is less, about 1/2 of what it was. I like it.
Yeah you beat me to announcing the change.
Again, I ask if it is possible to enable double-tap zoom for Android tablets? If not, no worries, but it’s a nice feature on Android that strangely doesn’t work anymore on WUWT…
No, I don’t have any control over that, it is theme based.
That can be controlled in your settings. You can override site limitations on zoom in most instances.
David: I was amazed to find my Android Nexus changed the double-tap to triple-tap at the last upgrade – and didn’t even mention it!!! Plus a few other weird things.
Is it possible to implement a numbering system on comments similar to what Jo Nova does?
I would also second Leif’s request for newest comment first options. That would eliminate much of the tread milll effect many mobile users deal with getting to the bottom.
Looks good Anthony. Thanks for doing what you do.
I second ossqss’s comment of newest comments “on top”. Much of my net reading is now on my cell and the scrolling becomes tedious due to the great number of comments in most threads.
Anthony thanks for all you do. You have and are making invaluable contributions.
Steve, it’s much better to read on your cell than in your cell
In essence you are proposing that all users get the short topic most recent comment version.
Persistent readers must page down to the bottom to where the discussion actually begins.
Those of us who prefer to follow threads in their entirety parsing through orderly sequential time postings would have to start at the bottom and page upwards. When encountering new comments we then reverse order while we read downwards through the comment and then again search upwards for the next sequential comment. Rather bizarre that.
ClimateAudit has utilized the indented sub comment style for awhile now and frankly, the more complicated or detailed the topic the better the indented comment structure aids detailed review and analysis.
Add to that that using the ‘search on this page’ function would also hit the last reply first. Though we could search in reverse jumping from off hit till we hit a reply (searching in reverse for my name as a quick check would first find my name outside of the post thread).
If there is an option for user preferences, of course that is agreeable; other than that, I vote for keeping the current sequential form.
Numbered comments with sub number replies as suggested above sounds useful though. Especially if Anthony could apply color codes to dates of postings. (Just watch for new colors for the latest replies) But that does sound like asking too much from Anthony.
After all the requests here for things that WP can’t do, why are people asking for newest first instead of talking to their “smart” phone manufacturers about adding some effective way to scroll long distances and jump to the top or bottom of a web page? Or maybe you are and we don’t see those requests. I’d think the Android folks would be quick to implement that before Apple does.
You still use a browser on mobile, and are subject to its functionality.. Now, if wordpress made an app for optimized mobile viewing only, that would be different.
I’m not clear what you’re describing. And, I’m not a phone-user, but I want a website to serve them well.
Mobile support/plugins are exploding on WP, and I study them.
I am very happy to read your blog. It is good work and hard work sometimes by yourself. Having access to legal protection is good thing and is well appreciated. For those who feel this is not necessary, try Andrew Bolt in Australia and his issues with people trying to shut him down.
Is there a way to see newer comments? To change comment order?
Threading is very useful, but sometimes I want to sort by date.
Please read the lead post again and pay particular attention to the use of “CTRL and F” keys at the same time, then type in your search criteria.
“Commenter Kadaka sums it up nicely:” The search function allows you to sort/search by name, date, time, phrase, word, etc. This function remains operational through other posts/articles and remains until you close it of leave WUWT.
Works like a charm. Give it a try. You’ll like it!
Please read my message again.
Please explain how “CTRL and F” has ANYTHING to do with my request.
PMS?
The search function is browser dependent and has nothing to do with this webpage, this feature has been around forever in browsers yet no one knows how to use it,
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/crazy-90-percent-of-people-dont-know-how-to-use-ctrl-f/243840/
Having trouble remembering Ctrl-F?
Think of it as “Control + Find” (any letters or text you choose to type) on the current web page.
By the way, there are a couple other keystroke/shortcut commands you may also use
Ctrl-C is “Copy the highlighted text to the buffer” (but leave it in place).
Ctrl-X is “Cut from the page (and put it in the buffer) the highlighted text.
Ctrl-Z is “Undo whatever I just did”
Ctrl-Y is “Undo the “undid” that I just did”
Ctrl-V is “Insert from the buffer” the text that is stored in the buffer.
There are others for formatting …
Are you for real?
Yes. Defining everything though your right hand and a one-mouse finger is going to lead to trouble for many billion fingers and hands and wrists in the future. Besides, ctrl+ keystroke commands are faster, less confusing, with less net movement of your hands from your fundamental typing position.
Now, if I could only figure out how to use Mozilla Firefox’s automatic text spell-checker without having to position the mouse over the red-lined (highlighted) misspelled words and then left-mouse selecting the correct spelling option …….
Thanks for the tips on additional use of the control function key. I played around with those you noted. Could be handy.
With regards to the buffer, well I don’t know what that is but the text is stored/remembered somewhere. Can the buffer be seen/read before pasting?
I like to read all comments before making my own. In the previous format, It was trivial to read top to bottom, and to pick up at that point the next session. Now it is a chore to keep up with comments, because they’re all over the place. I voted ‘hate it’.
I like the typeface for the body text because it is clear and legible – I’m guessing it’s Garamond – but the block quote typeface is horsey, cheesy, and extraordinarily inelegant.
It is a rare and evil typeface that not only discourages reading, but also penalizes the determined reader with eyestrain should he persist.
Ditch it please and revert to standard practice for displaying quoted text, i.e. the italic font in the same size as the body text typeface.
Thank you!
I think the blockquotes should only be italicized too. It was changed to that for a day, but then reverted back.
Anthony
Chrome, under setting/advanced, gives you an option to change the font style/size, which works for some websites like wiki, is there something that is preventing it from working on wordpress?
Call me weird but I like reading comic sans font ;0)
WUWT change – we’re doomed!!!
(just kidding 🙂
And it’s even worse than we thought!
I like it though. Thanks Anthony, for all your time and effort. WUWT is what keeps my hopes up high.
Another effect of global [climate] change.
I don’t care what you do, so long you keep blogging. Keep leading the way!
You keep blogging too. I read your blog everyday.
Anthony,
Thanks for your continuing effort.
I currently cut and past your postings daily to the American Society of Engineers which they display weekly on one of their Environmental Newsletters. I always reference the WUWT website. They are well received and are viewed by possibly hundreds of Mechanical Engineers or more. As long as that works I am extremely happy with your site.
Thanks for your effort it makes it easy to spread the truth.
Regards,
Don Shaw
You might want to think about an edit button next time so the user can clean up typos and save minor changes. See the abominable Bloomberg news site for examples.
For the millionth, gazillionth, time. I can’t install plugins to enable this feature.
I can get it by using the WordPress “Enterprise” upgrade (which I tried briefly last year) but that is $500 a month and the comment editor was pretty lame, and wasn’t worth it.
Okay, thanks for the info. It does sound like a bad option.
I like the new format and the Nested Comments make more sense regarding imbedded conversations on subjects. What I miss is the Right Side Banner information regarding Temp and weather satellite loops that isn’t there any longer. Is it still accessible someplace on the page?
Please move the Recent Posts list higher in the sidebar, preferably much higher. It’s a chore tracking it down–it makes site navigation much harder.
Concur. That would be great.
Ditto. Directly under the Site stats – but WUWT ads and donate button might not get clicked as much.
If WordPress allows it, maybe an option to “show more” Recent Comments would be good.
Anthony, the changes are all for the good. The entire presentation is great. Please don’t lose any sleep over the relatively few negative comments. Some people will never be satisfied. By the way I am a Microsoft 8.1, high resolution, wide screen, IE user and very satisfied with all of it, but because of your suggestion I will give Chrome a look see.
I’m easy to please — so I’m happy with the new look. I guess the overall issue is what should occupy most of Anthony’s time — content or appearance? I think content will always win.
Yes!!
Oh I’m so glad someone has made this point.
But if requests are being made, I would like First comments first, breakfast in bed and a nice sunny holiday please.
Keep the content as excellent as it always has been. I’ll work out the rest.
As always, thanks.
Eamon.
I haven’t posted a comment in years because it was too difficult to log on. That seems to have been fixed now. Oh, and I like the new threaded comments, too!
Can we get a return to top button for those long,100 or more comments posts?
Do you mean like how the Home button works when you’re not clicked into an “enter text” box? You click on the general page outside of a data entry field if needed, then hit Home and the page scrolls back to the top. That sort of button?
Or, in reverse, the End button takes you to the bottom of the page.
with firefox back to top extension puts button on toolbars for this.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/back-to-top/
think they have chrome extension too.
very easy to use.
if on internet exploder…sorry.
This site has just gotten better with time…
and a lot of work from Anthony…
and a lot of help from the mods…
and a lot of input from the posters…
keep up the good work, everybody.
I like the new look.
I use Opera 12(so it is old but it has bookmarks) and have no issues.I suspect the new Opera based on Chrome code will have no issues either.
I hate the reply to comment feature, because nobody ever replies to my comments.
I hate the reply to comment feature because I hate threaded comments.
But I’m mainly replying because I thought you’d appreciate it.
Not true!
Reply #3: I love your music videos!
Oh, that Elmer! Yes, M4GW videos are great (as is the consternation of the authors of the production software). Your mosquitoes have trained you guys well!
Is this a thread-jacking attempt? 😎
“I hate the reply to comment feature, because nobody ever replies to my comments.”
If you really, really want a reply say “unprecedented“.
YOU LIE !!
🙂 🙂
I respectfully disagree that newest comments should be at the top. In reality it would be the comment group (comment and its replies) that would be affected, and the most recent “comment” would be a reply under another comment. I’m not sure how that would work out but it seems like it would be a mess to read through in addition to the unnatural ordering. Please don’t do that.
You might want to poll people in a future update on a) What device they use to read WUWT, and b) How familiar they are with browser customizations. The more knowledgeable can help out the less experienced in tweaking their browsers, but I realize a lot of people just want it to work.
Larry, I think you have hit upon a key point about reverse order:
In reality it would be the comment group (comment and its replies) that would be affected,
If the 1st level comments are in reverse order (most recent at top), then you will encourage people to post in nested replies.
Hi Larry,
If I’ve understood you correctly – it usually doesn’t work quite that way. When threaded comment sections are in reverse order, it’s only the first order comments that are revered – all the replies under them are still in normal chronological order. For example if you had a few comments as it is now, they could be represented like:
1. First comment
……1a first reply
…………1a1 follow up
……1b 2nd reply
…………1b1 2nd rep. follow up
…………1b2 2nd rep. another follow up
2. Second comment
……2a first reply
…………2a1 follow up
3. Third Comment
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then reverse chronological order that’s still a threaded version of those same comments would be on the page in the following order:
3. Third Comment
2. Second comment
……2a first reply
…………2a1 follow up
1. First comment
……1a first reply
…………1a1 follow up
……1b 2nd reply
…………1b1 2nd rep. follow up
…………1b2 2nd rep. another follow up
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other words, the only comments reversed are the first order ones, the primary comments. Their nested replies all still are in descending chronological order within each nested level.
Do you know any blogs with 3 level threaded comments that are organized in a Level 1 reverse order?
I just noticed that Linked-In Pulse blog has a “Newest” “Oldest” “Most Popular” order to its listing.
When on Newest, the 1st level replies are in newest order, and the replies to the replies are in newest order. Only 2 levels allowed.
Main Post
Comment 5
Comment 4
— Reply 4.3
— Reply 4.2
— Reply 4.1
Comment 3
It is a disconcerting order for any discussion.
Example:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140826190850-3388458-everything-we-know-is-wrong-part-1
On the other hand, there are very few replies to any comment. Finding 2 replies to a comment is very hard.
@Stephen Fisher Rasey
Do you know any blogs with 3 level threaded comments that are organized in a Level 1 reverse order?
Offhand, no. Pretty sure I’ve seen them before, however. It seems that reverse order comments used to be more common than they are now.