Notes on our new comment system

[ladyofleithian]

Originally posted by theljstaff at Notes on our new comment system

  Thanks to all of you for providing your feedback and voicing your concerns about LiveJournal's new comment system. Please understand that we are taking your feedback seriously, and will continue to evaluate this new feature. In the meantime, we'd like to explain the reasons behind the change and the greater impact this has for LiveJournal.

  First of all, our new S1 comment system was completely rewritten from scratch.  The comment system has never been updated on this scale before. In the past, code was being piled upon old code, which turned out to be messy and unstable.  A complete rewrite means an updated, cleaner and faster system - which is a good thing for everyone. The default comments pages are the first step in an update to our overall site design, which is meant to improve performance and user experience.  The addition of Ajax features is a major part of this update and has many benefits for users:

• Pages no longer need to refresh after adding comments, which helps reduce load times
• Keyboard shortcuts to ease navigation (Ctrl + enter for a new comment, Alt + left arrow/right arrow moves between pages, Ctrl + Alt + '+ / -' expands or collapses all comments on a page)
• Buttons for editing, tracking, adding to memories, etc.  are now accessed by hovering over a comment, removing general clutter
• New comments on pages are marked as such
• There's a new, more visual icon selection tool

  In addition to all of these technical improvements, there are no longer advertising banners on default comment pages.

  The following issues are a known priority as we work through the kinks of our brand new comment system:

• General performance issues with certain browsers
• Improvements for mobile devices, including user pic selection
• Post subjects added to email notifications
• Restoring visibility of notes in comments
• Restoring 'parent' links
• Adding some additional RTE features to comments
• Adding spell check

  We do not have a specific time frame right now, but we will keep you informed as these are ready. As always, if you have issues with the site or notice any bugs, please contact support.  We continue to thank you for your patience and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday!

- The LiveJournal Team

=========

All well and good, but somehow? I'm not buying it. Sorry. :/

Comments

[chameleon-irony.livejournal.com]

there are no longer advertising banners on default comment pages.

I have trouble believing this. Is it true? I have a paid account, so I wouldn't see a difference...

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I don't get the ads either.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Ads in general annoy me. And commercials -- I'll confess that's why I don't watch TV much. (Call me nuts. XD)

[elizabeth-hoot.livejournal.com]

Another ad-free person here, so I don't know about that, and I'm mostly just bemused by the changes, but your icon is wonderfully relevant. :D

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D Iconzicons is awesome, really, and I've always wanted an opportunity to bust out that icon. :) *Sighs*

But yeah...LJ. Gotta love it. (Sort of. :/ Not when it's...y'know, doing stuff like this)

[etoiledunord.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't realize how messed up the formatting on this post was until I saw it on your non-black/white layout. No wonder there are so many glitches in the new system, if that's how they code their entries.

Also, I hate this release, too, because the changes to comments, like subject lines and navigation/linking functions, makes a lot of comms and journals much more difficult to use than before. It feels like LJ's removed their tools for working because they don't want those comms/journals around, like they're trying to force out people who RP or play in kink memes. It's very disheartening to me, and they just haven't addressed these issues at all. =(

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Your icon's made of win. Seriously. :)

And yeah, this. *Sighs* Hopefully, Livejournal gets its act together again.

[girlofavalon.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I still believe they'll get their act together, and hopefully return the subject lines. TBH, the loss of that feature is what upsets me the most, even though I didn't use it myself very much.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean.

[girlofavalon.livejournal.com]

I still think that igrik guy is the rotten one in there... and to think that he's the head of design... *shudder* His attitude toward the userbase was unacceptable. But he'll fall one day.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

This. Seriously.