The problems we have had recently with the plugin that enabled subscription to comments inspired us to go looking for a better alternative.
And it looks like we found one that not only continues to provide the comment subscription and edit functions that we have long had, but also adds a whole bunch of other cool features including the long-requested ability to upload an image:
Image Upload
You can upload one image per comment with a maximum size of 1 MB. If you need to make an image smaller, this free online app will do the job, and here’s another that will optimize it further.
For decent image quality aim for at least 1000 pixels on the long side. That said, there is no point in making it any bigger than 1400 pixels.
Your image will display as a thumbnail in the comment, but enlarge if someone clicks on it.
Please do not abuse this feature by uploading a bunch of images to a bunch of comments. This is not a photo sharing site.
Other Features
The many other features are best seen by taking a look at the tips graphic at the top of this post.
Beta Test
So far this software seems very well written, so we have high hopes that it will stand the test of time. That said, I guarantee that there will be something we have not thought of, so if you find a problem, or even just something that does not make sense, please leave a comment to this post.
Hey, thats great news! Looks good on my mobile at the first glance, and I get the notifications again!
However, no formatting options on mobile (Android 5.something)
And obviously no edit possibility 🙁
Edit – oh yes its there, but too far to the right to be clickable on the first level.
Hi Ernest,
I can see and click on the edit icon in my iphone. Please post a screen shot.
Never mind – most certainly it is my wispy fingers 😉
No formatting on phones is intended behaviour. Just not enough room to do that with enough space between the icons.
Hi John,
I’m having a problem with longer comments which aren’t displayed fully. You’re meant to click on Read more, which unfortunately scrolls the article in such a way that you lose your point of reference?
Hi Carl
I’m not seeing that issue. What device are you on?
Firefox 84 beta on Windows 10 20H2 with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200.
Please try it on another browser. Firefox is almost always the problem browser and if it’s a Beta I really can’t take on trying to make it work, that is assuming it works fine on other browsers.
Hi John,
Unfortunately I see the same in Chrome 87 on the same hardware.
Hi Carl,
I think I have this fixed. Please test again. Thanks.
John, you can reproduce this easily, here are two screenshots:
Situation one (left side of the screenshots) – the top of the post is outside the viewport – in this case the post is extended upwards, positioning the end of the post at the coordinates where the “Read more” button was located
Situation two (right side) – the top of the post is within the viewport – here the reference point remains and the post extends downward (sshot21 -> sshot 22).
I think I have this fixed. There was some CSS from the old system still lying around. Can you please test again.
Just tested and unfortunately not yet.
What I found is that it works if you have at least a bit of the post header visible. If nothing of the post header is visible the text still expands upwards instead of downwards.
Hi Ernest,
OK, I turned it off. Running out of time to mess with this, and, as you know, browser specific CSS issues are a huge time sink. I was not sure whether the read more feature was a good idea or not anyway.
Hi John,
A minor request (absent relevant knowledge :)): is it possible to have the date after say, 24 hours, revert to absolute? I’m currently reading an older post where I’m sure the relative date of 1 year ago, isn’t very accurate.
Not a deal breaker by any means, but seeing many posts with the same (wide) date stamp somehow bothers me.
Hi Carl,
Yes, that is irritating. I have set it back to the old precise date and time format. There is no way to mix the two without a bunch of coding that’s past my pay grade.
Thanks for the heads up.
Hi John,
The precise date and time format lacks an indication of a time zone. It’s not a deal breaker in any way, of course.
Ideally, I’d like to see the timestamps in the client’s time zone, but I don’t know if it’s easily configurable in the comment plugin you’re using.
Hi Alex,
That would be cool, but I don’t have any way to do it other than a bunch of custom code. Also it would be quite a performance hit since a lookup would need to be done on every every page-load to determine location of the viewer’s IP address.
Hi John,
I had in mind a client-side script that would convert the timestamps for display, not a geo-IP lookup. That would cost nothing on the server. Something along the lines of this example:
const date = new Date(Date.UTC(2020, 11, 20, 17, 23, 16)); console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat(undefined, { dateStyle: 'long', timeStyle: 'long' }).format(date));This should be supported across most browsers: https://www.caniuse.com/?search=Intl.DateTimeFormat.format
Again, I’m not implying you should go to this trouble. Only sharing my not entirely unqualified opinion.
Hi Alex,
Oh, that’s a good idea. I had not thought of doing it on the client side…duh. When I get time I will mess with it. I suck as a coder, but I’m working on it a bit when I have time.
Hi John,
I took a short look into JavaScript date handling and it only served to further convince me to continue avoiding the language as much as possible. What I naively suggested above, is certainly doable, but it’s a mess. If I were you, I’d probably just leave it as is. or, at most, added a time zone abbreviation to timestamps.
Hi Alex,
That’s very kind of you. Probably saved me from getting in too deep. My Javascript skills make me look brilliant in PHP…and I suck at PHP!
John, would it be possible to include the title of the page where a comment has been posted tin the notification email subject again?
Old version: “There is a new comment at AAC to New Satellite Communications Systems”
New version: “New Comment”
Thank you!
Hi Ernest.
Done, let me know how it works for you. Also thinking I should add some AAC branding to the emails so people can tell at a glance what it is. Maybe a special graphic for comment notifications.
At the moment the notifications are still sent as “New Comment” (two received after your reply here)
I’m seeing the article title fine. I have just punched up the the formatting to make it stand out more. If it still does not work for you, please post a screen shot with the problem highlighted.
It is the subject of the notification emails, see screenshot from my Thunderbird email client.
Hi Ernest,
Try that. Not sure if variable tokens will work in the subject line.
Actually they do!
Cool
Ah, one more – did you intentionally reverse the comment sequence? I have been SO used to the time-based sequence where the oldest comment was the first one. Somehow easier to read as a lot of (existing) first-level-posts refer to previous posts…
Hi Ernest,
At the beginning of the comments, at the right of the line, is a sort toggle (oldest first or newest first)?
Ah, didn’t notice this, thanks!
Hi John,
Two more problems/changes:
Hi Carl,
This is a function of how the comments are now loaded only when you scroll down (lazyloading). This is the best way to get good performance with a system this complex and the number of comments we have.
So I guess the question is why would you want to do either of those? For example number two: I have never seen anyone other than me link to a comment. Am I missing something?
Anyway, would be an easy one – just add this HTML abstract after the <div class=”wpd-comment-date”>:
Of course, replace the href content with the actual comment anchor 😉
Example screenshot
Hi Ernest,
I can easily add it, but the issue is clutter, so I need to understand why it’s required before I do that. If I just add features without really thinking about their utility the site will be back to a complicated dog’s breakfast like it was before the big simplification last winter.
Hi John,
The first question is to do with going through old posts with occasionally more than 100 comments. At the end of the day and not having got through all the comments, I close the browser. Upon restarting the next day, I have to start from the top. I’m guessing this to be an edge case, admittedly.
The second question is indeed mostly theoretical. For my use, the first point is unfortunate but I get the performance implications.
Hi Carl,
In that case I think the benefits of the new system outweigh these downsides. You could just leave the window open on the computer overnight?
Mal, if you allow to modify or delete a post indefinetely you risk that others have replied to/are talking about this post which is then either no more available or completely changed.
Hi Mal,
You can now delete your comments indefinitely see the management link (top graphic).
The reasons for not allowing changes after 15 minutes, are as Ernest says.
Hi John,
Looking good from my side, chrome on an iPad pro.
I like that there is a bit more time to edit. It’s easier to see the whole of a text when it’s posted, so I frequently discover flaws after posting.
I see no point in enabling deletion of the post for a lot more time, however. Making posts kinda permanent means that the discussions stay complete. It might also contribute to the good behaviour we see on this site. If we know we can delete our comment anytime in the future, some might feel a smaller barrier against posting an emotional comment? I think the good tone here mainly has other reasons, but maybe still an issue?
Absolutely d’accord – posts shouldn’t be removable after the initial edit time has expired. What happens if there are replies? How would posts that refer to a deleted post (but are not within the thread) look like?
Deleting a post is dangerous after a short time, it is similar to having never said something that everyone heard, though…
It’s a big set of improvements, John. Thank you for taking the time to make these changes. I particularly like the ability to insert photos of modest resolution. Some of your commenters have diagrams or photos of some very interesting rigging and/or engine room installations I’m sure would be helpful to see now that they are easier to embed in replies.
Hi All,
I just did a big edit on the comment notification emails. However, one of the few weaknesses in the plugin is that I can’t send myself a test email to proof.
So please advise any typos or anything in the emails you get that does not make sense.
Thanks for all the input so far.
Hi John,
I’m having a problem with the comments: at least on my PC and with two different posts from 2019, the comment stream is repeated in a different font consistent with the former comment system?
Hi Carl,
Yup, just found it too, and fixed it. Thanks for the heads up. Let me know if you see anything else.