Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Everybody's talking about the new commenting system

Hundreds of you made the transition to our new commenting system Tuesday, and many more will make that journey today. I’ll try to answer a few of the questions popping up along the way.

Want to upload your own Avatar? You’ll need a Disqus account for that. The simplest way to set that up is to go to www.disqus.com. Once you have an account, you’ll get an option to upload or change your Avatar.

This account will also allow you to keep track of your previous comments and post other information about yourself. However, the options to post personal information are not as detailed as what you found in the former system.

One user described having to log off and log on to the system for it to activate each time. If you block “cookies (essentially, memory that is stored on your PC when you visit a site so the site recognizes you on repeat visits),” you may have to log in again.

Another commenter reported seeing “no difference” with the new system. My guess is that you weren’t yet looking at the new system. All stories and comments posted before mid-morning Tuesday arrived in the framework of the old system.

A couple of people asked if we can allow individual settings of more than 10 comments per page. The system has only one uniform setting. We chose 10 comments because that’s a full screen and then some. We realize that this is not ideal for everyone, but for most users it seems to be a reasonable amount.

We were asked if we can provide an “ignore” button that allows someone to stop seeing the comments of specific commenters. The system does not allow that as configured, but we will let the vendor know that some users like that idea.

You may find the Q & A we’ve prepared helpful in answering other questions.

Thanks for the questions, the suggestions and the patience. Now, it’s on to Day Two of the transition.

13 comments:

wiley coyote said...

I've tried 4 different times to upload an avatar, which it says I have done, it shows up next to my login on the Observer but it won't show down in the comments.

It's just as well anyway because you've reduced the size even farther where it is not discernable.

Personally, I think your new comment system is far worse than the previous one.

Anonymous said...

This is not that complicated you bunch of lifeless know it alls.

Anonymous said...

When you report comments as inappropriate they stay on the board. The same comments under the old system would be removed rather quickly.

Have the people who judge the comments changed or are you just allowing more leeway?

Larry said...

It use to be when you went to the main www.CharlotteObserver.com page your avatar was just beside your name. Now only your name is showing.

Previously you could then click on it and go to your history of comments.

Now you have to click on your name shown and when you arrive at your edit your profile page then click your avatar to get to your history of comments.

Can you make this easier like it once was or were you aware of this.

Thanks.

chupacabra said...

It's not working for me. I can't log in with my usual username and password. I logged out and back in just to see if my password had changed, it hasn't.

Then I went to disqus to create an account and it said that my username already exists - yea well that's ME and the password isn't working. I had my password e-mailed. I got the e-mail and sure enough it is the password I've been typing.

I had to create a new username. I'm not letting it ruin my life but I kind of liked the old one better.

chupacabra said...

I don't suppose you can add an edit feature or perhaps a spell checker?

I am a horrible speller and need that red wiggly line.

Anonymous said...

I wish the Observer would adopt a commenting policy like that used by the Atlanta Journal. These idiotic comments are an embarrassment to the city and the paper.

Timothy Whitson said...

It hasn't exactly been a smoothe transition. I had to create a disqus account; it wouldn't let me log in with my CO username, but fortunately my same username was available. Also, several times I've tried to post and even though I was logged in, I had to relog in and instead of logging me in I just got an hourglass.

Anonymous said...

When will the Thatsracing site get onboard with the new system?

Anonymous said...

I'd very much like to have the Hide Comments functionality restored. That, and the fact that the Observer disallowed comments on certain sensitive stories, were the best features of the old system.

Anonymous said...

Replies to comments stay with the original comment which is nice in one way, but once you get so many comments, no one will see the replies to old posts...even when you sort by "newest first".

There is an edit feature now, and I tried to edit my previous post and then save to make a correction. It didn't take and said there was a problem with the edit, but didn't specify.

Anonymous said...

Timothy Whitson said...
It hasn't exactly been a smoothe transition. I had to create a disqus account; it wouldn't let me log in with my CO username...

Timothy, I had the same problem initially. I believe the default login in Disqus. You have to click on the Charlotte Observer icon to the get to the CO logon

Rick Thames said...

In working with one user having problems, we found that some users may have to log out, then log back in the first time. That should not be a recurring problem, however, unless you have 'cookies' blocked in your computer. We are working through problems and reporting stubborn issues to our tech support staff. If you have a recurring problem, please email online@charlotteobserver.com. Thanks for alerting us to issues, and for being patient as we check them out.