23 votes

Collapse comments?

Posted by ignorabimus (edited )
Tags: ask.help, comments, ui

Is there a way to collapse really long comments? I find that a very small number of Tildes.net posters often write really long comments (if I were cynical I might say excessively long and I freely admit that I am sometimes among them) which makes it really hard to navigate comment threads because I can't see the child comments very easily.

Is there a setting to collapse long comments (so that one has to press a "read more" button to see them). Otherwise, I would like to suggest that this be considered for addition to Tildes at some point :)

16 comments

  1. [11]
    vord
    Link
    It shouldn't be encouraged to half-read a post and then continue on in a thread. If the post is so big, collapse it at the top and don't engage further in that particular chain.

    It shouldn't be encouraged to half-read a post and then continue on in a thread. If the post is so big, collapse it at the top and don't engage further in that particular chain.

    22 votes
    1. [10]
      krellor
      Link Parent
      I agree with the sentiment, but will say that you might read a comment and it would be convenient to collapse it once read to make it easier to quickly scroll around and navigate branches on a...

      I agree with the sentiment, but will say that you might read a comment and it would be convenient to collapse it once read to make it easier to quickly scroll around and navigate branches on a phone or smaller screen. I use my phone for probably 90% of my use and could see that being helpful from time to time.

      I'm also quite guilty of writing long comments at times, lol, so maybe that is just my cross to bear.

      21 votes
      1. [7]
        Tharrulous
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        I'm also culpable in writing long comments. However, I've now realised this greatly affects navigation, especially in busier threads. When you've got 50 comments to read, it sucks to have comments...

        I'm also culpable in writing long comments. However, I've now realised this greatly affects navigation, especially in busier threads.

        When you've got 50 comments to read, it sucks to have comments extending past the entire height of the computer screen. This is worse for mobile users.

        It also makes it difficult for other users to engage with not only your comment, but every comment below yours. I've noticed that in many threads, engagement noticeably decreases after these long comments.

        So what I've started doing is to:

        1. Split long comments into subheadings

        2. Put each subsection into collapsed spoilerboxes

          (See this comment for example)

        I would like to ask other people's opinions on this. Is this something you'd prefer?

        Another thing

        Incidentally, I've also played around with manually adding a 'Continued Below' spolierbox when the comment is too long.

        See this comment

        I removed it previously because I wasn't sure about it, but I've re-added it right now to demonstrate.

        17 votes
        1. boxer_dogs_dance
          Link Parent
          If I am on mobile, I am on the three cheers app which collapses old comments. On desktop I don't mind length at all. I do like thorough answers if they are on point

          If I am on mobile, I am on the three cheers app which collapses old comments.

          On desktop I don't mind length at all.

          I do like thorough answers if they are on point

          8 votes
        2. Frinet
          Link Parent
          Personally I’m a big fan of the spoiler boxes but I’m more of a lurker and not a power user so take that with a grain of salt.

          Personally I’m a big fan of the spoiler boxes but I’m more of a lurker and not a power user so take that with a grain of salt.

          6 votes
        3. csos95
          Link Parent
          I pretty much always like seeing comments with <details> tags. It makes navigation much easier for me on both mobile and desktop.

          I pretty much always like seeing comments with <details> tags.
          It makes navigation much easier for me on both mobile and desktop.

          6 votes
        4. Johz
          Link Parent
          As another person who naturally tends towards long comments, my own personal rule is that spoilers/rules/headings are a sign of a bad comment that I should either shorten, or move to a different...

          As another person who naturally tends towards long comments, my own personal rule is that spoilers/rules/headings are a sign of a bad comment that I should either shorten, or move to a different medium entirely (i.e. is this advice that I can put on a blog somewhere and just link here?)

          I've particularly found this with horizontal rules: I write a long comment, and then want to break it up visually. For me, that's usually the point at which I need to start editing hard.

          It's not universal, and I find there are situations where I don't mind writing longer comments - for example, if someone is asking for specific advice and I know I have something to offer (mainly in programming subs, less so here on Tildes); or once I've started engaging in a discussion/debate with someone, I'll often write longer comments. But in both of those cases, I feel like I've been given "permission" for the longer comment - there's an explicit request or engagement.

          3 votes
        5. krellor
          Link Parent
          I suppose I'm torn. On the one hand, yes, I think it can help compact things. On the other, there isn't anything wrong with a long comment, if it is otherwise efficiently written, productive to...

          I suppose I'm torn. On the one hand, yes, I think it can help compact things. On the other, there isn't anything wrong with a long comment, if it is otherwise efficiently written, productive to the thread, and proportional to the topic.

          My first thought before using the collapsible headers would be, can I make this shorter by using fewer filler words or being more direct. If not, then maybe the headers.

          I went and looked at one of my long'ish comments and put it into word. At about 4,000 characters with links and quotes it was 1.25-1.5 pages, single spaced, 11 point font, 8.5x11 with default margins. That is a lot of text, but it was actually fairly directly and efficiently answering questions that had been posed to me, so I'm ok with it.

          I'll also say that often times participation feels like it follows a bell curve like distribution over the first 24 hours, so long comments might just correlate with the natural petering out of the discussion. But I do think it is easier to get involved in a thread before the long comments take over.

          2 votes
        6. DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          It's not helpful for me for reading or for my own formatting. My brain doesn't work like that (headings and such) and formatting on mobile is easier with the firefox plugin but still not intuitive...

          It's not helpful for me for reading or for my own formatting. My brain doesn't work like that (headings and such) and formatting on mobile is easier with the firefox plugin but still not intuitive for me.

          It makes it much harder in my case to engage with that sort of comment than it is to engage with a long one and I'm way more likely to scroll past it than read it in full.

          1 vote
      2. [2]
        Greg
        Link Parent
        You can do that now with the little - icon at the top left, in case it’s useful to you. There’s also a “collapse old comments” option in settings to do it automatically when you return to a thread...

        You can do that now with the little - icon at the top left, in case it’s useful to you. There’s also a “collapse old comments” option in settings to do it automatically when you return to a thread you’ve already visited.

        6 votes
        1. krellor
          Link Parent
          I've used the - icon, but unless I'm derping it up, it also hides child comments. So I couldn't minimize the parent after reading it and review the child branches. I don't think. I will take a...

          I've used the - icon, but unless I'm derping it up, it also hides child comments. So I couldn't minimize the parent after reading it and review the child branches. I don't think.

          I will take a look at the collapse old comments option. I've noticed that when I click on the "x new" orange link, and that is super nice.

          Thanks!

          11 votes
  2. [2]
    FluffyKittens
    Link
    This is a really good use case for a userscript. Here's a JS snippet that should do the legwork: document.querySelectorAll('div.comment-text').forEach(function(comment) { if...

    This is a really good use case for a userscript. Here's a JS snippet that should do the legwork:

    document.querySelectorAll('div.comment-text').forEach(function(comment) {
    if (comment.innerText.length > 2000) {
        // Store the original content in a data attribute
        comment.setAttribute('data-original-content', comment.innerHTML);

        // Create a new link element
        var expandLink = document.createElement('a');
        expandLink.href = '#';
        expandLink.innerHTML = 'Long comment - click to expand';

        // Set the onclick handler for the link
        expandLink.onclick = function() {
            // Restore the original content from the data attribute
            var originalContent = comment.getAttribute('data-original-content');
            comment.innerHTML = originalContent;
            return false; // Prevent the default link action
        };

        // Replace the comment's content with the link
        comment.innerHTML = '';
        comment.appendChild(expandLink);
    }
});

    (Generated w/ ChatGPT, but I told it the explicit steps to use.)

    You should be able to copy and paste the above into your browser console on any Tildes thread, and it'll collapse any comments over 2000 characters for you. To make it automatic, you can use a browser extension like Tampermonkey. Said extensions will require a bit of templating around that code, but the exact details vary; read the docs or ask ChatGPT to convert that code to work with extension-of-your-choice.

    12 votes
    1. krellor
      Link Parent
      That's awesome, thank you! Note to self, limit posts to 1,999 characters. 😉

      That's awesome, thank you!

      Note to self, limit posts to 1,999 characters. 😉

      8 votes
  3. Crespyl
    Link
    On a slight tangent, having a Hacker News-style "next" button to skip to the next sibling comment might be a helpful way to navigate precisely past long/already read comments.

    On a slight tangent, having a Hacker News-style "next" button to skip to the next sibling comment might be a helpful way to navigate precisely past long/already read comments.

    8 votes
  4. creesch
    Link
    Out of curiosity, what constitutes a long comment for you? I am also slightly curious what the value is of reading comments when they are replies to something you have not read? Not trying to be...

    Out of curiosity, what constitutes a long comment for you?

    I am also slightly curious what the value is of reading comments when they are replies to something you have not read? Not trying to be judgmental here, I am genuinely wondering as it wouldn't occur to me.

    6 votes
  5. raze2012
    Link
    Nothing on the user side. If you're concerned when making a comment about winding tangents, there is formatting used to make a collapsible section: Here's a really long comment Long comment

    Nothing on the user side. If you're concerned when making a comment about winding tangents, there is formatting used to make a collapsible section:

    Here's a really long comment

    Long comment

    5 votes