12 votes

suggestion: if I haven't read a topic yet, display "42 comments (42 new)" rather than "42 comments"

I have "track my last visit to each topic's comments and mark new comments" enabled in my settings, and it's an awesome feature. One useful aspect of it is I can scan down the page, and the "(X new)" text in red is a line down the page, so it's an easy way to look for "any discussions I haven't seen yet?"

The gap is, if I haven't viewed that topic at all, the "(X new)" marker doesn't show up. So a thread with 50 comments that all are new to me, looks the same on first glance as a thread with 50 comments that already had 50 comments the last time I viewed it.

14 comments

  1. [9]
    Deimos
    Link
    I did think about this originally, and the reason it doesn't already work like this is that the red "(42 new)" is very visible, and I thought it made the most sense if it only showed up on threads...

    I did think about this originally, and the reason it doesn't already work like this is that the red "(42 new)" is very visible, and I thought it made the most sense if it only showed up on threads that I'm actually interested in (which I've at least vaguely expressed by visiting the comments once). If I'm not interested in a particular thread, I didn't want to have this red text glaring away on it all the time, where I had to choose between clicking on that thread just to get rid of the red text (potentially many times if it stays active), or having to constantly ignore some of the new-comments indicators while trying to pay attention to others.

    It's more subtle, but you can tell the difference between "I've never visited this comment thread before" and "this comment thread has no new comments" based on whether the link is blue or purple (at least as long as you're on the same device).

    12 votes
    1. [7]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I can't speak for everyone but for me, a lot of the time when a comment section is at 0 comments I don't visit it not because I have no interest in it, but simply because there is nothing there to...

      I can't speak for everyone but for me, a lot of the time when a comment section is at 0 comments I don't visit it not because I have no interest in it, but simply because there is nothing there to read yet and I don't feel I have anything worth saying as a top-level comment. And preemptively visiting the comment section of every topic I may be interested in later, should someone actually comment, is a massive PITA.

      But I can definitely see your argument against doing 'unvisited with new comments' that way as well... so *shrug*

      edit: Maybe as a compromise have the (# comments) be a different colour for unvisited comment sections with comments in them so all four states (unvisited no comments, unvisited with comments, visited no new comments, visited new comments) are visually distinct?

      4 votes
      1. [6]
        Deimos
        Link Parent
        They already are distinct: Unvisited no comments = blue, "0 comments" Unvisited with comments = blue, "X comments" Visited no new comments = purple, "X comments" Visited new comments = purple, "X...

        Maybe as a compromise have the (# comments) be a different colour for unvisited comment sections with comments in them so all four states (unvisited no comments, unvisited with comments, visited no new comments, visited new comments) are visually distinct?

        They already are distinct:

        • Unvisited no comments = blue, "0 comments"
        • Unvisited with comments = blue, "X comments"
        • Visited no new comments = purple, "X comments"
        • Visited new comments = purple, "X comments (Y new)"
        7 votes
        1. [4]
          cfabbro
          Link Parent
          At least in the white and solarized light themes the difference between "Unvisited with comments" and "Visited no new comments" is really, really hard to distinguish (especially at a glance)....

          At least in the white and solarized light themes the difference between "Unvisited with comments" and "Visited no new comments" is really, really hard to distinguish (especially at a glance).

          https://i.imgur.com/f3A1eUs.png

          So I guess I should have said:

          Maybe as a compromise have the (# comments) be a different bright colour for unvisited comment sections with comments in them so all four states (unvisited no comments, unvisited with comments, visited no new comments, visited new comments) are more visually distinct?

          5 votes
          1. [3]
            Deimos
            Link Parent
            Yeah the blue and purple colors are probably too similar, it's a common complaint overall. Hopefully we'll have a better theme system before long and we can change around the colors for the...

            Yeah the blue and purple colors are probably too similar, it's a common complaint overall. Hopefully we'll have a better theme system before long and we can change around the colors for the non-Solarized themes.

            5 votes
            1. [3]
              Comment deleted by author
              Link Parent
              1. [2]
                cfabbro
                Link Parent
                Currently being worked on - https://gitlab.com/tildes/tildes/merge_requests/23

                Is this just a planned improvement or is someone currently working on this?

                Currently being worked on - https://gitlab.com/tildes/tildes/merge_requests/23

                3 votes
                1. [2]
                  Comment deleted by author
                  Link Parent
                  1. cfabbro
                    Link Parent
                    NP, and no worries, I keep forgetting about the merge request page too. E.g. I had no idea that syntax highlighting was even in the pipeline until the ~tildes.official announcement about it being...

                    NP, and no worries, I keep forgetting about the merge request page too. E.g. I had no idea that syntax highlighting was even in the pipeline until the ~tildes.official announcement about it being live was posted. :P

                    1 vote
        2. super_james
          Link Parent
          Maybe it could get the (new) but not go orange for unvisited with comments?

          Maybe it could get the (new) but not go orange for unvisited with comments?

          2 votes
    2. spit-evil-olive-tips
      Link Parent
      I think this is a valid use case, but it would be better served by an "ignore / mute thread" feature, which would suppress the "X new" display entirely and probably apply a strong negative...

      it made the most sense if it only showed up on threads that I'm actually interested in (which I've at least vaguely expressed by visiting the comments once)

      I think this is a valid use case, but it would be better served by an "ignore / mute thread" feature, which would suppress the "X new" display entirely and probably apply a strong negative multiplier so it's far less likely to appear on my frontpage.

      If there's a thread that just based on the topic title I'm not interested in, but it generates a ton of comments, I'll probably view the thread at least once to see if it generated interesting discussion despite my first impression. Once that happens, the current implementation doesn't make any distinction between "looked at it once then clicked away" vs. "reads every single comment because this topic is fascinating and generates amazing discussion". Once I click it once, I'm now "committed" to seeing it with "X new" forever, so if I see it at the top of "sort by activity" I think "ooh, that's interesting" before reading the title again and thinking "nevermind..."

      2 votes
  2. [5]
    cfabbro
    Link
    Created a Gitlab Issue for your suggestion.
    2 votes
    1. [4]
      spit-evil-olive-tips
      Link Parent
      Thanks! I suppose I should get around to setting up a Gitlab account of my own one of these days. We use a private instance of it at $dayjob but I'm still coasting along on Microsoft Azure Git...

      Thanks! I suppose I should get around to setting up a Gitlab account of my own one of these days. We use a private instance of it at $dayjob but I'm still coasting along on Microsoft Azure Git Foundation Server GitHub for my personal stuff.

      1 vote
      1. [3]
        cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        NP and it's up to you. I try to keep a pretty close eye on ~tildes and ~test topics for any issues that need to be added to Gitlab. But I certainly won't stop you from doing it yourself and...

        NP and it's up to you. I try to keep a pretty close eye on ~tildes and ~test topics for any issues that need to be added to Gitlab. But I certainly won't stop you from doing it yourself and appreciate when people do. ;)

        1 vote
        1. [2]
          Algernon_Asimov
          Link Parent
          Please don't take this the wrong way (except I already know that there's no other way to take it), but... I notice that you did not add an issue for my recent suggestion after saying "I don't...

          I try to keep a pretty close eye on ~tildes and ~test topics for any issues that need to be added to Gitlab.

          Please don't take this the wrong way (except I already know that there's no other way to take it), but... I notice that you did not add an issue for my recent suggestion after saying "I don't think this feature suggestion is a great idea or even necessary".

          I wonder whether there should be something a bit more formal around this process of deciding which suggestions should be put on to the issues list. Who decides what should and should not be part of the plan for Tildes, and on what basis?

          Paging @Deimos.

          1. cfabbro
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            Well in general, if a topic is submitted to ~tildes and gets thoroughly discussed but the overall consensus (including that of Deimos') is generally against it, I usually don't add an issue about...

            Well in general, if a topic is submitted to ~tildes and gets thoroughly discussed but the overall consensus (including that of Deimos') is generally against it, I usually don't add an issue about it to Gitlab since that just potentially clogs up Gitlab with suggestions for features which will likely never come to be. I do try to remain impartial in regards to that aspect of the process, but I suppose some bias may enter in to the decision as I'm only human. If people feel there should be a more concrete policy in place as to what should and shouldn't be added to Gitlab then I am not opposed to that. And of course there is always the option of people adding the issues to Gitlab themselves. There is no special privileges or permissions required to do that, all it requires is a Gitlab account, and in which case I will label their issues properly when they submit them.

            3 votes