8
votes
Comment box on other people's posts at the top?
Just a suggestion for the site:
The comment box should be at the top of a comment thread instead of at the bottom because on super long threads it's annoying to scroll down.
I actually really like it at the bottom (and would wager it's a conscious design decision) because it forces you, the reader, to at least scroll by all the other comments, making you more likely to have read the conversation you're about to engage in.
It was one of the first things I noticed about tildes, and one of my favorites.
Ditto. On reddit I've noticed tons of times I would make a comment, read the rest of the comments and realize my sentiment had already been conveyed multiple times, and then go back and delete my comment. Most people don't even bother with the deletion step.
And if a thread is large enough, then there's little to no point in creating a top-level comment anyway, since it's incredibly unlikely for someone to read it in the first place.
As others have said, it's intentional and very unlikely to change.
On super long threads where it's annoying to scroll down that far to post a new top-level comment... what is the point/value in making a new top-level comment when people are unlikely to ever read it? Putting the comment box at the top is basically encouraging people to scream into the void. Spend 15 minutes sorted by 'new' in the comment sections of busy submissions on reddit and you will see nothing but endless noise with very little value or substance. That's not what Tildes wants to support or encourage.
I enjoy the irony that everyone's response is the same "it prevents duplicate responses".
Guess that's what happens when one reads the comments before posting one's own :)
You'll notice that most of those responses were all written within a timeframe of 5 minutes of each other - implying that they were written practically simultaneously, probably when the thread was empty and there were no other comments to read. The only response written later (about 20 minutes later) acknowledges the previous responses and adds a different point.
as i recall, there's a (potentially post hoc) reason for why this is the case which boils down to the fact that it requires you to at least skim what other people are saying and as a result, cuts down on both redundant comments and results in more engagement since you'll actually on some level be reading what other people are saying and thus might be encouraged to add your thoughts to someone else's point, as opposed to just making a bunch of top level comments.