view=flat

[hahnsrockstar]

Title:
view=flat

Area:
comment pages

Summary:
Can we get a link to open the comment page into flat view so all the comments are opened? Very useful on the comment heavy posts.

Description:
Right now, we can open comment pages in my style or light style. If we could add flat view, it would make it easier to keep up with epic long comment pages. Right now to do this, we have to open in light style then put the ?view=flat in the address and refresh. A link might save some time. It would be up to the reader to follow where the new comments fit in the overall page but for those who are willing to go there, it would be an easy step.

Regardless if you implement this request, you guys rock. Thanks!

Poll #744

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 38

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
14 (36.8%)

Should be implemented with changes.
21 (55.3%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
2 (5.3%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (2.6%)

Comments

[cesy]

I'm not sure I totally understand this suggestion. Can you give an example of a page with view=flat where this would be useful, as I can't get it to work?

[afuna]

It needs to be in the site scheme, so in order to get it to work consistently on all comments, you'll need to also add format=light, e.g.,

http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/8709.html?format=light&view=flat

[cesy]

Ah. That's handy. I think it might make the navstrip a little crowded to put the link in there, though. How about where it normally says "Post a new comment" or "Read all comments", between the entry and the comments?

Incidentally, that would also be a handy place to put an "Expand all comments" link, which would be even more useful for me than flat view, because flat view appears to lose the threading.

Either way, I think flat view should be in a FAQ, because I'd never heard of it before.

[afuna]

Hrrrm. How about in the bar where the number of pages goes?

<< [1][2][3] >gt;
View with Flattened Threads (or View with Nested Threads)

[hahnsrockstar]

When you're following a post with hundreds of comments and you see six more have been added, finding those six becomes very needle in a haystacky. With flat view, you just go to the last six comments. If you need context for those comments, click parent and it takes you to the thread.

I know Mozilla has an add on for LJ that does this but they haven't caught up with Dreamwidth yet.

[aveleh]

Just noting that afuna's a little sleep deprived. It works just fine on S2-styled pages too; I use it that way all the time.

(So, if it's *not* working correctly on an official S2-styled theme, that's a bug. But I talked to fu, and she claims sleep deprivation not testing. Also lack of laptop.)

[ciaan]

Expand all comments = yes

And I'd never heard of view=flat after 7 years on LJ, so, uh, maybe making it easier to use would be useful.

[msilverstar]

Expand all comments, oh yes please! It's so hard to follow conversations, even with the Expand link on comments.

There could be fewer bottom level comments per page, if that would lighten the load.

[yvi]

I am trying very hard to not imagine a '?style=mine&format=light&view=flat sting at the end of a URL right now.

I think you might understand where that comes from.

(who thought '?style=mind&format=light' was a good idea in the first place?)

[afuna]

Hmm, I think there is space in the navstrip. Though it doesn't quite fit with the wording of the existing options (light style, my style), I like the idea of having it in there *somewhere*.

[denise]

"Flat comments"? (Changed to "Nested comments" when ?view=flat is on, of course.) It doesn't quite flow, but ... hrm.

[afuna]

Perhaps "View this page with: original style | light style | flat comments"?

Oops, looked at the actual wording on the navstrip and it's "reload this page in" not "view this page in", but maybe still switch that "in" to a "with", and it applies to everything.

"Reload this page with: ...".

[ninetydegrees]

What about people who don't use the nav strip? It'd be nice to have all these viewing options available elsewhere. Maybe in the tool bar of site-schemed entry pages.

[snakeling]

Yes, I agree. I use the nav strip, but imo, it'be more useful/logical in the bar where you have (Post a new comment)

[melannen]

Yeah, I use the nav strip, but since I see comment pages in site scheme, I don't have nav strip on comment pages.

I like the idea of this showing up near the (Post a new comment) link!

PS: I didn't know flat view existed. Learn something everyday! Look, I can mod my JF community without having to get comments e-mailed. Sweet!

[zarhooie]

I'm concerned about site-load issues.

[cesy]

Make it a paid-only feature, then?

[zarhooie]

Mmmm... maybe.

[yvi]

the view=flat thing or the links?

[yvi]

Hmmm, why? I don't see it as being much different that loading all comments.

[foxfirefey]

I think ?view=flat is pretty load light, actually. Threaded comments should be more resource intensive to generate--it's why other platforms have lagged in supporting threaded comments natively. (WordPress dug its feet for *ages*.)

[denise]

Yeah, flat mode isn't much of a hit at all.

[foxfirefey]

So, I really like this idea (as a consummate user of view=flat) so I've put it into the bug database and assigned it to myself.

[hahnsrockstar]

I think I want to have your internet babies. Thanks!

[foxfirefey]

Well, it might take a little while before it's a good idea to implement. Someone else right now is working on moving the current comment pages in talkread.pl into an S2 style wrapped in the site theme, and I don't think I'd want to do this bug until they were finished with that, because it might work off of their changes.