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

[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)

[denise]

Oh, I like that.

[turlough]

I like this!

[kate_nepveu]

Looks good to me.

[aveleh]

I like that. Can be also shown there if there's just one page and at least one comment that isn't a root?

[afuna]

We'd have to be a bit clever, but I think it's possible.

[kyrielle]

This. Same area as the multi-page but not tied to it.

[zvi]

+1

[lone_lilly]

+1

[pthalo]

+1

[jeeps]

wouldn't this be useless if there aren't multiple pages of comments?

[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.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, it took me years to find out about that function too. All these tacked on url things are really obscure. I didn't find out about the option to just view comms or people without comms on my flist for ages either (that was pre-navstrip)

[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]

Awww, *pets*

(But you solved it, and we have our working original style link \o/)

[aveleh]

While some people might want &format=light&view=flat I'm just noting that you don't actually need a system styled page to get flat comments. They work fine with S2-styled pages; I was using it just last night :) (And if they're not working in some cases, someone should file a bug.)

Afuna was a little sleep deprived and laptop-missing and confused. <3