AJAX expand/collapse of comments

[zeborah]

Title:
AJAX expand/collapse of comments

Area:
comments

Summary:
Extend the new expand/collapse functionality for cut-tags to comments too.

Description:
The awesome expandable cut-tags have already become so natural to me that this afternoon I suddenly thought, "Hey, the comments should do that too!"

--In fact, both

a) existing comments, and
b) the "post a new comment" box

could be expandable.

Hm, I guess it might be more awkward if it's a really popular post with eleventy-hundred comments?

But other than that, it'd just be great to be able to reply to someone and/or read comments without having to open a new tab or lose your place in your reading page - either of which break the flow.

Poll #3457 AJAX expand/collapse of comments

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 40

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
16 (40.0%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
7 (17.5%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
7 (17.5%)

(I have no opinion)
9 (22.5%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (2.5%)

Comments

[ratcreature]

I wouldn't mind this as long as the regular reading page wouldn't take longer to load nor worked less well for older computers. I don't know the technical aspects, but often AJAX heavy pages that pre-load lots of stuff (like gmail) don't work so well for me, or don't load. I would not want that for the reading page. If that wasn't an issue with the mechanism, it would be cool.

[jadelennox]

yeah, on posts with lots of comments, the Firefox LiveJournal extension that does comment on folding is incredibly slow. But on the other hand, if this is an optional unfolder like the current cut-tag unfolder, and is designed like that one in that it doesn't preload, it could work.

Might be a decent paid feature?

[ninetydegrees]

Reply, yes, and I think it's planned. Comments, no for me.

[zvi]

If there's a reply expand, would posting the reply move you off the reading page to the entry page or open a new window? I am against both of those things. I want to just stay on the reading page, or else the reply expand isn't functionally different from opening the entry in another tab.

[kyrielle]

I'd like this if it added beyond the current 'expand' functionality, didn't preload but loaded on demand, and if the in-place reply stayed in place instead of reloading. That last would be hugely nice.

[susanreads]

b) could be useful, as long as it doesn't take you off the reading page when you post the comment. I wouldn't use a), but I wouldn't mind as long as it doesn't load the comments until you choose to expand them.

(When I saw the heading on this suggestion, I thought it was to expand/recollapse all comments on a post. That would be a useful paid feature.)