Add customizable text footer to crossposted entries

[rosefox]

Title:
Add customizable text footer to crossposted entries

Area:
Crossposting

Summary:
I would like to see a footer in the text of my crossposted DW entries that (as much as possible) matches the footer on my LJ entries.

Description:
I would like each of my DW entries to have a footer in the entry text that says:

"This entry has been crossposted. Read it on [link]LiveJournal[/link]."

Ideally it should be as customizable as the footer that appears on the crossposted entries elsewhere (allowing the user to change what it says as well as the text style), and have the option for multiple links if the entry is crossposted to multiple sites. Having it appear in the text of the entry is important; showing the current link setup requires style modification (at least for those of us who use custom S2 styles) while having it in the text means it will show for everyone in every style.

To make it clearer, if you look at

http://rosefox.dreamwidth.org/1598852.html?format=light

the crosspost link is very obvious. But if you go to:

http://rosefox.dreamwidth.org/1598852.html

you can't see any info on the crossposts because it's a style object rather than part of the post text.

Poll #3462 Add footer to crossposted entries

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 35

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
10 (28.6%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
4 (11.4%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
9 (25.7%)

(I have no opinion)
12 (34.3%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[rosefox]

Additionally, a benefit of treating the crosspost link as an entry object is that, if you change the styling or text of the crosspost once, it should apply to all entries instantly.

Thinking on this particular part further: I've seen a hundred different ways of changing the crosspost text that appears on LJ and other sites. Some people explain why they crosspost, some request comments on one site or the other, some just put their own unique stamp on it. I really enjoy seeing my friends' customizations of that text.

But if the DW-side crosspost link is only changeable through style settings, then my settings will override other people's, as happens with the "leave a comment" links.

So I guess this aspect of it comes down to the question of whether "this has been crossposted" is simply informational, like "there are n comments", and thus something that should be handled in one's style, or sufficiently subject to individualization that the post creator's preferences should be visible regardless of what style they're viewed in.

[zvi]

If my understanding of the way the information is stored in the database is correct (and it might not be) the crossposting text that appears on your notDW entry is still treated by the Dreamwidth database as a separate object from the entry.

You are, if I understand you correctly, asking Dreamwidth to create a template in your post, which will then be editable by you through the entry edit form but also by Dreamwidth's automatic crossposting software.

I am very wary of a situation where I and the software are fighting about what the actual text of the entry is, and it seems to me as if that is exactly what you are looking for. I think it's very easy to get

WRT whether or not a person's xpost text should be persistent across style changes, I do think that the text should be persistent, but it is possible for us to have style objects where that is true. I'm not sure if that's the case with this particular object.

[rosefox]

If my understanding of the way the information is stored in the database is correct (and it might not be) the crossposting text that appears on your notDW entry is still treated by the Dreamwidth database as a separate object from the entry.

That seems to be correct.

You are, if I understand you correctly, asking Dreamwidth to create a template in your post, which will then be editable by you through the entry edit form but also by Dreamwidth's automatic crossposting software.

I would prefer for it to work exactly the way the LJ version works: when I hit "post entry", generate some text and include it at the bottom of the entry, and after that let me edit it the way I edit any other text.

I suppose that to prevent crossposting infinite loop hilarity, the DW footer shouldn't even be different from the LJ footer, but should say something like: "Read this entry on [link]Dreamwidth[/link] (n comments), [link]LiveJournal[/link], or [link]InsaneJournal[/link]." That footer works for any version of the post on any site, will copy over properly if I edit the DW entry, etc.

[cheyinka]

But if the DW footer isn't different, one couldn't do something like "This post is a mirror of [post on Dreamwidth]; comments are disabled here, but anonymous commenting is permitted there." (At least not without clunky re-wording.)

[rosefox]

"I disable comments on [link]LJ[/link]; anon comments are welcome on [link]DW[/link]."

[rosefox]

(And thanks for helping me noodle through this!)