E-Mail notifications for comments: make Reply the first link instead of the last one

[ninetydegrees]

Title:
E-Mail notifications for comments: make Reply the first link instead of the last one

Area:
notifications

Summary:
When you get an e-mail notification for a new comment, you have a list of links at the bottom to take further action. Reply is the last one in the list. I suggest it be the first one.

Description:
I would think Reply is the link people use most and it seems logical to me to encourage conversations.

It would also save me some scrolling when I use my cell phone.

Poll #4746 E-Mail notifications for comments: make Reply the first link instead of the last one

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 63

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
27 (42.9%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
3 (4.8%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
13 (20.6%)

(I have no opinion)
19 (30.2%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (1.6%)

Comments

[melannen]

I never go to the reply link from an e-mail comment; I always click on one of the thread links, to be reminded of the full context, and then reply from there. So I would prefer it stay as is.

[travelingmonkey]

This.

[thejeopardymaze]

I'd like it available as an option, but not as is.

[azurelunatic]

I think I would like a third emailed comment notification option besides HTML and plain text: mobile-optimized. This would leave things as is for people who prefer it that way, and would prevent option overload for people who primarily get notifications on their cellphone.

[ninetydegrees]

Great idea!

[cesy]

I love this idea. Mobile-optimised could also then have comments at the top of the email for a comment to a long entry, for people who want that option, too.

[matgb]

Yes please. I never, ever, reply from the link in the notification, even if commenting on my phone, but making it easier to do so for mobile viewers would be nice.

[zvi]

Because the comment form is in the e-mail, I'd actually guess that relatively few people use the reply link…

[eruthros]

The comment form isn't in the e-mail for people who get plain-text notifications, though.

(I always click on view thread or whole post anyway; reply to comment isn't a link I use.)

[ninetydegrees]

The comment form doesn't work with my software.

[azurelunatic]

I use plain-text notifications, and use the reply link relatively frequently.

[ratcreature]

I never use the comment form because you can't choose an icon there. I always click the reply link or sometimes if it's been longer the thread link.

[aedifica]

Not everyone's email client supports it, though. At least one of the ones I use doesn't.

[zvi]

Yes, I realize that not everyone's client supports the form, or some people get the form in plaintext, but if the idea is to adjust the link order to make using the e-mail notification better for more people, then, we should give some actual thought as to whether more users are using the reply form or not.

[ninetydegrees]

If you have stats on these, please share. I have no idea what people do or don't (well, this poll gives me one now).

[zvi]

I don't know either. I suspect you'd need to take a look at the site referral logs to try to actually find out, but you said that you figured that the reply link was used the most because it's the one you use the most.

[ninetydegrees]

I have no idea what you're talking about.
Yeah and obviously that was a pretty stupid assumption. Lesson learned. :)

[arethinn]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Web stats that log where people landing on a certain page were coming from (the "referrer") - to know whether it was from clicking the email reply link or what.

(Like you, I depend 100% on that thing because I read everything in plaintext. I didn't even know there was a comment form in the HTML version until some heinous bug on LJ a while back where you could get hold of someone's password via them.)

[ninetydegrees]

Oh this. Thanks. Well, it's not like I have access to that so...

[arcanetrivia]

I know. I think the other poster was using the general "you" - "one would have to look at these logs to really know the truth of the usage stats".

[arethinn]

Sorry, that other comment (arcanetrivia) is me.

[tree]

i always use it.

[musyc]

The order of the links isn't important to me, but I don't think I've ever used the 'reply' link to open a page. I always view the individual thread or the entire post&comments, just to catch up on what's been said since I last looked at the post.

[marahmarie]

OK, I'm being selfish in voting for shouldn't be implemented: I screen all comments, so I want the "unscreen comment" link first. Every time I hit the reply link when I'm not logged in, which I do all the time, I get the dreaded 403 Forbidden error, since I'm screening, which is just me annoying the crap out of myself.

[aedifica]

Yes please!

[ciaan]

I always use the comment thread or entry comments link and reply from the site. I also get plain text notifications.

[florentinescot]

as long as it takes the "reply" link FAR AWAY from the "delete comment" link, I don't really care where you put it -- although, I really do like first!

[zing_och]

Yes, me too!

[yvi]

Yes, please!

For all I care about, the HTML notification can stay intact, but for those of us getting the plain text one, I'd love i to be on top.

[sarken]

I just spent the day replying to comments via my iPod, and this set up would have made me so incredibly happy. (Actually, it would make me happy in general, but it would have been particularly loved today.) I don't often use a mobile device, but I'd probably be willing to switch from plain text to a mobile-optimized setting like azurelunatic suggested. It would depend on what other changes went with that mobile setting.