Allow empty entries

[syderia]

Title:
Allow empty entries

Area:
entries

Summary:
What it says in the title.

Description:
Currently, DreamWidth stops you from posting an empty entry. It sorts of makes sense, since this is a blogging site, but there are a few circumstances in which one might wish to post an empty entry.

Case in point, I make a list of all books and movies that I read/watch during the year. I haven't watch any movies yet, but I wanted to create the entry so I could put the updated link for 2011 in the sidebar.

I think it might be better to get an error message notifying the poster that the entry is empty and asking if they want to proceed with it any way.

Poll #5579 Allow empty entries

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 89

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
13 (14.6%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
1 (1.1%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
54 (60.7%)

(I have no opinion)
19 (21.3%)

(Other: please comment)
1 (1.1%)

Comments

[azurelunatic]

I can't imagine that allowing empty entries would hurt anything, but I also cannot imagine any circumstances where an entry deliberately left empty for a while would be hurt by a "this space left intentionally blank" sort of note, or a character such as  .

[green_knight]

Seconded. "This entry will contain my booklog' tells readers what it is about. I feel the inconvenience to users who want placeholder entries without typing 'placeholder' is less than that for DW to implement this change.

[syderia]

That's why I posted the suggestion.
Actually implementing it would just save maybe a few seconds (and the moment of exasperation you get when something doesn't work the way you imagined it to work, even for a good reason) - at least the way I would use it - but I wanted to see if other people would be interested in this behavior (or give reasons why it shouldn't be done.

[ariestess]

Thirding this. I've had entries of the style being mentioned in this suggestion, and I've always done it as "This is where my x list is going to be. Check back for updates."

[syderia]

That's why I posted the suggestion.
Actually implementing it would just save maybe a few seconds (and the moment of exasperation you get when something doesn't work the way you imagined it to work, even for a good reason) - at least the way I would use it - but I wanted to see if other people would be interested in this behavior (or give reasons why it shouldn't be done.

[syderia]

That's why I posted the suggestion.
Actually implementing it would just save maybe a few seconds (and the moment of exasperation you get when something doesn't work the way you imagined it to work, even for a good reason) - at least the way I would use it - but I wanted to see if other people would be interested in this behavior (or give reasons why it shouldn't be done.

[azurelunatic]

So (route for implementation) if a non-breaking-space HTML entity would not hurt an entry-left-intentionally-blank, then probably the easiest way to make it happen would be to have a "entry is blank. Do you really want to post with a blank entry?" and if the answer is no, go back; if the answer is yes, insert an   to the entry without the user having to do so manually, and ... hm. "and go ahead and post" sounds like it would be irritating for people who hit the wrong button; "and let the user hit post again themselves" sounds non-intuitive for the RTE and a little annoying for HTML.

Assuming implementation...

[marahmarie]

Would the blank post show up automatically on one's Reading/Network pages if they were public or in our Circles? If so, wouldn't that be somewhat annoying/weird to at least some people (trying to envision exactly how I would react to blank posts on those pages, and not coming up with much that I can even articulate)?

OK, my question is answered further down (here) - yes, the blanks would show up.

Re: Assuming implementation...

[matgb]

Actually, no, they're unlikely to.

Most people posting posts as the OP describes will be dating them out of order. Out of order posts don't show up on the reading page, deliberately (that was why they introduced 'backdating' on LJ way back whenever it was).

Doesn't change my opinion that this is a waste of time to implement.

[cesy]

This sounds sensible to me, with "and go ahead and post".

[ninetydegrees]

Just in case you didn't know this: you can type a blank space in HTML code ( ) and have the entry get posted. It will appear empty to anybody viewing the entry.

[syderia]

Thanks, I actually didn't know that. :-)

[archane]

While it's not really a huge deal one way or another, unless a user is very careful to set the entry to private until actual text is edited in, it will still show up on the reading page of anyone appropriately subscribed.

Some people such as myself are likely to be very confused by a blank post showing up. Placeholder text of some sort saves my brain, and in the scenario given, where the post will be edited later anyway, is only an inconvenience to the poster of a few keystrokes.

[syderia]

That's why I posted the suggestion.
Actually implementing it would just save maybe a few seconds (and the moment of exasperation you get when something doesn't work the way you imagined it to work, even for a good reason) - at least the way I would use it - but I wanted to see if other people would be interested in this behavior (or give reasons why it shouldn't be done.

I check the bow so the entry will not appear on my reading page when I post it, but I can understand blank posts being confusing.

[lassarina]

As said elsewhere, even the headers for your lists could fill this need--Books and Movies as separate headings with blankness underneat them.

[syderia]

I prefer to have two separate post for them, but thanks for the suggestion ! :-)