Slashdot Mirror
New Dynamic Updating Discussions
Slashdot users of the Discussion2 system now have a new 'Update' button visible on their floating control slider, as well at the end of the discussion. This button will update your page to include comments posted since the page was loaded, so now you can keep discussion pages up to date without doing a full reload. It's nowhere near complete yet, but it's a nice step that goes a long ways towards making it easier to use larger discussions while they are actively updating. If you aren't using Discussion2, you need to log in, and toggle the checkbox visible on every page. You probably need bother only if you are using Firefox 1.5 or 2.x or Safari. You can send bug reports to me if you want.
Has anyone else noticed pages with comments loading slower than normal? Front page, and my user page seem to load normal, but anytime I click the read more link it seems to take a long time to load. Same for if I try posting or replying to a comment. Side effect of the new comment system?
Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
Can you make another button that I can push that will automatically push this button periodically for me?
My initial mental image is that this would simply turn Slashdot a threaded IRC chat vehicle. We all know the quality of discussion online: as it gets faster, it gets worse. Instead of "+1 Insightful", we will need "+1 Merely On Topic." Will moderation changes also be instantly reflected, bringing items in and out of view in real time? How long before you do "fwoop" animations and live character-by-character ajax updates? Imagine the new games the trolls can play.
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I don't get it, who wants to read all those comments? Aren't they just failed first post attempts?
(Including this one)
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
I like the Update feature, would it be possible, eventually, to get the main page set up like this too? Just a thought.
The creator of this post (Jacob Smith) hereby releases it, and all of his other posts, into the public domain.
Today, I'd like to inform you about a good programming practice. It's called "Introducing New Features to a High Traffic Web Site in the Middle of the Afternoon on a Weekday".
To any Slashdot users (like myself) who were part of the "University of Michigan" testing group, be aware that Discussion2 was recently silently added as an option in the user preferences. Just go "Preferences" > "Comments" > "Slashdot's New Discussion System Testing".
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about: A random group of Slashdot users were asked to participate in a study conducted by the University of Michigan on a new comment/discussion interface. This study presumably ended at some point (and possibly the data from it helped create Discussion2). However those users who were subjects in this study had a modified preferences panel, which prevented the Slashdot "Discussion2" mode from being available to us (bug report here). Now they have apparently fixed the issue, though no official message was sent to anyone. So, if anyone else was affected by that bug, you can now test the Discussion2 system along with everyone else.
Thanks to whoever coded the workaround.
See the box on the left that says "34 Comments" or somesuch? It's probably split between gray and white areas. Just drag the middle bar all the way to the bottom until the entire box is white. That should expand all the comments.
:-)
That being said, I'm still using the "Nested a +0" thankyouverymuch.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Yes, you can change the thresholds for comment expansion.
To modify this threshold dynamically for just the story you are reading, just drag the little dividers on that floating widget
To modify the default thresholds used when you load a new story go to Preferences -> Comments:
Threshold - all comments with scores at or below this are hidden by default.
Highlight - all comments with scores at or above this are expanded by default.
Any comments between these two settings are shown as collapsed by default.
I've been using the new comment system for months and I think it is absolutely wonderfull - far better than any other forum system I have ever used.
Well, if you set a correct threshold in your preferences, replies above your threshold should show up opened. There's also a reply button in the infobox on the left for posting a new thread.
If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
That's what I really want.
A feature of dailykos that I like is that it keeps track of what's new since I last viewed a discussion, even if I close the discussion and re-open it later.
New comments are highlighted in red.
Also, if I reload the equivalent of the Slashdot front page, a topic I've seen before will say "X new comments".
Steal those f*cking features, Taco!