Undo the newest comments first; go back to oldest so that we can follow the conversation

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  • updated
  • Under review
Duplicates 3
comment sort

How can the comment sort be permanently set to oldest first?

Your new comment alignment is unsatisfactory
Please revert back to older comments first instead of newer comments first. Newer comments first is a terrible idea. Those who reply to comments are out of order and make no sense becaue everything is inverted.
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11
nomadicmist

totally agree, the “next” feature is not working and it is just too difficult to navigate. Please change the comment sorting feature back to the way it was...Nomad

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randyCA

I agree.  Please go back to previous order for comments.  The new method makes it very difficult to follow the comments.

Thanks

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maillot jaune

Agree. At least make it to where if you want old comments loaded first, but to have the "newest" comment as the default is bad. 

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drftr

Unfortunately many readers commenting on a previous comment don't use the Reply button. With the new (terrible) sort order you have no idea whom they're replying to.

What's more, if you click on Oldest First then there's no way you're taken to the first new comment, so now you have to manually find the first new comment, from where you can use the orange arrows again.

Thanks for trying to improve! But please restore, OR, better still as you must have a reason for the change, make it a choice in the user settings.

drftr

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21793061

This is miserable.  Please (1)  immediately go back to the old functionality. Then you can fiddle in the background, based on the learning from this test.

(2) if desired, look into a sort feature for the minority wanting new at top, but test it versus the orange arrow, DON'T make it the default, make it possible to update globally, permanently as a user setting.  And don't launch it until you know it works.

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-6
SA Jacob Maltz
  • Started

Thanks for all of your feedback.  We are continually monitoring user behavior to see how well comments are working and monitoring all of the feedback to improve our comments.   

About the next and previous buttons for comment notifications:  from what I read below, the only clear problem is that if you click on a notification and then  switch the sort order, it should take you to the first notification...  I can get that issue fixed asap. The next and previous buttons are meant  to help the user scroll down to the next new comment or reply in the page, and it works regardless of the sort order (next scrolls down the page, prev scrolls back up).  If you have a specific problem with this functionality,  please let me know clearly how to reproduce it and I will get it fixed ASAP.  Copy paste the URL from the address bar in your report since this is how the "New" marking is activated. Thanks, Jacob

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richjoy403

The new and smaller box for inserting our comments is far too small, as it makes editing the comment unnecessarily difficult.

SA's having reduced the comment box without explanation suggests it wants to encourage very brief comments. 

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-4
SA Jacob Maltz
Quote from richjoy403

The new and smaller box for inserting our comments is far too small, as it makes editing the comment unnecessarily difficult.

SA's having reduced the comment box without explanation suggests it wants to encourage very brief comments. 

You can resize the comment box by clicking and dragging the resize handle in the bottom right corner of the text box - see picture below

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richjoy403
Quote from SA Jacob Maltz

You can resize the comment box by clicking and dragging the resize handle in the bottom right corner of the text box - see picture below

Thank you...and how were we to know that? The handle you identified is barely visible. I would still not know of it had you not replied!


Thus your reply is another reason SA should have advised us in advance of this SURPRISE change, and also told us why these changes were made.


There's much to like about SA; however, if it intends to be is "user friendly"--it has a ways to go.

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21793061
Quote from SA Jacob Maltz

Thanks for all of your feedback.  We are continually monitoring user behavior to see how well comments are working and monitoring all of the feedback to improve our comments.   

About the next and previous buttons for comment notifications:  from what I read below, the only clear problem is that if you click on a notification and then  switch the sort order, it should take you to the first notification...  I can get that issue fixed asap. The next and previous buttons are meant  to help the user scroll down to the next new comment or reply in the page, and it works regardless of the sort order (next scrolls down the page, prev scrolls back up).  If you have a specific problem with this functionality,  please let me know clearly how to reproduce it and I will get it fixed ASAP.  Copy paste the URL from the address bar in your report since this is how the "New" marking is activated. Thanks, Jacob

"the only clear problem"

No. (A) Default to newest is not desirable (read things in chrono order) and (B) that you have to manually change setting every time you come to each page