Reputation and Comments

I started this thread so we can sort out what's up with the whole reputation system and comment system. Several days ago, Anc went ahead and ordered a reputation system, which I installed. The problem was that what we received was not what we had ordered. So I contacted the developer and after a few exchanges, we got the right software. By that time, though, I had found a free version of a reputation system, and it seemed to work well aside from offering no neutral option.

Still, we got the software Anc paid for, and I installed it. In return, I deleted the Post Comments mod because once we got the right software, it had to be deleted, of course. So there is no more Post Comments. What we currently have is the reputation system that was purchased.

Now, here's the thing: The free one I had found and installed is a little different from this one. The free one showed comments underneath the user post, whereas this one puts them on your reputation page instead of being visible underneath. This software allows you to put the top 10 Rep users on the sidebar of the board, where they can be seen by everyone. Now, I don't like that idea myself because it's just asking for trouble. Still, the option is there.

Neither one of these reputation systems offers a neutral rep comment. None of the reputation systems I've checked out, and they are legion, have a neutral rep comment ability.

So it comes down to these two. Now, I prefer the one I had installed yesterday, as that one put the comments out for people to see. Some people might prefer the other one, where the comments are hidden. This might be nice if for nothing else that any rep war that might take place is going to be out of sight, and maybe out of mind. It's a mix of both worlds, in that there's rep, but you don't have to give a damn if you don't want to.

Now, I'm just going to throw this out there, but both systems have the ability to use neg rep. I don't recommend it, as that's also asking for trouble, but the option is there if you want it.

The only other real difference between the two mods is that the paid one turns your reputation number green if you're in the positive, and red if you're in the negative.

So, to summarize:

No post comments option.
Paid rep system lacks comments listed visibly under post.
Paid rep system may lack alert notification. I'm not yet certain.
Free rep system lacks red and green pips.
Neither rep system has a neutral comment option.
Both have a reputation tab in the user profile similar to what we had on the old board.

I've tested all of them, and I'd rather implement one and stick with it before we confuse the hell out of everyone, which is why I posted this here, so we can talk it out.

The free one offers a few elements that appeal to me:

• Seeing the comments in the thread
• No visual indication that somebody is in the negative

The latter item is key, because it allows us to restore neg rep without making it very useful for rep bullying.

I like the one that has the rep comments visible at all times, but I think that any final decision should be put to a vote by the whole board. Yeah, I know, you can't please everyone, but either one of them are going to have elements that are easily visible to everybody, so it only seems fair that everyone has some say in this. As for the neg reps, I don't see the harm.

I'm interested in hearing the boards opinion, but I don't support voting. Just look at the past rep polls (all 11 of them). First no change won. Then rep was changed. Another poll, no change won. Then another poll, no change won. Then another, no change won... ect ect...

Ask for input.
Consider it.
Make a decision and move on.


Now on the subject at hand, so far I like the first (wrong) software we ordered. The comments one. Fuck the points. I'm fine with likes.

Now I'd like some tweeks. Like getting rid of the avs, making them single space and showing all (as much like old comments as possible, but with multi comment and self comment).

If that were an option that's what I'd vote for.

And thanks for all your work on this man!

I did all that polling for a reason...for all the mockery thrown my way over it, there was absolutely no place for the losing side to stand on to say they were not heard and did not have plenty of opportunity to have their way. The only argument they had left was to point at years-old polls that went the other way and that doesn't fly when the current population makes it as abundantly clear as WF did that they did want the rep changed.

I really didn't care...I would have implemented whatever won and did. It wasn't indecision it was proving a point so obviously that even the dimmest moron could grasp it.

That would be nice, but as far as I can tell, no one had made anything like that. The Post Comments mod came close, but you couldn't remove the avs, or change the spacing, not without modifying the add-on itself, and modifying the add-on itself? no es bueno.

So, what I can do is implement the previous reputation system, where the comment shows up underneath the post. That's probably about as close as we're going to get to a rep/comment system that has the same feel as the old vb set.

Just glad to help!

and modifying the add-on itself? no es bueno.

Why not?

Firstly, I wouldn't even know where to begin to modify something like that. I looked under the hood, and it's a mess. Everything is connected to everything else in such a way, I would probably disable half the features by modifying one line of code. Secondly, since he's selling it as his own personal add-on, there's likely a requirement not to modify it in any way. I can find out, though, if you want.

Would you?

Plus I think @Order2Chaos is a codemonkey. Maybe he can figure something out.

Sure can. I still have a copy of the Post Comments mod on my HDD. I can attach it to a PM and send it to @Order2Chaos , while I ask the developer if we're allowed to modify his add-ons. If he says yes, you can go ahead and pay for the Post Comments program, and I can install it. Also, I've kinda maybe already been tinkering with it, and am about to test it to see if it works. Maybe.

Okay, I've fired off a message to the developer, and asked him whether it can be modified. I also went ahead and asked him whether it's possible to disable the mini-avs in each comment. Kind of a "kill two birds with one stone" thing. I've also sent off the copy of the post comments mod to @Order2Chaos so he can look at it.

Got it! Check it out below:

You're probably using "Ashlands." That one has some kind of CSS thingy causing the problem. I'll be working on that.

Also, there are going to be some style issues. Odelay is the finicky one, because it's adjusted primarily through the extra.css template, and I'll let whomever made that one tackle it. All of the other ones look good (save for the damnable white squares in Ashlands).

I use Ashlands. I'll check it out in Plainsman.

Okay, so moving in the right direction. Any way to get them not indented and maybe a font size or two smaller?

PS, Don't think that because I criticize I don't love. You're the best!

I fixed the white square issue in Ashlands. Still working on everything else.
Oh, and they will have a slight indentation, mainly because they share the same space with the controls style properties (those are your "Edit/Delete/Report" options).

I'll try to make the text smaller, though.

Woo-hoo! Works on Ashlands.

Okay, so want about no indenting, no time stamp, and smaller font (I'm trying to get them small like on the old board.

Also, what kind of text limits can you put? The main pushback against reinstating comments seems to be that they keep people from posting.


On that, what do people think is a reasonable length for quick comments?

I think 75 characters is sufficient. If you need more, make a post. Indent will likely stick around, though that really shouldn't be too much of an issue. I think they make it easier to see the comments themselves. I'm working on a smaller font, and I'll see what I can do about the time stamp.

Thinking out loud here, but do se really need much longer than:

Agreed, except second to last paragraph.

Can anyone think of any longer quick replies? Do people think that keeping them short is a good thing or is that just me?

I think short is sweet. Also, I've made the font a little smaller.

Rock and Roll, definitely getting there.

What do others think?

If I remove the edit and delete options, then it narrows it down a bit. Otherwise, I've made it as small and thin as I can. If we do that, I recommend we do it only for the main members, and not Admins and Mods, who would most certainly need to edit or delete comments at some point.

I think short is best, maybe even less than 75 characters. We do not want comments to replace thread posts/replies.

It does seem a bit klusdgy, although that might simply be a matter of getting used to it and maybe cleaning up the button layout a bit. Is suspect most people will use the likes more often, with comments being things like "see post 23."

In Odelay 2.1, the box that shows up in the post is black on dark blue, and extends over the left edge of the post box into the poster info area. And when the popup opens, I think the comments are still taking up as much space as they did when there was an avatar next to each one.

At the risk of going into "too many cooks" territory, what I liked best about the old rep system was the incredible simplicity of its interface and appearance. No popups, no timestamping ... just a list of small plaintext comments after the post that didn't require you to click on anything and didn't take up very much space at all.

Hm... I like the way they're looking now.

I don't see mini-avs in the comments (though there is a largish white box on the left of the text), but, I'm sorry to say, they do look pretty hideous, especially if there's more than 1, and the click to view bar is even worse. Using Odelay Soft and Smooth.

Also the Comment button doesn't appear on new posts until you reload the page.