We are currently testing out a new commenting system on this site, powered by Intense Debate. You can now have the ability to create “threads” out of comments, which is basically a reply feature. Instead of copying and pasting comments for replies like many of us have done previously, now can now simply “Post a Reply” to someone’s comment. A reply will be displayed right after the previous comment and indented so it looks like a reply. Further replies to replies will be further indented, I’m sure you get the drift.
You can also post a regular comment of course. Adding your own avatars should also be easier to do with this new system. You can also “vote” on other people’s comments – this will allow you to vote down pointless or sensitive comments. You can also report defamatory or ISA-magnet comments easily via the report function. Pages with hundreds of comments will now have their comment pagination (split into a few pages) so the comments will be faster to load and easier to navigate/read.
Do you like it or do you prefer the old system?
UPDATE: I see that some of you like it and some of you don’t. I’ll try to solve all of your questions about how the new system works over the next 2-3 days, if its still too uncomfortable then I’ll revert back to the old system. I have replied to some of your complaints in the comments of this post, please check and reply me if you can, I’m trying to work out all the problems.
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
This is a comment.
And this is a reply to Paul's comment.
nice…
This is a reply to a comment.
This is a reply to a reply to a comment.
Another reply to a reply to a comment.
testing….
testing… testing…
WOWOWOW.. I hate this
Why?
I like the reply system, but "pagination" u said… mmm… i like more on the same page of all comment actually… no need to go back and forth.. just some simple scroll do the trick
but its really fast on loading, despite more html codes
Well, it isn't really my choice as this is a third party system. I've asked them whether it is possible to show all comments at once without using pagination but I've yet to receive a reply.
This is NOT a comment
very nice paul.. cool stuff.. I like it a lot!!! the only thing is, because of the character limit on nicks, i couldnt fit my B.M.W. nick in hahaha… and i'm sure those who use to use "sentences" as their nicks would be rather disappointed also.
I may be mistaken since I am also new to this system, but I think the character limit only applies to usernames. After that you can set another "Name" which will appear in comments under your IntenseDebate profile.
yep yep, 140 char max.. still cannot put sentence as that someone nickname XD
it doesnt feel different
imo the thread makes the comments untidy
other additions are good though
But isn't it easier to read conversations that way instead of copying and pasting?
thue.much easier.but I would suggest if possible, to limit the "indentaion" if that is a word?
it does makes it easier to track replies/conversation though.
this is good, now everybody can quarrel easier. hehe just kidding.
wow , using ajax technology too!! Now i can see u reply without refreshing this website.
muahahahaha, btw paul what happen to our acc?
Your accounts are still here. If this system doesn't work out then I'll revert to the old system where your accounts will be used again.
Some how ff3.0 screw up the display of this comment system, is it just my system or others having same problem? anyway, im posting from ie8.0 rc1
Paul, i prefer the old one as it is more simple and easier
feel weird somehow. because usually.. the last comment is the newest one, but not this time…
Hmm, isn't the last comment still the newest one? Only replies are grouped according to the old comments.
Cool!
Nice… similar to youtube comment system. By the way… current year is 2009. The bottom-right of the copyright should update to 2003-2009.
why it is so complicated now…n we hv to put our name to gv a comment..i tot i already login
As I understand, you only have to key in your name once then the system will remember your name. Please let me know if this is not the behaviour you are experiencing so I can go complain!
And also take into account the problem in my decision whether to keep this system or revert to the old system.
y i cant login??
Paul, do you know the car designers behind proton's mysterious r&d doors?
Just wondering, since I noticed that proton designers are not well known, and that fact is making me itch…Who are they really? Or does proton just source their design expertise from Lotus Designers??? Been giving me sleepless nights since forever…
Feel a bit different … but a bit more time i can get the hang of it
poor.. change it back
Why is it poor? I need some feedback.
Paul, I hope you still remember me….. Im the one " Xx- Ferrari -xX " here….. This new system is very much complicated….. I give-up my hope in trying to log-into this new system…. Im having damn hard time trying to figure out how to give comments …. Please switch back to the old system…. Im submitting this comment here through the system below where we need to type our name, e-mail add to send comments as a non-member, which is very annoying… To be honest, this new system is " VERY COOL " and sophisticated, but its very very complicated and not suitable for this forum….. Im sure many previous users would have found a hard time giving comment through this new system…. I do see many senior and frequent commenters here do missing in action in giving comment after this new system is implemented…. The old system is very convincing to use and far more better !!!!
As a senior user of this Paultan automotive forum, i hope you would consider many aspects about this new system on how convincing it is to the users compared to the previous ones….
Regards,
Xx- Ferrari -xX
As I understand from this new system's documentation, you only need to enter your info once and it will remember it? If you are not experiencing that please let me know, I will have to take note of it in my decision whether to keep this system or revert to the old one.
Yes Paul…. It does not remember my info for the next time…. Besides, at first i tried to login using my previous account info but cannot… I even used the method you mentioned to the user "Overflow" but still fails to login…. So, i signed up for the Intense debate again but it doesnt logs in as well…. So, its very annoying everytime we need to type in the NICKNAME and E-MAIL ADDRESS just TO LEAVE each COMMENT here…. It is undeniable to say this is much better conversation but it looks messy from my opinion, so i dont think so people will have the mood to read other user's comment including me like previously since it makes us feel bored…. And the User Nicknames should be bolded
….. I strongly prefer the previous system…. Its just so nice to read through all the user's comment in the previous system and then commenting them, unlike the current system which makes it look messy to read at…… I dont think so people will have the mood to read the comments one-by-one through this system including me… Im sure almost most of the users here still strongly prefers the old system…. Thats the reason why many famous and senior commentors here are missing in action in giving comments…. Hope you make the right decision Paul…. Im not saying that this new system is very bad, its indeed very nice, but its very much uncomfortable for us for this forum…. Hope you revert back to the old system Paul….
( Even long comments are not permitted in this new system….. The error message wants me to split the comments which would be very annoying…. Paul, please take note how people like sifu and prem3377 used to give such a nice long comments to us in their comment which is very informative…. ) Please Paul, I hope you would take note of it )…. HAIZZZ , even to send this splitted comment also need to type back my nickname and e-mail again… very annoying….
This is better. At least no registration needed.I am first time posting here.
its alright….but the gap is too wide making it confusing. avatars/pics should be disabled.
Which gap are you referring to?
Oh yeah. The unbolded username is not really great.
I think I can make them bolded again… have to research.
look a bit crampy… but its nice…
it nice, easier to post a comment.
how to go to the previous post ?
lolz !!!
test
one more ting which is abit iritating , now there are pages within a link …previously all comments wer in one page where it was easy to access…bt now u have to 'flip' through the pages….might get used to it bt thn again why fix when not broken?! bt again it could be betewr sponser wise !
It doesn't benefit sponsors at all as the "flip" is done without refreshing the page, just the comments are reloaded.
I also want just one page, because looks like if flip too many times, need to click the forward/backward arrow buttons a lot to return to main page.
I'm with nabill. Having to "flip" through pages discourage me to read comments in other pages.
I think it is better to have all comments in one page, displayed chronologically like before. Arranging it based on activity is a bit too messy to me, as one pointed before, we might end up seeing most posts having "sex is like wine…" comments at the first page since there will always b ppl tempted to reply to his silly comments.
finally!! I can give my comment on your post!!
if add a few colorful line will be better IMHO…
Not so good, but better than previous
Why not so good?
Maybe the LADDER system looks messy.
But fret not, i also said better than previous
reply process is damn convenient, but the style it display thread is rather messy, i've seen a better style from other forum with 'boxed' thread reply with color for differentiation..
reply process is damn convenient, but the style it display thread is rather messy, i've seen a better style from other forum with 'boxed' thread reply with color for differentiation..
i like it paul. now we know who's talking to who. and we can downgrade those stupid 1ST!!!! comments.
only problem is that people can impersonate the other using his/her id. will it change if i log in?
Owh this is a comment..
feels exactly the same
testing?
good, just like youtube's comment, can reply to a person directly, but the comment pagination stuff feels kinda weird…..
this will be good to vote down bashers..
but it works a little bit too slow.
yeah, that's one big tool of this new comment sys!
Try using this for the next 3 days as the new features are good in my opinion. I will do a poll and see if I should revert to the old system. I was thinking you can still post a comment the usual way so the new features are purely "opt-in", you don't have to use them if you don't want to.
I am using FF3 too, don't seem to have a problem. Anyone else experiencing this?
But how to register our nick??
it sure does looks a lot messier. But heck it packs more stuff in 'em.
I welcome it.
I forgot to mention something.
Smileys are gone. Can it be integrated back to the system?
Alot of WordPress webmasters have been bugging Intense Debate about smilies for nearly a year and they keep saying it's going to be implemented soon but no news yet!
That's too bad . Oh well, we can't be satisfied all the time eh.
Thanks Paul anyways.
Paul, the main problem is that when i'm typing in the textbox to post a comment, each character appears after a few seconds delay, very much longer you have to wait if you type fast, and the whole browser cant be scrolled until the text is done "appearing". Using firefox 2.0.0.20
And if i use the login box at the top, it doesn't allow me to sign in, either using just the id or my email – tried both. If this comment appears, then its because i'm using the login at the bottom of the page (Name, Email, Blog URL)
I just can't figure out which comment is early and which are later, top or bottom? Right now on the first page, the last comment at the bottom of the page says 18hours ago, the "first" comment at the beginning of the page says 17hours ago, but in the middle there are some 19hours, some 15hours, 20 hours and not in order, and those aren't the replies to the comments, just comments. Maybe it can be sorted by clicking "date" at the sort by:, but now it's bold at "Last Activity" Perhaps you could clarify to us how the comments are sorted.
I've set it so that the latest comment will always be first at the top so users don't have to scroll all the way down to see the latest comment. Also, the latest comment that has a reply to it will automatically be bumped to the top so that people won't miss comments. I hope you can see the logic of doing this, needs some getting used to but makes more sense, I hope?
As for your few seconds delay… I'm not experiencing it. It's just a regular text box… shouldn't have any delay.
The other thing is, the login database for this new comment system is different so you'll have to sign up again, sorry about that. I've bugged Intense Debate about importing user accounts but they said there is no such feature available at the moment. You'll only have to do it once, but if you malas you don't have to sign up to comment anymore. If I revert back to the old system, your old account will work again.
Don't revert to the old system, this is better but we just need some time to get the hang of it.
But about the comments with reply being put back on top, i foresee a problem here: What if a bad comment, or just a stupid one is made and everybody starts replying to that comment? Then that comment will always come back to the top, eventhough everybody hates that comment. Unless they resist the urge to reply to that comment. One ID comes to mind – the sex is fun ..wine guy. I hope the voting feature can hide nasty comments (like in youtube).
About the textbox issue, then it must be my slow computer if nobody else experiences this. But there is some kind of script on it right? Because the border highlights to green and the textbox height automatically increase as you type. Anyway I do have trouble with java and flash.
Although i just sent this message 3 minutes ago, the bottom says "16 hours ago". weird.
i think you need to updated your firefox , mine was 3.0.6 version and no delay at all
System like Autoblog is more refined but. This will work.
At least HTML still can be used.
Testing the comment system
Really like this feature, much trendier than the old one. Now you got my back Paul!
Thanks!
one more thing , if u jus browse through with ur eyes , the user name and the comments are nt much diference in terms of font size or the color , it wd be good if the user name is highlighted in big bold color , and thn the comments in standard fonts…at this moment…kinda hard to differnciate the username row and the comments box….using this system shows how simple and user friendly the previous one was…! and i cant seem to log in with my previous user name and password either…
Is the differentiation between comments better now?
Sorry guys.. But I prefer this one.
why im cannot login my existing id
Hi guys, can you please try testing this out for me? Help and feedback is appreciated! This is for those who want to use their existing accounts to login to this new system.
1. Click the Login to Comment button above.
2. Click Use OpenID!
3. Use this as your OpenID URL: <a href=”http://paultan.org/archives/author/username/” target=”_blank”>http://paultan.org/archives/author/username/ (replace username with your original paultan.org login username)
4. Signup for an IntenseDebate account at the resulting page – use an OpenID. All you need to do is enter a username. Use the same http://paultan.org/archives/author/username/ as above as your OpenID URL.
I'm not sure if this will work… am trying to see how I can turn your old accounts into OpenID accounts.
Paul, well done. I like this methods. From this moment your pages will be more attractive and user friendly. Keep up the good work Paul. And, I can't use my old id to log in, even after trying the methods that you suggest.
testing2
Well, it says 9 minutes ago and 4 minutes ago at this point of time…
What computer are you using?
Using a self assembled PC from 2002 – Pentium 4 2.0Ghz, 256MB RAM, 32MB graphics.
even your comment shows "16 hours ago". I must try this elsewhere.
It could be a timezone issue, what is the timezone setting on your computer?
From my point of view, I like the system, it's easier to track where's the gossips from. But..Abit of messy, which apparently will not keep me reading them 1-by-1.
the gap to fit the avatars, your name, thumnbs up/down banner thingy. Maybe the person who stars the thread has it, but those responding to it just have a thin banner of the person name replying to a comment.
Basically…the whole thing is too expanded.
Is it better now?
The collapse thread, i suggest collapse all, only keep the collapse/expand thread, thread active xx hours ago line.
The collapse thread, i suggest collapse all, only keep the collapse/expand thread, thread active xx hours ago line.
Unfortunately they do not give me the flexibility to do that.
Don't like flipping thru pages, too tedious. Also don't like hvg to enter infos everytime to comment. Mmm…..you decide lah, Paul. I'll respect your decision n stick with you. I won't do a katak.
WoW !!!! Im glad Paul….. I typed http://www.paultan.org and was rather happy to see the old commenting system back in action…. Its damn convincing…. I didnt even have to login just now to send this comment because it can remember me as long as it wants… So, we dont have the trouble to type in our user name and passsword everytime…. Glad Paul…. Im sure many users here would be very happy to see this old commenting system….
Old system rules. You can have the new system, only import all the details from the current system. No need to register twice
Intense Debate tech support is horrible and their comment import is very buggy, plus there are not enough features for a power user. I will have to think of some other way to implement the new features. Old comment system stays for now.
paul!
juz keep it simple like before ok
dont make change dat make da page seems messy
yes like this old one paul. simple and easy.
i want the new system!!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
intenseDebate commenting system RULEZ !!!! bring it back bring it back !! pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee…
looks okay, faster though
[quote comment="211304"]looks okay, faster though[/quote]
the new quote system is better, it just dont show the quoted user name.