Monday, January 16, 2012

Finally! Nesting! Let's have a party!

Did you know? Have you heard? You can now do nesting comments in Blogger! That means they made a reply option after every comment. So a commentor can comment on someone else's comment, or the blog author can comment on your comments right below instead of in a massive comment at the end. This is the stuff dreams are made of, Blogger! When we Blogger bloggers aren't thinking through our next scene, we are spending our time thinking how awesome it would be if Blogger had that capability.

I feel like throwing a party in Blogger's honor! With orange rounded corner cookies with a white frosting funnily-shaped B that really looks like a padlock with the top hook off center. And orange punch. And little smiling GFC pictures covering the walls.

If you use Blogger and you haven't already done this, are you dying to know how? Well, wonder no further. Because look! Here's a handy link to the instructions.

BUT.

Yes, there's a but.

Your comments have to be embedded in your page. That means they show up right below your post. So if you have your comments set to take you to another page that just shows comments, or if you have them in the little pop-up window like mine, you can't access that feature. Makes you want to cry, doesn't it?

I love my popup comment window. I like that, when commenting on a blog post, I can still see the post if I need to refer back to it while I'm commenting. Sometimes I comment about one thing in the post, then think, Wait. What was that other thing I was going to say? Then I glance at the post, think Oh, yeah! And comment on that. I don't want to have to scroll up through all the comments to remind myself about that other thing in the post! Go ahead. Call me lazy.

So now it's a toss-up. Keep my comments pop-up window? Or sacrifice it to get the nesting comments feature? (Life's full of tough decisions.)

So now I'm asking you. When you comment, which is most important to you? Having someone (either the blog author or other commentors) be able to comment on your comment, or being able to see the post in the background?

And if you use Blogger, do you already use nesting comments? And on a scale of 1-10, how freakin awesome do you think they are?



(I'd like to apologize for my excessive use of the word "comment" in all its forms in this post. Yes, I was going for a record. Did I make it?)

44 comments:

Julianne Donaldson said...

I LOVE the new nesting feature. It makes it so convenient for the author of the blog to respond to each comment. I personally don't care whether there's a pop-up window or not, but if you do care about that, go ahead and keep it!

Anonymous said...

Yes I'd noticed this and not used it yet. It does sound good now you mention it. I hadn't really thought about it properly until now.

Jaime Morrow said...

I was so far past the point of excited when this feature showed up the other day. It's the little things, right? :-)

S.P. Bowers said...

I was so excited when the nesting comments showed up! I think it adds to the blogging experience personally. As to pop up windows vs not, it doesn't bother me either way.

Chantele Sedgwick said...

YAY! I just added it on my blog! Woot! So glad I can reply directly to my friends! :D
And the embedded doesn't bother me at all. ;)

Emily R. King said...

I can see the pros and cons of both, but I think the nesting comments is the way to go. Thanks for letting me know! I'm going to make the change right now.

Leigh Covington said...

Oh dude :( I was all excited until I realized I had to get rid of my pop up box. Grrr! I like the pop up boxes best, for many of the reasons you mentioned! *sigh* Hmmm. This is going to take some thinking. I REALLY like the pop up boxes!

Patti said...

I just saw this on Chantele's blog and will definitely be exploring it. Thanks for the link.

Anonymous said...

I almost think it's better because then I can just comment on the person who I feel needs it most. You're right about the pop up window though, I love it, but I think embeding the comments for nesting is for the best.

Maggie said...

I'm looking forward to the nesting. However, as a commenter, I find I rarely have time to go back to a blog and see if other people commented on my comment. Does that make sense?

Christa Desir said...

Why am I having a hard time figuring out what you are talking about? I'm very slow with this technology stuff. My hubs is so much better. BTW, saw you are one of the Lucky 13 now. Yay!

alice said...

Hmm. might have to check this feature out. Thanks for making us aware of it.

E.D. said...

So that's what happened the other day.. I did notice that something was different... Better pay some attention to it now as it sounds like a great feature.

Jenny S. Morris said...

It's a toss up. I like the pop-up and before I changed it to pop-up some people had a hard time commenting on my blog. I think I'm going to try it out for a while and if people have issues then I'll go to pop-up again.

CherylAnne Ham said...

I've been using a commenting system called Intense Debate on my Blogger blog for a while now and I love the nested comments. Also, I.D. lets me email my reply at the same time it posts the nested comment on my blog. I love that!

Cassie Mae said...

I am too attached to my pop up window. I love that I don't have to scroll up at all to see what other people posted. And the people who come back to my blog can see my reply if they want :)

But I like new shiny things too and that reply button is calling my name.

Oh decisions!

Jessie Humphries said...

I am going to do whatever you do...so just let me know what you decide. So far I dont really like the REPLY feature. Already 2 people have used it and I cant find the regular comment box, so ended up just REPLYING. I suck at this though!

Tara Tyler said...

i always liked that feature. have to check it out! thx for the heads up!

Donna K. Weaver said...

I see as I post into a pop-up window that you either haven't made up your mind yet to switch or have decided not to. I've heard there are fewer complications with the pop-up box. I love the idea of being able to comment on a particular comment, too.

"Sometimes I comment about one thing in the post, then think, Wait. What was that other thing I was going to say? Then I glance at the post, think Oh, yeah! And comment on that."

I have the same problem, too! Thanks heavens for the tab feature--even if it can be a pain.

prerna pickett said...

tough one. But I think I'll stick with the pop up feature...for now.

Hannah Hounshell said...

I already had my comments stuck at the bottom of my posts, so this is just gravy for me. It'll be nice to be able to reply to individuals. Of course, I don't get a massive load of comments on my blog either, so that probably helps. :)p

Cristina said...

I LOVE being able to reply to the comments... and the reply option appeared suddenly on my blog.. weird, I didn't have to do anything to it.

Lan said...

Blogger automatically switched me over to the new facility so I didn't really have much of a choice about it, but to be honest, I really love the feature. I used to hate having to reply to ten people by scrolling up the entire screen. It's really up to you Peggy. I find that it's easier for me to reply now but if it was working for you before, than stick with it.

Nick Wilford said...

I haven't actually seen it yet, because with every person that seems to have done this, it's not working for me at all. I don't see the comments coming up below the post, I get a separate page showing nothing at all. So ATM I'm more annoyed than excited.

Like Hannah said, I get few enough comments that it's manageable to respond to them in a separate comment. If that changes, and the gremlins get zapped, I would consider it!

Iain said...

So, if I want to do nesting, do I have to buy a pigeon?
And, as for the record… No comment!

Krista McLaughlin said...

I love the new "reply" option! It's so much easier to answer someone if they make a comment or ask a question. Thank you blogger!

Bkloss said...

I didn't believe you at first. I had to go to my profile and see, and lo! THERE WAS THE LITTLE REPLY OPTION! *jumps up and down* *squeals*

THANK YOU for letting me/us know!

While I do understand your dilemma (heck, sometimes I'll open another window manually), the reply option has me sold.

Unknown said...

I prefer pop up windows because if you're on the main page of a blog, not in a blog post page, then you have to reload a heap of pages to comment on different posts. Plus, as you say, I like to be able to easily refer back to the post. So much simpler! I haven't used the new reply feature, but I'm not bothered about it.

Alleged Author said...

That does sound like a really cool feature!

Golden Eagle said...

I like being able to see the post in the background--but I'm fine with nested comments as well. In any of Blogger's three formats, there's always a way to view the post with the comment form in front of you.

I'd give them a 9. :)

Kelley Lynn said...

Love the nesting feature! So, so, SO cool!

Tonja said...

I already had embedded comments. My blog got buggy when they made the change - by buggy I mean blank white screen. So I'm not especially thrilled.

BECKY said...

It's really no big deal to me. I've been commenting back to commentors all the time anyway, just in my own little comment...So, you think YOU used the word comment too much?! :)
And also...what about ALL the aggravations and problems the New and Improved Blog Thingys have caused? I'm not changing nuttin, until THEY get it fixed. Have you had any problem trying to leave comments? I still do on certain blogs....aggravating...

BECKY said...

P.S. I do like the pop-up box, because I'm like you...I need to go back and read things from time to time! :)

Christine Rains said...

I'm excited about the nesting. I've waited a long time for Blogger to get that feature. I've been using it already!

Denise Baer said...

YAY! Thank you! A friend just told me about this happening on her blog (automatically), so I thought I wasn't in the cool kid's group.

This nesting is totally going to make things super easier.

Thanks for the linky.

Sarah Tokeley said...

As a blogger, I love the new feature. I hated that the only way I could reply to people was in a great long list. As a commenter elsewhere, I don't mind either :-)

Paul Tobin said...

Hmm.. not very tech savvy myself, may use it not sure. I quite like scrolling down through different people's comments when I revisit blogs. Still hurrah for technology and change. And thanks for the link, I shall look at it.

Peggy Eddleman said...

Okay, so a couple of things I gathered:

For those who use Blogger and already had embedded comments (so the nesting feature showed up automatically) who it is WORKING FOR, you absolutely love it!

And for those who it ISN'T WORKING FOR, there's more of a feeling of a shaking fist and a Curse you, Blogger!

Some people really love the pop-up window, and others really don't care which way it is. From both the blogger and the commentor sides. Pop-up slightly wins out for the commentor, and embedded slightly wins out for the blog author.

Hm. I gotta say: there's reasons to both keep it the same and to change it. I'm leaning toward keeping the pop-up. But for just a day, I may test out the other to see if I fall in love enough to convince me enough to give up my beloved window.

Thanks for all your opinions, guys!

Susanna Leonard Hill said...

For commenting on other's posts, I like the pop-up window for referring back like you said. For my own posts, I like the nesting comments (which I imported disqus for because I didn't think blogger could do it!) You're right - it's a toss up! Why can't they do a combination?

Stacy S. Jensen said...

I had the pop up window, so I missed the "it just appeared like a miracle moment." I changed mine this morning. I guess I'll be asking regular commenters how they feel about it. I'll also need to ask some wordpress folks to do a test comment. It seemed like the pop up box made it easier for them to comment. Decissions. Decissions.

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

I feel so out of it. I'm not familiar with this, but I feel your enthusiasm, so it must be wonderful. I'll have to check this out. : )

Anonymous said...

I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't like nested replies. I find it hard to figure out if I'm the one being replied to or not when I get a whole stream of reply after reply after reply in my email with no context. That's just me.

Maria Zannini said...

I like nested comments if I'm on the blog reading them, but I usually subscribe to comments and with the nest feature, unless you reply with the commenter's name, I don't know who's talking to who.

Nesting is cleaner, but I'll stick to non-nested comments for clarity's sake.