Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tell Me Tuesday

How fun is it to come up with my own weekly post ideas! I don't think I'll ever do a Wordless Wednesday or a Soap Opera Sunday etc., because I'm just way too individual for that (or possibly because I don't really know how to search for pictures on the web very efficiently--you may have noticed I haven't posted any pictures from the Internet since my original attempt with the washing machines-- and am not creative enough to type up an interesting soap opera etc.)

Today I would like to address what, to me, is a very important bloggy topic: Blogger comment format. Full page or pop-up?

I know we're not talking public school/private school or mini van/SUV, but this IS an issue that affects me every day. At first I just thought there was only the full page option, and hated it when I would start typing up a comment and realized that I wasn't sure if my response addressed exactly what was said in the post, or only my interpretation of it, or I wanted to quote the post directly, and then I had to go back and make sure I wasn't getting it wrong.
I was so happy when I discovered that there was the option of having your comment page in a pop-up window, so people can refer back to your post while typing up their comment, if necessary. I also like that you can continue to listen to a song on someone's playlist without interruption.

Then there are the cons. I'm a major blog hopper. I love to check out new blogs. When you're in a pop-up comment box, you can't click on the link to a fellow commenter's blog. Or you can, but you can only view it in that tiny box, with no option to open it up. This is annoying. This is very annoying. The only way I know around it is to click on the post title and scroll down past the post itself to the comments listed below and follow the links from there. But that's an extra step or two. I hate extra steps or two.

So I'm asking YOUR opinion. Do you prefer the pop-up comment boxes or the full page? Why? I'm putting it as a poll in my sidebar, if you wouldn't mind voting. And if you have any insights, please leave them in the comments.

Today's post is about a poll, Thursday's will be about a Pole. I'll try to figure out something for Saturday about a pull. . .

18 comments:

charrette said...

Hahaha! I think the pop-up comment boxes are totally annoying, for the exact reasons you pointed out. And I also find it a little on the irritating side to type in the secret nonsense word before leaving a comment. How many bloggers REALLY get spam in their comment boxes, I wonder?

Hey, thanks for hopping onto my blog yesterday and commenting. How interesting that you grew up in Burbank, and now live in Poland. I'm sure there's a story there....

Erin said...

you nailed the advantages and disadvantages of both. I can't decide what is better. Did you put undecided as a choice on your poll? Oh wait, I can just check because you have the pop up format. And I agree with Charrette that the nonsense word is kind of annoying.

Charles said...

For me, it depends. Being able to choose one for one type of entry (or a default) and being able to use the other at need would be preferable. The need to read and enter a word is a total turn-off; if one is a registered user/blogger, then there should be no need for it.

sarah k. said...

Fie on blogger! Get yourself some wordpress, and solve all your problems at once!

Nancy said...

I hate the pop-up window because I can't easily blog hop.

AND, you didn't mention (maybe you aren't aware) that in the full page set up, there's an option at the top to click and view the "show original post" of the post... just without pictures.

Olivia Petty said...

it bothers you everyday? I'm starting be concerned about you. I prefer the pop up window. I don't know what you mean about the small window thing, with the extra steps and all. The only reason my page has full page comments is because I'm too lazy to change it. =D. I'm bored. keep typing words for me to read.

Olivia Petty said...

By the way, on charlottes comment thing, you can turn off the word verifcation. It just bugged me sooo much I found out how to. no that you know that it's possible, I let you have fun trying to figure it out.

Becky said...

I'm all for the pop-up window because, like Nance mentioned, there's that handy little "show original post" option. Go pop-up!

Also, I nominated you for a cutesy blog award thingy cuz I like your blog! Check it out over at my blog.

Susan said...

Once again timely, dear sister mine! I JUST came to your blog after being on Janine and Brian's where they have the full page comment area. I was typing my comment about how big Cora looks because she's standing, and then realized I wasn't quite sure was standing and wouldn't it be dumb to write it if it weren't even true, like I'd hardly even LOOKED at the pictures, so I clicked the show original post (I usually never do) and it was no help without the picture. I had to right hand click on their blog link at the top and open it in another tab, and so while going over to their tab I saw your blog's tab and clicked it instead and here is your post about EXACTLY my problem! Amazing. Truly. And the quadruple batch of banana cake still has a few frozen muffins in the freezer. (Just about that timeliness issue again, I was SO glad for that recipe when I had 9 very very ripe bananas!)

As for the verification, it doesn't phase me a bit.

Susan said...

Oh! This is too much! I just typed my whole comment above only on the comment pop-up for Anne's blog, not yours! I hadn't realized it was still up so I'd clicked in from the bottom of my screen instead of yours. I wish you'd never written this post. I've never had so many problems with commenting :)

Kazzy said...

I guess the main deciding factor would be whether you want those comments showing up for all to see. Do you trust your bloggy friends to not embarrass you at first read? I use pop up, but have never really thought it through before. Btw, I was surfing through some of your older posts and thought the one of you guys dancing in the woods was so cute! Your little boy can shake it!

Alison Wonderland said...

Honestly I don't feel real strongly about the pop-up v. the full page but I do hate word verification and I hate and abhor blogs where the comment link is at the top of the post rather than the bottom (I know you can change it on blogger but you can't over at wordpress.)

Heather of the EO said...

Oh so many things to be annoyed with, so little time... :)

i don't have much of an opinion EXCEPT I don't like it when you have to go back to the top either. Other than that I make a fool of myself on comments all the time. I stop and think about checking back with the post to make sure I know what I'm talking about and then I just get lazy.

Just today I was thinking I want to do my first poll ever, now you've inspired me to do that soonly.
Nice to meet you!

LisAway said...

Thanks so much for your input, everyone!

Here's my SUMMARY OF THE PREVIOUS 13 COMMENTS:

* The world would be a better place if we all switched over to wordpress, which always shows comments under the original post. Except for the fact that most people hate going back to the top for the comment link.

* Some people were not aware that you can disable the word verification. You can. And you should.

* It wasn't very clear what I meant by "full page." I meant the default option on Blogger where clickers of the comment link are taken to an entirely separate page with just comments. (pop-up being the separate smaller box that comes up on top of the blog so you can still see the entire original blog--something wordpress DOESN'T offer, I just realized.

* I was not aware of the "show original post" link at the top of the full page version. This is great! Thanks, Nance!

* Last the best of all the game: I won an award! Thanks, Becky! I'll blog about it soon.

sarah k. said...

The easy solution to the wordpress problem of scrolling back up (which only happens with some, not all, of the themes) is to click on the title of the post when you're already at the top, right when you start reading. Only one click, and you have the whole post, photos and comments and all, no back and forth, photo problems, blogger eating comments (happens to me all the freaking time in blogger, not wordpress).

Also, wordpress's spam identification is pretty effective, so you hardly ever get spam, eliminating the need for word verification. And wordpress lets any commenter with a URL to be clickable, whereas blogger makes you have a blogger profile, which is where you get redirected, rather than to the blogger's blog, which is what you really want to see.

I've tried both, and I still like wordpress better.

Little GrumpyAngel said...

I learned so much from this post and the comments. Thanks for starting the discussion. I will have to turn off that word verification thing on my blog. But I think I will stay with the full page for now until your final poll results :-) I heard from some friends they think the comment pop-up is "confining" because it doesn't allow you to expand. I want to make it easy for those who leave comments on my blog so I'll check back for the results.
And I'm glad I found your blog. I've read some of your older posts and I'm hooked. BTW, that California Mormon and Provo Mormon anecdote on your side bar is pretty funny:-)

Anne said...

Never cared. Guess I don't blog enough!

Andi Kate, Children's Author said...

um. i like the pop-up. i'm very into mini things.