The difference between a reply and a comment

[Zzz]

Hey all, I notice a lot of users in this forum using the "comment" feature in place of "reply." The two are not the same as it applies to this forum software (VBulletin v5) and here's why.

A forum post "reply" creates a new post, which can be quoted and also directly linked-to with a URL. That way we can also have nested quotes and maintain a chain of conversation timeline to some extent. Or if a particular post in a thread answers a question, it can be directly linked to from another thread.

A forum post "comment" cannot be quoted or replied to directly. It's simply meant to be a commentary on a particular post. It's a dead end for back and forth discussion and is a poor feature of VBulletin 5 in my opinion.

Tapatalk, the mobile application for iPhone and Android, allows you to interact with the forum using a nice native application that directly communicates with the Bearhawk forum database via an "API," or Application Programming Interface. It's a connector of sorts. That means it uses none of these website pages, and it (the VBulletin 5 connector for Tapatalk) really seems like it was built without regard to the semantic distinction between "comment" and "reply." In other words, we mobile users of this popular app can't see comments at all, only replies. That has the potential to distort the continuity of conversations.

I would appeal to Jared or whomever is configuring this software to disable comments altogether, if possible in the config. But if that's not possible, then hopefully this helps illustrate the difference between the two responses, and why "comment" shouldn't be used.

[whee]

I have appealed to the admin to disable the comment feature also. I feel that this feature disrupts the continuity of the conversation and makes it easy to miss some great pieces of information. Additionally, it is quite annoying to log on using a computer after several days of only using tapattalk to find a "comment" conversation that was directed at you or you wish you were apart of.

[Mark Goldberg]

This is something I was not aware of. I will reply instead of commenting in the future. Mark

[Zzz]

I have found this while Googling:

In the AdminCP there is an option to disable the comments feature. Go to "Settings > Options > Message Posting and Editing Options". There you find "Topic Comment Posting". Select "No".

[Battson]

Well, at the risk of going against the grain - I really like comments. I think they are a good additional functionality. Who knows, other software may go this way in future.

It's regrettable that there are some shortcomings in terms of their functionality right now, and other app's ability to work with them is limited. That could hopefully be fixed in a future version.

I prefer not to side-track when someone asks a question aside, like in my Bearhawk in the Backcountry thread. I can simply comment the reply, and keep it all within the same post. I think having the choice to do this is a good thing, choice is usually good. It keeps the thread shorter and means I can pack more pictures in per page - rather than pages of two-and-fro accumulating in between.

Comments needn't kill the conversation - anyone can reply back as another comment - but it keeps the side-tracks contained.

That's just my 2c.

[Zzz]

Battson, like i said, if you provide any valuable information via a comment, it cannot be 1) quoted 2) linked to directly, and 3) will not appear in Tapatalk.

[Battson]

Yes - I understood all those points.
The inability to quote or link doesn't inhibit me, and I don't use tapatalk - just the mobile website. So while I understand the problems you've described, for me there's no problem. I'm not trying to be selfish, I am just explaining how I experience comments differently.
I still think they are a good idea; but like so many good ideas they evidently need more development to reach their full potential. I can totally empathise with your problems, and how comments could be annoying in those circumstances. I bet I would be annoyed.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

I also prefer the mobile site for reading, which brings comments into play for my use case. But I do find the posting experience a lot nicer with Tapatalk when one needs to attach photos. So I use it exclusively for that purpose. The forum software is a little funky with comments, occasionally, in that when you choose a comment to view from your Message List at the top of the page, sometimes it won't take you directly to the comment. Not often, but often enough where I sometimes have to re-read everything to make sure I didn't miss anything.

[Bdflies]

I really appreciate your informing us, Zane. When I thought the response wasn't germaine to the conversation, I considered 'comment' to be more appropriate. It never occurred to me that this action excluded some users. If Tapatalk users are excluded from the 'comments', then that's good enough to avoid that system. Thanks for the education!

Bill

[Zzz]

I just don't agree with comments as some different data type within a conversation. It may have some minute value to create a secondary subthread branching off a post, but I just don't see many of our audience making the distinction and so they'll continue to be misused and intended replies unknowingly lost to Tapatalk users.

Tapatalk shows this site as having 300 followers; not insignificant.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Tapatalk is definitely a significant contribution method here. I have missed info in the past while reading the site with it. As many participate in other Tapatalk-enabled forums like BCP and others using the tool, a consistent user experience would certainly be ideal.

[Mark Moyle]

I'm a taptalk user. I haven't used a computer to access this or any other forum for few years.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[marcusofcotton]

Mark, on one of the forums I was not able to see any of your posts except when quoted by others.

[jaredyates]

Thanks for pointing that out Zane and thanks for the input from everyone else. Another point worth mentioning is that comments do not generate an email notification, as replies do. I'd propose keeping the comments enabled now that folks know the difference, and see how it goes. I'd want to research to see if we'd lose the current comments if we disable them.

[Mark Moyle]

Mark, on one of the forums I was not able to see any of your posts except when quoted by others.

Humm....which one? I'm fairly active on the short wing site....hadn't heard of any issues there.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk