Comments Not Displaying

cornell2 · Post by **cornell2** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:17 pm

I tried to search to see if anyone had the same problem here without luck.

How do I get the comments posted to appear on the page without the user clicking Comments (5) for example.

in other words ... people are able to log comments, but they are initally not visible on the blog page ... one has to notice that there is a non-zero number after Comments(n) and then click.

I am sure this is a no brainer. So all I need is someone with a brain to help me out ; ) Thanks!

azel · Post by **azel** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:40 pm

This thread might help you: http://www.s9y.org/forums/viewtopic.php ... ommentform

cornell2 · Post by **cornell2** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 9:22 pm

wow - way too overwhelming amount of info on that link.
To just a have to comments defaulted so that they are showing under the posts - one one think this should be a admin panel setting - or at least one additional setting in the config file(s) somewhere.

I would think it is ... but I just cannot find it in all the info on that post.

Can someone clarify?

Thanks!

Post by **garvinhicking** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:35 pm

Hi!

Could you tell us with what exactly you have problems in the thread mentioned above? Sure, it's a lot to read - but if somebody expects support from us, we expect from him to be willing to do some work as well. *G*

Sadly there is no simple option you can turn on or off to achieve what you want. Template authors could do this easily thanks to the new 1.1 template option syntax, but no one has done that yet.

Best regards,
Garvin

cornell2 · Post by **cornell2** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:40 pm

With all due respect - it is a little insulting to imply that because I asked for clarifcation, that I simply had not read the thread.

Not everyone who uses seremipity is a developer (or comfortable with php). The posting/thread is like a dialog between two people who already have a fairly good knowledge of the what the code and files do. The thread lists long blocks of php code without pointing out which lines are the key ones to be modified. (it's sort of like my asking for a specific biblical quote and someone handing me the new testament).

The 'feature' that I wanted to enable is not unusal (at least by the standard of observing most blogs that I see out there on the net) ... simply having all comments displayed under the blog posting.

I've already accepted that this apparently is not a feature that can be turned on or off via the admin panel.

I have already tweaked other features by reading the postings here and modifying the php code (usually changing something from false to true).

In this case - this straightforward request - apparently requires quite a bit of modification. (my sense was that all it took was changing a parameter or a line of code in the php).

In this case I am a newbie *** with this system *** but it does not mean I am a technical novice nor does it mean anyone here should be dismissed as simply not having read the documentation.

Helping to clarify how this feature can be enabled would probably also help a lot of other folks lurking here, who are afraid to ask the same question for fear they will will be treated like they have a sub-par IQ.

Thanks

Post by **garvinhicking** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 4:10 pm

Hi!

I'm sorry that you took my posting as insulting. It wasn't meant to be, which is why the first thing I asked was for claification what inside the thread was not clear ot too complicated, so that I could clarify that.

The 'feature' that I wanted to enable is not unusal (at least by the standard of observing most blogs that I see out there on the net) ... simply having all comments displayed under the blog posting.

I have not yet seen any blog which lists all comments on the entry overview page yet, so I don't think this is such a common thing. I personally would find that quite confusing...

Maybe we didn't fully understand your explanation, and in fact you just wanted to have a list of comments in the single entry view? For that you can just disable the serendipity configuration option "Show comments as popup window". Because when not using a popup, the comments will be shown inside a template.

So please don't be offended, I didn't mean to. I just wanted a more precise question that we could answer, instead of needing to read through the thread myself and rephrasing it (for which I sadly currently don't have the time, but maybe someone else finds the time to zip up the thread and put it into a final "How To").

Best regards,
Garvin

cornell2 · Post by **cornell2** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:29 pm

OK - I checked all the blogs I subscribe to, and about half have the comments appearing underneath (most are indented and have a different color, shading and font).

I already use the plugin that allows me to list the most recent comments on the side column. Ideally, underneath each blog post would be the same thing (a summary of the comments ... with a click to see more)..

is there any simple or 'turnkey' was to achieve this, or something similar. I don't mind cutting and pasting code, or tweaking, but having to write custom code is a little beyond what I am comfortable doing for this feature.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

stm999999999 · Post by **stm999999999** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:16 pm

cornell2 wrote:OK - I checked all the blogs I subscribe to, and about half have the comments appearing underneath

hm, I don't understand your wish: Can you give us a URL to a blog with the comments like you want to have them?

cornell2 · Post by **cornell2** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:19 pm

Here's one

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/09/is_ ... sing_.html

thouigh he has way too many trackbacks ... scroll down just a little and you will see the comment threads underneath, indented and shaded.

stm999999999 · Post by **stm999999999** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:57 pm

I see, you want:

in the list overview:

Code: Select all

title

blabla text

footer: author - ... -comments (x)

title

blabla text

footer: author - ... -comments (x)

...

But in the single-entry-view:

Code: Select all

title

blabla text

footer: author - ...

comments

xxx

xxx

...

right?

1) I do not think, that it is sooo important (to many people) to delete this little "coments (x) in the footer

2) this is realy a job for the template! The s9y core cannot make a config for this! The output (what is shown, how and where!) is controlled by the used template!

cornell2 · Post by **cornell2** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:35 pm

1. OK - so it's a job for the template. What do I do?

2. Again, I need to gently point out that is it good to snap out of the developer mindset and into the consumer mindset (if you want this software to be more than just for an elite crowd). Bloggers are trying to pull in folks who are not already saavy with blogs. Many of them don't know enough that "comment(4)" means click here to see 4 comments, as opposed to many other things it could be.

3. Also - I have a related question... that I have seen posted, but not answered with any direct clarity except "go play with the xyz plugin and maybe it will work".
Quite simply.
People are leaving comments. I am not being notified that a comment has been posted - and have to approve every one. How do I both 1) not require approval and 2) make sure I get an email if people do leave comments.
Right now I have to check every so often as see "oh - someone left a comment, I need to approve it"
I tried the settings in my user setup ... but they don't seem to do any good.
I had the spam-plugin (one of the suggestions) but it seemed to cause more problems than is solved, so I no longer have it.
This one seems to be a fairly straightforward request... I merely want people to be able to post comments and see them without delays.

mgroeninger · Post by **mgroeninger** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:01 pm

Ok, I've been watching this thread for a little while now and I am becoming increasingly confused.

cornell2, can you please, just for me, explain how you would like your comments to function? And can you tell me what template you are running on your blog?

Do you want comments on the main blog page, under each entry?
(For example, on this page? http://beta.theledge.net/)

Or do you want comments on each entry page?
(For example, on a page like this? http://beta.theledge.net/2006/09/11/272 ... ment..html)

I think part of the problem is that you asked for a feature that is in the standard template, so people believed you were trying to do something highly technical. They assumed, since it seemed like you were asking to do something highly technical, that you were willing to try to become proficient in the tools it would require.

As to your second question, I can't find the thread where you haved asked it before, so I will just respond here.

Email alerts for comments are a standard part of the software. You should not need a plugin. To troubleshoot this can you check these settings:
1) Under "Personal Settings" is your email correct?
2) Under "Configuration" - "General Settings" is the "Blog's E-Mail address " set to an email address that can relay through the server you are hosted on?

If both of those are set correctly, the problem is somewhere between Serendipity, the webserver, and the email server. To troubleshoot that will take more time (and I would prefer to move it back to the other thread, if you don't mind... Let me know where you respond... If you want to pm me, I'd even be willing to trade email with you.)

mgroeninger · Post by **mgroeninger** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:07 pm

Ahhh, I missed a few things...

For emails about comments, also check under "Personal Settings" for:
"Send comment announcements?"

Without that it ain't gonna do much.

And I also missed the comment moderation question...
Check under "Personal Settings" for "Comments & trackbacks to this entry requires moderation"... If this is defaulting to yes, it means all you posts will default to require moderation.

You can also check under the "New Entry" screen (or edit an older entry) and look for the "Comments & trackbacks to this entry requires moderation" check box (directly underneath teh "Entry Body" text box... to the left of the preview/save buttons).

cornell2 · Post by **cornell2** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:40 pm

Thank you mgroeninger for all the attention.

OK here are responses to help get this resolved.
1)

"Do you want comments on the main blog page, under each entry?
(For example, on this page? http://beta.theledge.net/) "

Yes!

Email alerts for comments are a standard part of the software. You should not need a plugin.

Amen!

To troubleshoot this can you check these settings:
1) Under "Personal Settings" is your email correct?
2) Under "Configuration" - "General Settings" is the "Blog's E-Mail address " set to an email address that can relay through the server you are hosted on?

1) Yes.
2) Yes.

OK from the info in your posting .. all makes sense. AND STILL I need to go back and approve comments.

Yes, all those setting are check correctly Send comment announcements?
Do you want to receive emails when comments are posted to your entries? Yes
Send trackback announcements?
Do you want to receive emails when trackbacks are posted to your entries? Yes

Default settings for new entries
Comments & trackbacks to this entry requires moderation
No
Allow comments to this entry
Yes

And still I have to check to see if someone posted a comment and approve it.

mgroeninger · Post by **mgroeninger** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:04 pm

cornell2 wrote:
"Do you want comments on the main blog page, under each entry?
(For example, on this page? http://beta.theledge.net/) "
Yes!

If this is the case then what you are asking is highly technical. You will not receive an answer that is not highly technical. I don't even known enough about templates to answer your question. Garvin probably knows how to do this, and perhaps a few of the template developers.

I would also like to point out that if you go to your example's main page, it does not display comments there but instead uses comment(number).

Email/comment moderation: Did you check the information in the other comment I left? (Sorry about splitting it up that way... I had a lapse of thought.)

NOW everytime I log on to the admin and try to click on anything ... it brings be right back to the login screen.

This problem is most often a problem with cookies on the client or with php sessions on the server. I'm not sure what kind of server you are on, but I would start by making sure php is creating the session (usually php sotres this in an out of the way temp location, like /tmp). Obviously, if you have recently changed you cookie settings, you might need to exclude your website from your changes.

Sorry. Discouraging. Thanks for your help, but 8 hours is enough to spend trying to figure this out, only to have things get worse. So much for the big blogging adventure.

I'm sorry this has been frustrating for you. Perhaps you should try to create an account on supersized.org and beat the heck out of a shared install blog to see what you can break, erm, I mean to see what the software would normally do. It might be less frustrating. (Mind you, Jannis doesn't allow custom templates, as far as I know.)