Options For LJ Comment Styles
Given the current not-ideal-for-RP changes to the LJ default comments and our many discussions of alternatives, we thought we should bring together a list in one place of the various options and how to install each, as well as the attached drawbacks and benefits. (Not listed in order of importance! An annoyance for one user may be a dealbreaker for others, or vice versa.)
Most of this isn't new information, per se, but it's scattered over a number of discussion posts that might not be the easiest to comb through, so here it all is in one place! We'll keep updating this post as new options and tweaks come in, and link it from the FH user-info.
(Warning in advance that any "It looks like this" link is probably to a rather huge image of a full-size page.)
LJ Default Comment Style
Description
It looks like this. Also called "S1 style comments" by LJ staff, this is the style you'll see if you're reading an entry while logged out of LJ, unless the entry's owner has some other customized style turned on. It's also the style which has been completely redesigned as of December 2011, in RP-negative ways.
Drawbacks
1. As you can see in the example image, existing subject lines are only displayed within the body of uncollapsed comments, not in the comment headers.
2. There's also no ability to put in a subject line in this style's comment input box, which looks like this.
3. The comment input box now no longer has a Preview option.
4. Some users can't post a comment at all with this box, because the "Post Comment" button is grayed out. (It's grayed-out for everyone until you type something in the text box, but for some Firefox users, it remains so even after that.)
5. The icon-chooser in this style is now completely a visual browser, which looks like this; there's no text drop-down for choosing by icon-name. This is a pain to load even on the best systems, and nightmarish on slow connections or phones. (For reference, the icons are sorted default-first, then alphabetically by icon-name.)
6. The icon-chooser will post with your default icon instead of the one you chose if:
--- The icon you chose is inactive (because your extra userpic packages or paid account expired) - but, unhelpfully, the icon-chooser doesn't label them as inactive
--- The icon you chose has more than one separate keyword assigned to it (multiple words/phrases separated by commas, not a single phrase like "looking at you")
7. The pages have slow loading or no loading on some browsers, systems, and connections, especially Firefox and various phone types.
8. The "parent" link is gone; clicking "link" (which only appears when you hover over the comment header) will, whoever, show you the thread with the parent comment collapsed at the top of it.
9. The overall colors and layout of the style are visually painful for some users, to the point of eyestrain and in some cases, migraines.
10. At the moment, there's a bug where comments from deleted journals display as "Deleted Comment" even though the comments are still there and will display properly in other comment-page styles.
Advantages
1. This is the style that LJ supports, so problems which they will actually acknowledge as bugs are likely to be fixed sooner here than for custom styles
2. There's a "new comment" icon next to comments added since the last time you refreshed, which is actually somewhat useful for big discussions
3. They don't break pages on long threads or reload the entire page if you comment from within a thread, and they have the standard LJ header and footer.
4. They're available for all account types.
5. We got nothin'.
How do I install it?
To turn these on, the only thing you have to do is make sure that under the Presentation header on this page, "Disable customized comment pages for your journal " is set to Yes.
Default with Script Fixes
Description
These scripts work with the Greasemonkey and Stylish addons in Chrome, Firefox or Safari, repairing (or avoiding) a lot of the problems of the new default style, while keeping the general changes. The first script will re-style the colors and put any existing subject lines up in the comment header instead of down in the body of the comment. It also returns a drop-down text-based icon chooser to the comment entry box. The second script puts the ability to enter a subject back in the comment entry box.
When they're all working together, your pages will look like this (or with slightly different colors because there are some options you can set yourself), and your comment entry boxes will look like this.
The icon-chooser shows your default icon, but when you click it, you'll get a text drop-down instead of a visual browser. (This does not however, fix the bug where it will post with your default icon if you choose an inactive icon or one with more than one keyword. All it does is show you a list of names instead of pictures.)
Drawbacks
1. Still no Preview option in the comment input box.
2. This doesn't fix any of the loading and posting issues that some users have. (Depending on your connection and browser speeds, adding more scripts might even make it worse.)
3. The icon-chooser will still post with your default icon instead of the one you chose if:
--- The icon you chose is inactive (because your extra userpic packages or paid account expired) - but, unhelpfully, the icon-chooser doesn't label them as inactive
--- The icon you chose has more than one separate keyword assigned to it (multiple words/phrases separated by commas, not a single phrase like "looking at you")
4. Still no Parent link, but again, "Link" behaves similarly.
5. The "re: [subject line]" doesn't always carry over to the next comment when replying; you may have to paste it in. If you don't, your replies will come in with no subject line, and be sorted separately in GMail.
6. These are not portable. (Unless you're running a portable browser off a flashdrive, but in that case they'll slow down your browser speed like crazy.) You have to install them separately on every computer and every browser that you want to use them on, so they're not much good for work/school/libraries.
Advantages
1. Better looking (YMMV, obviously), and presumably less eyestrain/headaches.
2. Subject lines displayed where they belong, and the ability to add one when commenting.
3. Text-based icon-chooser.
4. They don't break pages on long threads or reload the entire page if you comment from within a thread, and they have the standard LJ header and footer.
5. The thing where you have to hover over the comment header to see the links and checkboxes is fixed; they're always there now.
6. Also available for all account types.
How do I install it?
1. Make sure you have the default comment style enabled as described in the first LJ-Cut section, or you won't see any effects!
2. Install the Stylish add-on. [ Chrome | Firefox | Safari ]. Some browsers require a re-start afterward; some don't.
3. Install the Greasemonkey add-on, if you're using Firefox and don't already have it. (If you use LJ-login, you have Greasemonkey installed.) Same deal; you may need to re-start your browser afterward. In Chrome, you won't need to do anything for this step. For Safari, NinjaKit works in Greasemonkey's place.
3. Go to the first script here (Livejournal Release 88 Tweaks style) and set the various background colors and other options listed as you'd like them. Then click "Install With Stylish." (If you don't see that button, you need to re-start your browser.)
4. For the second script, go here and click the "Download script here" link. Approve the installation in any dialogue boxes pop up, and then you should be good to go.
5. These apparently work in Opera as well; but you'll need to be familiar enough with it to install your own userscripts; we can't furnish a how-to for that one.
Classic Comments
Description
Classic Comments are one specific custom comment layout that looks very similar to the old default -- but they're an option for the Minimalism style and only that style. All of the Fandom High official communities are set to this style right now, so even if you don't have it set on your own journal, you'll see it there (unless you've told LJ to show you all journals and entries in your journal style).
Drawbacks
1. They're only available for Paid or Plus accounts. (In theory, LJ plans to make them available for Basic accounts, but they aren't yet and it's hard to get the same answer twice on why.)
2. They're only available for the Minimalism style, which doesn't offer a lot of customization choices for your journal and friendslist display.
3. You can use custom CSS with these now (for adding journal headers and such), but you can't use any whose instructions require you to set "Use layout's stylesheets" to No, as this will kill the Classic Comments.
4. They don't come with the default LJ headers and footers; the closest replacement for that is to make sure your Navigation Strip is turned on here.
5. Classic Comments pages will break (allowing you to scroll no further down than the spot where it's broken) if you have any single thread go on for a hundred or more comments. Here's a tutorial on how that works, and some suggestions on how to avoid it happening. This won't stop us from having large posts -- we can have thousands of comments; they just can't all be in one thread.
6. When you're looking at only part of a thread, posting a comment will reload the entire page, not just the thread you were in.
7. There's currently a bug across all comment styles that have both a text icon list and a visual browser, including Classic: icons with an apostrophe in their name are displayed with the html escape code ( & # 39 ; ) instead of an actual apostrophe. When you choose that icon in the visual browser, the icon chosen in the text dropdown list -- and therefore the icon you'll really post with -- doesn't get changed from the default. You can catch this before posting, though, and change it to the correct icon name via the text list, which doesn't share the bug.
8. Alt text / the icon name isn't displayed when you hover over someone's icon.
Advantages
1. They look a lot like the old default comments in general.
2. They display subject lines in the comment headers and give you a field for adding one in the comment entry box.
3. The comment entry boxes also have a Preview button.
4. The icon-chooser has a text-only dropdown and a visual browsing option. Neither of those will display inactive icons, nor do they have any issues with icons that have multiple keywords.
5. They display the Parent and Thread links, which work the way they used to in the old default comments.
6. They don't have the general loading and posting problems that some users experience with the new default comments.
7. They don't have "Comment Squish," a common problem with other custom styles, where comment widths get narrower and narrower as a thread gets longer. Instead, like the old default style, threads are justified to the right and expanded to the left so they're still readable, like this.
How do I install them?
Detailed instructions.
Other Custom Comments
Description
Also known as "S2 styles," these are the comment styles that are attached as part of the package with your journal style and layout. They vary greatly even in their basic state, and depending on your familiarity with coding them, they can be customized even further. Some of them avoid most of the problems caused by the default comment style while some don't, and most have their own set of different issues that may make RP difficult. For sanity's sake, we'll only touch on the specially customized styles that closely resemble the old default comments, and the problems that are common to those styles.
General Drawbacks to Custom Comments
1. They're only available for Paid or Plus accounts.
2. They're only available for the specific layout style (Smooth Sailing, Flexible Squares, etc) they're attached to.
3. They don't come with the default LJ headers and footers; the closest replacement for that is to make sure your Navigation Strip is turned on here.
4. Almost all custom comment pages will break (allowing you to scroll no further down than the spot where it's broken) if you have any single thread go on for a hundred or more comments. Here's a tutorial on how that works, and some suggestions on how to avoid it happening. This won't stop us from having large posts -- we can have thousands of comments; they just can't all be in one thread.
5. When you're looking at only part of a thread, posting a comment will reload the entire page, not just the thread you were in.
6. Whether alt text/preview/etc. is displayed varies between different styles.
7. There's currently a bug across all custom comment styles that have both a text icon list and a visual browser: icons with an apostrophe in their name are displayed with the html escape code (& # 39 ; ) instead of an actual apostrophe. When you choose that icon in the visual browser, the icon chosen in the text dropdown list -- and therefore the icon you'll really post with -- doesn't get changed from the default. You can catch this before posting, though, and change it to the correct icon name via the text list, which doesn't share the bug.
8. The coloring and layout usually match the style of your journal and friendslist, which may be okay for you but hard to read for others, or vice versa.
9. Many custom styles suffer from "Comment Squish," where comment widths get narrower and narrower as a thread gets longer, which is eventually very hard to read.
General Advantages to Custom Comments
1. Most styles display subject lines in the comment headers and give you a field for adding one in the comment entry box.
2. Most comment entry boxes also have a Preview button.
3. Most icon-choosers have a text-only dropdown and a visual browsing option. Neither of those will display inactive icons, nor do they have any issues with icons that have multiple keywords.
4. Most styles display the Parent and Thread links, which work the way they used to in the old default comments.
5. They don't have the general loading and posting problems that some users experience with the new default comments, though sometimes they can be buggy in random other ways.
Specific Custom Comment Styles That Are Similar To Classic Comments But For Other Layouts!
Minimalism/Georgia: Basic Functionality is pretty much exactly like Classic Comments (but predates it). It has all the same drawbacks and advantages as Classic Comments, but it's only available for Minimalism/Georgia. You probably won't be wanting to install these since they're less flexible than Classic; we only mention the style here because a) it was AWESOME at the time it was developed, and b) you might run across it on some journals where the user hasn't switched over to Classic.
Smooth Sailing: our own whateverknight has designed great classic-style comments for Smooth Sailing. Drawbacks: the general ones for custom comments. including Comment Squish. In addition, because of how they have to be created, they can only be installed on a Paid account; however, they'll remain in place if you later downgrade to a Plus. Advantages: all the same advantages as Classic Comments including no Comment Squish, but attached to a fully customizable and popular style, instead of Minimalism. Installation instructions: here.
Flexible Squares: also by whateverknight, with exactly the same pros and cons as the Smooth Sailing comments, but attached to the also-popular and customizable Flexible Squares Style. Installation instructions: here
whateverknight is working on custom comments for other styles too, so expect to see further updates to this list!
How Can I See Everything In A Style That Works For Me?
The FH admin team wants to make our official communities as readable as possible, so right now they’re all set to some variation on Minimalism, with the Classic Comments style. Should we change that, it’ll be to one of the other custom styles that produces the same effect, and we’ll give you a heads up that we’ve done so.
For your own journals, though, we don’t think it would be fair of us to require everyone to use the same style, or even for us to settle on one Officially Endorsed style based on what’s preferred by the majority of players.
If comment styles could be chosen independently of journal styles, that might be workable, but that’s not the case; your journal and friendslist design, aka your reading comfort, is directly tied to your comments design.
If there were players who absolutely couldn’t read or comment on entries, we’d also rethink the issue, but to the best of our knowledge, that’s also not the case. This may be something that not everyone is aware of, though, so we want to make sure you know you have these options! Everybody has the ability to read another person’s LJ entry in their own chosen comment style; here’s how to do it, in a couple of different ways:
Whether your journal is Paid, Plus, or Basic, you can append ?style=mine to the end of an entry’s URL; it will display the page in the same style as your own entries.
Like this: fandomtownies.livejournal.com/6342179.html?style=mine
If the link is to a thread instead of a whole entry, you’d instead use &style=mine and put it right after the thread number, and before any number signs in the URL.
Like this: fandomtownies.livejournal.com/6342179.html?thread=242690595&style=mine#t242690595
If you have a Paid account, you can skip having to do this at all; just go here and check the box next to “View all journals and communities in my own style.” All entries (and journal layouts) anywhere will appear in the same style you’ve chosen for your own journal.
If you’d like something in between those options, all account levels can go to that same link and check the box next to “View comment pages from my Friends page in my own style.” This will automatically stick the style=mine in the URL when you click a "Leave a comment/[#] comments" link on your friends page, but if you go to someone else’s journal (or a community where you might need to read the sidebar links for resources), you’ll still be able to look at their layout instead of yours.
If you have a Paid account and have switched to a new style for commenting convenience (yours and/or other people's) you can also view your journal or friendslist in any previous style you used via this trick.
Basic accounts are stuck with the new default style in their own journals as well as any they use style=mine on, which absolutely sucks for those who don’t like the new default.
However, upgrading to a Plus account is free, and gives you the opportunity to use the Classic Comments style instead. For those of us who are leery of Plus accounts due to the "including ads" aspect, there's the ever-helpful AdBlock, which does basically what it says on the tin, removing ads from websites like LJ. AdBlock is available for Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
So with all of these options for tailoring our own personal viewing experience, we should all be able to see things the way we like without having to settle on the same style for everyone!
We’re totally cool with you guys discussing which styles are most popular and work best for you, though, and we’ve provided threads here to discuss that. There’s a thread to ask for help and advice which everybody’s welcome to chime in on, a thread to offer general suggestions and tips that have made browsing easier for you, and one for just describing what your browsing setup is and what styles you’re using so that we can get a picture of what’s most popular and is giving people the best (or worst) experience.
The admin team will definitely be hanging out and reading those threads, because we do want to keep making sure the official game journals are in a style that helps out the most players!
[No opossums were harmed in the posting of this post.]
Most of this isn't new information, per se, but it's scattered over a number of discussion posts that might not be the easiest to comb through, so here it all is in one place! We'll keep updating this post as new options and tweaks come in, and link it from the FH user-info.
(Warning in advance that any "It looks like this" link is probably to a rather huge image of a full-size page.)
LJ Default Comment Style
Description
It looks like this. Also called "S1 style comments" by LJ staff, this is the style you'll see if you're reading an entry while logged out of LJ, unless the entry's owner has some other customized style turned on. It's also the style which has been completely redesigned as of December 2011, in RP-negative ways.
Drawbacks
1. As you can see in the example image, existing subject lines are only displayed within the body of uncollapsed comments, not in the comment headers.
2. There's also no ability to put in a subject line in this style's comment input box, which looks like this.
3. The comment input box now no longer has a Preview option.
4. Some users can't post a comment at all with this box, because the "Post Comment" button is grayed out. (It's grayed-out for everyone until you type something in the text box, but for some Firefox users, it remains so even after that.)
5. The icon-chooser in this style is now completely a visual browser, which looks like this; there's no text drop-down for choosing by icon-name. This is a pain to load even on the best systems, and nightmarish on slow connections or phones. (For reference, the icons are sorted default-first, then alphabetically by icon-name.)
6. The icon-chooser will post with your default icon instead of the one you chose if:
--- The icon you chose is inactive (because your extra userpic packages or paid account expired) - but, unhelpfully, the icon-chooser doesn't label them as inactive
--- The icon you chose has more than one separate keyword assigned to it (multiple words/phrases separated by commas, not a single phrase like "looking at you")
7. The pages have slow loading or no loading on some browsers, systems, and connections, especially Firefox and various phone types.
8. The "parent" link is gone; clicking "link" (which only appears when you hover over the comment header) will, whoever, show you the thread with the parent comment collapsed at the top of it.
9. The overall colors and layout of the style are visually painful for some users, to the point of eyestrain and in some cases, migraines.
10. At the moment, there's a bug where comments from deleted journals display as "Deleted Comment" even though the comments are still there and will display properly in other comment-page styles.
Advantages
1. This is the style that LJ supports, so problems which they will actually acknowledge as bugs are likely to be fixed sooner here than for custom styles
2. There's a "new comment" icon next to comments added since the last time you refreshed, which is actually somewhat useful for big discussions
3. They don't break pages on long threads or reload the entire page if you comment from within a thread, and they have the standard LJ header and footer.
4. They're available for all account types.
5. We got nothin'.
How do I install it?
To turn these on, the only thing you have to do is make sure that under the Presentation header on this page, "Disable customized comment pages for your journal " is set to Yes.
Default with Script Fixes
Description
These scripts work with the Greasemonkey and Stylish addons in Chrome, Firefox or Safari, repairing (or avoiding) a lot of the problems of the new default style, while keeping the general changes. The first script will re-style the colors and put any existing subject lines up in the comment header instead of down in the body of the comment. It also returns a drop-down text-based icon chooser to the comment entry box. The second script puts the ability to enter a subject back in the comment entry box.
When they're all working together, your pages will look like this (or with slightly different colors because there are some options you can set yourself), and your comment entry boxes will look like this.
The icon-chooser shows your default icon, but when you click it, you'll get a text drop-down instead of a visual browser. (This does not however, fix the bug where it will post with your default icon if you choose an inactive icon or one with more than one keyword. All it does is show you a list of names instead of pictures.)
Drawbacks
1. Still no Preview option in the comment input box.
2. This doesn't fix any of the loading and posting issues that some users have. (Depending on your connection and browser speeds, adding more scripts might even make it worse.)
3. The icon-chooser will still post with your default icon instead of the one you chose if:
--- The icon you chose is inactive (because your extra userpic packages or paid account expired) - but, unhelpfully, the icon-chooser doesn't label them as inactive
--- The icon you chose has more than one separate keyword assigned to it (multiple words/phrases separated by commas, not a single phrase like "looking at you")
4. Still no Parent link, but again, "Link" behaves similarly.
5. The "re: [subject line]" doesn't always carry over to the next comment when replying; you may have to paste it in. If you don't, your replies will come in with no subject line, and be sorted separately in GMail.
6. These are not portable. (Unless you're running a portable browser off a flashdrive, but in that case they'll slow down your browser speed like crazy.) You have to install them separately on every computer and every browser that you want to use them on, so they're not much good for work/school/libraries.
Advantages
1. Better looking (YMMV, obviously), and presumably less eyestrain/headaches.
2. Subject lines displayed where they belong, and the ability to add one when commenting.
3. Text-based icon-chooser.
4. They don't break pages on long threads or reload the entire page if you comment from within a thread, and they have the standard LJ header and footer.
5. The thing where you have to hover over the comment header to see the links and checkboxes is fixed; they're always there now.
6. Also available for all account types.
How do I install it?
1. Make sure you have the default comment style enabled as described in the first LJ-Cut section, or you won't see any effects!
2. Install the Stylish add-on. [ Chrome | Firefox | Safari ]. Some browsers require a re-start afterward; some don't.
3. Install the Greasemonkey add-on, if you're using Firefox and don't already have it. (If you use LJ-login, you have Greasemonkey installed.) Same deal; you may need to re-start your browser afterward. In Chrome, you won't need to do anything for this step. For Safari, NinjaKit works in Greasemonkey's place.
3. Go to the first script here (Livejournal Release 88 Tweaks style) and set the various background colors and other options listed as you'd like them. Then click "Install With Stylish." (If you don't see that button, you need to re-start your browser.)
4. For the second script, go here and click the "Download script here" link. Approve the installation in any dialogue boxes pop up, and then you should be good to go.
5. These apparently work in Opera as well; but you'll need to be familiar enough with it to install your own userscripts; we can't furnish a how-to for that one.
Classic Comments
Description
Classic Comments are one specific custom comment layout that looks very similar to the old default -- but they're an option for the Minimalism style and only that style. All of the Fandom High official communities are set to this style right now, so even if you don't have it set on your own journal, you'll see it there (unless you've told LJ to show you all journals and entries in your journal style).
Drawbacks
1. They're only available for Paid or Plus accounts. (In theory, LJ plans to make them available for Basic accounts, but they aren't yet and it's hard to get the same answer twice on why.)
2. They're only available for the Minimalism style, which doesn't offer a lot of customization choices for your journal and friendslist display.
3. You can use custom CSS with these now (for adding journal headers and such), but you can't use any whose instructions require you to set "Use layout's stylesheets" to No, as this will kill the Classic Comments.
4. They don't come with the default LJ headers and footers; the closest replacement for that is to make sure your Navigation Strip is turned on here.
5. Classic Comments pages will break (allowing you to scroll no further down than the spot where it's broken) if you have any single thread go on for a hundred or more comments. Here's a tutorial on how that works, and some suggestions on how to avoid it happening. This won't stop us from having large posts -- we can have thousands of comments; they just can't all be in one thread.
6. When you're looking at only part of a thread, posting a comment will reload the entire page, not just the thread you were in.
7. There's currently a bug across all comment styles that have both a text icon list and a visual browser, including Classic: icons with an apostrophe in their name are displayed with the html escape code ( & # 39 ; ) instead of an actual apostrophe. When you choose that icon in the visual browser, the icon chosen in the text dropdown list -- and therefore the icon you'll really post with -- doesn't get changed from the default. You can catch this before posting, though, and change it to the correct icon name via the text list, which doesn't share the bug.
8. Alt text / the icon name isn't displayed when you hover over someone's icon.
Advantages
1. They look a lot like the old default comments in general.
2. They display subject lines in the comment headers and give you a field for adding one in the comment entry box.
3. The comment entry boxes also have a Preview button.
4. The icon-chooser has a text-only dropdown and a visual browsing option. Neither of those will display inactive icons, nor do they have any issues with icons that have multiple keywords.
5. They display the Parent and Thread links, which work the way they used to in the old default comments.
6. They don't have the general loading and posting problems that some users experience with the new default comments.
7. They don't have "Comment Squish," a common problem with other custom styles, where comment widths get narrower and narrower as a thread gets longer. Instead, like the old default style, threads are justified to the right and expanded to the left so they're still readable, like this.
How do I install them?
Detailed instructions.
Other Custom Comments
Description
Also known as "S2 styles," these are the comment styles that are attached as part of the package with your journal style and layout. They vary greatly even in their basic state, and depending on your familiarity with coding them, they can be customized even further. Some of them avoid most of the problems caused by the default comment style while some don't, and most have their own set of different issues that may make RP difficult. For sanity's sake, we'll only touch on the specially customized styles that closely resemble the old default comments, and the problems that are common to those styles.
General Drawbacks to Custom Comments
1. They're only available for Paid or Plus accounts.
2. They're only available for the specific layout style (Smooth Sailing, Flexible Squares, etc) they're attached to.
3. They don't come with the default LJ headers and footers; the closest replacement for that is to make sure your Navigation Strip is turned on here.
4. Almost all custom comment pages will break (allowing you to scroll no further down than the spot where it's broken) if you have any single thread go on for a hundred or more comments. Here's a tutorial on how that works, and some suggestions on how to avoid it happening. This won't stop us from having large posts -- we can have thousands of comments; they just can't all be in one thread.
5. When you're looking at only part of a thread, posting a comment will reload the entire page, not just the thread you were in.
6. Whether alt text/preview/etc. is displayed varies between different styles.
7. There's currently a bug across all custom comment styles that have both a text icon list and a visual browser: icons with an apostrophe in their name are displayed with the html escape code (& # 39 ; ) instead of an actual apostrophe. When you choose that icon in the visual browser, the icon chosen in the text dropdown list -- and therefore the icon you'll really post with -- doesn't get changed from the default. You can catch this before posting, though, and change it to the correct icon name via the text list, which doesn't share the bug.
8. The coloring and layout usually match the style of your journal and friendslist, which may be okay for you but hard to read for others, or vice versa.
9. Many custom styles suffer from "Comment Squish," where comment widths get narrower and narrower as a thread gets longer, which is eventually very hard to read.
General Advantages to Custom Comments
1. Most styles display subject lines in the comment headers and give you a field for adding one in the comment entry box.
2. Most comment entry boxes also have a Preview button.
3. Most icon-choosers have a text-only dropdown and a visual browsing option. Neither of those will display inactive icons, nor do they have any issues with icons that have multiple keywords.
4. Most styles display the Parent and Thread links, which work the way they used to in the old default comments.
5. They don't have the general loading and posting problems that some users experience with the new default comments, though sometimes they can be buggy in random other ways.
Specific Custom Comment Styles That Are Similar To Classic Comments But For Other Layouts!
Minimalism/Georgia: Basic Functionality is pretty much exactly like Classic Comments (but predates it). It has all the same drawbacks and advantages as Classic Comments, but it's only available for Minimalism/Georgia. You probably won't be wanting to install these since they're less flexible than Classic; we only mention the style here because a) it was AWESOME at the time it was developed, and b) you might run across it on some journals where the user hasn't switched over to Classic.
Smooth Sailing: our own whateverknight has designed great classic-style comments for Smooth Sailing. Drawbacks: the general ones for custom comments. including Comment Squish. In addition, because of how they have to be created, they can only be installed on a Paid account; however, they'll remain in place if you later downgrade to a Plus. Advantages: all the same advantages as Classic Comments including no Comment Squish, but attached to a fully customizable and popular style, instead of Minimalism. Installation instructions: here.
Flexible Squares: also by whateverknight, with exactly the same pros and cons as the Smooth Sailing comments, but attached to the also-popular and customizable Flexible Squares Style. Installation instructions: here
whateverknight is working on custom comments for other styles too, so expect to see further updates to this list!
How Can I See Everything In A Style That Works For Me?
The FH admin team wants to make our official communities as readable as possible, so right now they’re all set to some variation on Minimalism, with the Classic Comments style. Should we change that, it’ll be to one of the other custom styles that produces the same effect, and we’ll give you a heads up that we’ve done so.
For your own journals, though, we don’t think it would be fair of us to require everyone to use the same style, or even for us to settle on one Officially Endorsed style based on what’s preferred by the majority of players.
If comment styles could be chosen independently of journal styles, that might be workable, but that’s not the case; your journal and friendslist design, aka your reading comfort, is directly tied to your comments design.
If there were players who absolutely couldn’t read or comment on entries, we’d also rethink the issue, but to the best of our knowledge, that’s also not the case. This may be something that not everyone is aware of, though, so we want to make sure you know you have these options! Everybody has the ability to read another person’s LJ entry in their own chosen comment style; here’s how to do it, in a couple of different ways:
Whether your journal is Paid, Plus, or Basic, you can append ?style=mine to the end of an entry’s URL; it will display the page in the same style as your own entries.
Like this: fandomtownies.livejournal.com/6342179.html?style=mine
If the link is to a thread instead of a whole entry, you’d instead use &style=mine and put it right after the thread number, and before any number signs in the URL.
Like this: fandomtownies.livejournal.com/6342179.html?thread=242690595&style=mine#t242690595
If you have a Paid account, you can skip having to do this at all; just go here and check the box next to “View all journals and communities in my own style.” All entries (and journal layouts) anywhere will appear in the same style you’ve chosen for your own journal.
If you’d like something in between those options, all account levels can go to that same link and check the box next to “View comment pages from my Friends page in my own style.” This will automatically stick the style=mine in the URL when you click a "Leave a comment/[#] comments" link on your friends page, but if you go to someone else’s journal (or a community where you might need to read the sidebar links for resources), you’ll still be able to look at their layout instead of yours.
If you have a Paid account and have switched to a new style for commenting convenience (yours and/or other people's) you can also view your journal or friendslist in any previous style you used via this trick.
Basic accounts are stuck with the new default style in their own journals as well as any they use style=mine on, which absolutely sucks for those who don’t like the new default.
However, upgrading to a Plus account is free, and gives you the opportunity to use the Classic Comments style instead. For those of us who are leery of Plus accounts due to the "including ads" aspect, there's the ever-helpful AdBlock, which does basically what it says on the tin, removing ads from websites like LJ. AdBlock is available for Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
So with all of these options for tailoring our own personal viewing experience, we should all be able to see things the way we like without having to settle on the same style for everyone!
We’re totally cool with you guys discussing which styles are most popular and work best for you, though, and we’ve provided threads here to discuss that. There’s a thread to ask for help and advice which everybody’s welcome to chime in on, a thread to offer general suggestions and tips that have made browsing easier for you, and one for just describing what your browsing setup is and what styles you’re using so that we can get a picture of what’s most popular and is giving people the best (or worst) experience.
The admin team will definitely be hanging out and reading those threads, because we do want to keep making sure the official game journals are in a style that helps out the most players!
[No opossums were harmed in the posting of this post.]