Thread

I kind of realized as I was building out a comment area for a new weblog that I was being a little redundant. The post titles are linking to the permalink for each post. The permalink page has the post and comments underneath it. This works, but at the same time I’ve built a comments template. The “x comments” in my sub title of the post links to a page showing the post and comments underneath it, which is identical to the permalink.

Its using the same data, but its redundant indeed. I relized how renduant it was when I added a special captcha extension and had to make sure I added it to the permalinks page and the comments page. But how do I get out of this? I’m thinking about just removing the comments from the permalink page and just putting a link to the page with the comments.

Am I crazy?

Nope.

Ever since the pMPro days I’ve used the same template for permalinks and comments.  Just makes sense.

Ever since the pMPro days I’ve used the same template for permalinks and comments.  Just makes sense.

I haven’t used a separate comments-only template since I dropped Blogger for Movable Type, long before I lucked into an EE license. I’ve always preferred to have—and, in reading other sites, to see—comments on the same page as the related post. I like to be able to scroll back up and refer to the post in composing my comment.

In fact, one thing that bothers me a little about this forum is that the “Fast Reply” link doesn’t appear to include the “Thread Review” display, and I use that more often than the other options for posting here.

Well, the Fast Reply basically has a thread review, it’s right above it. I love fast reply, much handier than having to go to a new page to post something!

:red:

My bad, and that must be why I do prefer it. My complaint must have been the lack of editing doodads instead.

I haven’t used a separate comments-only template since I dropped Blogger for Movable Type, long before I lucked into an EE license. I’ve always preferred to have—and, in reading other sites, to see—comments on the same page as the related post. I like to be able to scroll back up and refer to the post in composing my comment.

I’ve set it up both ways—Comments on the entry page, vs. separate Comments page—and there are merits for each. The separate Comments and Preview pages allow for extra page views, which means more advertising opportunities. I’ve also set it up so that the Comments section only appears to logged in readers, a requirement to post Comments. It doesn’t take much extra effort for separate Comments and Preview pages.

I suspect that most readers prefer everything to be on the same page, but I don’t know as though a lack of such inhibits comments.

The separate Comments and Preview pages allow for extra page views, which means more advertising opportunities. I’ve also set it up so that the Comments section only appears to logged in readers, a requirement to post Comments. It doesn’t take much extra effort for separate Comments and Preview pages.

I suspect that most readers prefer everything to be on the same page, but I don’t know as though a lack of such inhibits comments.

I do use a separate comment-preview page, for those who choose to use it—though a live-preview plugin would appeal to me if it works decently in all browsers. I just prefer to minimize the number of templates I have to change whenever I tweak the design, and having no ads means ad rotation doesn’t enter into my thinking. But that does raise a question.

Do you find that ads rotated onto a preview page, for example, really help? When I use a preview page or a separate comment page that doesn’t include post content, I’m so focused on what I’m writing that I doubt I’d ever notice an ad.

(Full disclosure: I try very hard never to notice ads anyway, unless they feature pretty girls. Otherwise, I might leaf through a print advertising circular if I’m considering a purchase, but online I tend to search for information about something to buy, rather than look at incidental advertising.)

Do you find that ads rotated onto a preview page, for example, really help? When I use a preview page or a separate comment page that doesn’t include post content, I’m so focused on what I’m writing that I doubt I’d ever notice an ad.

For most sites that run ads, they’re a mixed blessing (or, curse, depending on perspective). For content sites ads pay the freight, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, too many online ads these days pay on clicks rather than impressions. I manage some sites with as many as 10 ads per page, though I see plenty of sites with far more. And, I have some sites with as few as a single ad on a page. The average seems to be four or five, which, for me is tolerable. As to the Comments and Previews pages, some clients want as many ads showing as possible, others don’t; in some cases I re-use code which allows ads to be displayed as they would on entry pages. I suspect the click through rate of ads on Comments and Preview pages is substantially less than other pages.

(Full disclosure: I try very hard never to notice ads anyway, unless they feature pretty girls. Otherwise, I might leaf through a print advertising circular if I’m considering a purchase, but online I tend to search for information about something to buy, rather than look at incidental advertising.).

I hear you. There’s little question that soft porn ads or mildly suggestive ads featuring female faces and bodies sells. I manage half a dozen OpenX ad server setups, too, and have done numerous tests which affirm that ‘sex sells.’ Creative an attractive, informative, stylish ad and rotate it with a sexy ad and see which one gets the most click through hits. It’s seldom much of a contest.

I should have added that just because I notice the ads with pretty girls doesn’t necessarily mean I click ‘em. I figured out early on that very few businesses are actually selling the girls in their ads, and those don’t advertise on respectable websites anyway.