Release Notes: Comment Improvements, Favorites, and Bug Fixes

This week we focused on a launching a few new features to everyone, launching some design improvements to Beta, and fixing bugs. Here’s a brief description of the some of the most important updates to TypePad this week.

Favorite a Post
Favoriting a post I’ll explain this awesome new feature in my next post, but this is a great way to get more readers, build a community around your blog, and gain insight into your most popular topics. Add it today and get to know what your readers love.

Comment Userpics
Comment userpics – personal pictures or avatars next to a comment – have been a hit since we introduced them to in TypePad Connect. Images help drive community involvement among commenters and help your readers get to know you and each other. We’ve now rolled Userpics out as an option to every TypePad blogger.

If you’re on the standard commenting service (not TypePad Connect), turn it on and try it out.  Go to Settings > Comments > Comment Userpics and click “Show userpics next to each comment.”

Most [Un]Popular Bugs Fixes
Here’s the latest edition of most popular fixes, also known as fixes for the most unpopular bugs.

Comment notifications
Some people were having an issue with comments notifications via email were not being received, particularly Gmail users. Thank you for everyone’s patience and feedback on this issue. Your feedback helped us troubleshoot this very tricky, and annoying, bug. If you’re still having problems, please contact our support team so they can understand the issue.

View all comments from an IP address
We fixed an issue where some members could not view all the comments from a particular IP address.

(Did you know that you could view all comments from an IP address? Go to your comment management screen and check it out.)

Safari Compose

We had some reports of compose and preview issues with the Safari browser. Some users – combination of browser and other issues – were not being warned to save changes before leaving the page. We’ve fixed this alert, protecting you from lost posts.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback and suggestions. Go try out the cool new features and let us know what you think.

Comments

[Karen]

I hope that the next bug fix will allow me to go back to the old method of replying to an email (by clicking Reply) and still have the text of the comment in the email. The new way it works now, I have to click Reply and then remember to change the email address -- if I forget, my reply will be posted online! The other option is to click on the person's email address to open a new email message window, but then the person has no idea what I'm replying to, so I'd have to copy and paste from the original. MADDENING.

[Ginevra]

Hi Karen! There's a handy link in your comment notification emails that creates a private email response to your commenter, with the post title and comment itself in the email. I'll open a help ticket for you now so that we can make sure your settings for this email-to-email feature are all sorted out.

Replying to comments to post straight to the blog is something a LOT of people requested as a feature, but we know replying privately is important too.

[Lisa @ Boondock Ramblings]

I would also like a little more explanation on both of these features. Private and public commenting. Like when you comment publicly, there is some weird formatting that shows up on the comment. . . is there a way to fix that?

[Luci Weston]

How about a "subscribe to this comment" stream button? I use it on other blogs when I comment to follow the conversation. I think it is a handy device to drive a conversation, plus it offers commentors a chance to revisit and follow-up with what others are saying. I know there is a RSS feed, but most non-tech users would rather just hit a button. Thx!

[Elizabeth]

I want my user pic to show up beside comments I've submitted to my own blog previously. Is that possible? I've enabled the checkbox but the default icon is still showing.

Also, I completely agree with the other poster who asked for an option for commenters to have follow-up comments e-mailed to them. This is a glaring omission on TypePad's part, since it has been a standard feature on WordPress and Blogger for a couple of years now. I found a thread about this on the GetSatisfaction site from 8 months ago -- I really don't understand what the problem is in implementing it. A lot of visitors will not know how to set up a feed reader (or may simply not want to) but everyone understands e-mail. The lack of this option is a real deterrent to creating an active community.

[Account Deleted]

Are comment pictures still limited to other TP users? If so, they're practically useless.

.

[laanba]

I'm hoping that comment pictures will extend to Gravatar pics, Twitter pics, Facebook, etc in the future. Right now I'm turning the photos off until they can be personalized without forcing people to have to sign up for a Typepad profile.

Is the email to email feature something you have to set up specifically? When I click on the commenters email address to reply to them privately I get a new email with their address but the rest of the email is blank.

[Luci Weston]

I want to second Elizabeth's comment, and re-emphasize mine about subscribing to comment stream via email. It can only help add to the conversations.

[Tara Rodden Robinson]

Here's a plea for an easier reply function. I'd love to be let out of the moderation process for my own blogs. No captcha, no need to approve & publish my own comments. Please? Pretty please?

Thanks,
Tara

[Ginevra]

Hi Tara! If I'm understanding you correctly, then you've already got this functionality in TypePad. If you don't want to mess with captcha or moderating, just go into your comment settings (that's under settings -> comments) and make sure that there's not a checkmark next to the option for "Comments must be approved by you before being published".

Let me know if that helps, or if we can help you more, we'll get a help ticket started for you.

[Tara Rodden Robinson]

Hi Ginevra,
I want to moderate comments by others. I'd like not to have to moderate my replies to their comments. An easier reply function would operate right there on the Comments page without having to go to the post, enter a comment, and then return to moderate it and publish it. Make sense?
Thanks,
Tara

[Ginevra]

Hi Tara:

Are you using the new TypePad? There's a button underneath the comments on the dashboard, and a reply button on the comment moderation screen too. :) If you like, we can walk through this together via email or help tickets instead of in comments - might be easier?

[Matthew]

Then basic problem remains that the new way of managing comments--which for 99% of the time means deleting spam comments put in by humans who've got past captcha--is unbelievably complex.

I have NO need to see all the text of comments on one page in the comment feature from within Typepad. If i want to read it I can read my blog! What I want is a a list of 200+ comments with username, email, the url they left in, and perhaps one or two lines of the comment so I can spot the ones offering teeth whitening or viagra or whatever and delete them.

I have zero idea why anyone at Typepad thought that the typepad community of bloggers all needed to get together or something and so changed the comment design in the admin section. It makes NO sense.

Is there any chance that you can get back to a better comment managment system?

[Matthew]

Meanwhile of course, the massive redesign didnt even give blog readers who make comments the ability to get an email when someone comments on a post. This is basic & 4 years old in every other blogging software.... I despair at understanding what you were all playing at in this redesign. I really wish you'd asked some long time customers...

[Ginevra]

Hi Matthew:

Thanks for all your suggestions and feedback. You should be able to have an email notification sent out when someone leaves a comment. If you're in settings- comments, the notification setting is about halfway down the page, as well as other moderation tools, like holding comments for approval. You can also search comments, ban commenters, and so on. There's a ton of more information here:

http://help.sixapart.com/tp/us/managing_comments.html

We have been asking lots of longtime customers for feedback in all sorts of channels, including giving people access to preview this new design for a long time. Of course, thanks for giving us your feedback, and I hope some of my suggestions help.

[Brian Hines]

I heartily agree with Elizabeth (and Luci). I've been asking for this emailed comment alert feature for quite a while. A comment RSS feed is too complicated for most blog visitors. Me also.

Since TypePad still allows only the most recent ten comments to show up in the sidebar (another gripe of mine), there needs to be an easy way for blog visitors to know when someone has commented on a post that they're interested in.

I'd much rather have TypePad improve its commenting features, rather than engage in the social networking and cosmetic design changes that basically are of zero benefit to me and my blogs.

[Jaimie Hall Bruzenak]

I have turned on userpics but can't find any place to enter one so it does show. Where do you go to do that?

Thanks,
Jaimie

[Jaimie Hall Bruzenak]

Ginevra,
Any help on getting userpics to show. I have checked the proper box but apparently haven't entered a picture because it doesn't show in my comments. ???

Jaimie

[Jaimie Hall Bruzenak]

Actually, as you can see, I do have a userpic. I found it. However, it does not appear in my comments.
Jaimie

[Jessica Rose]

Hi! I am also trying to have my userpic show up in my comment section... it shows up everywhere else EXCEPT my own blog. I have the "show user pic" box checked and while other typepad users' pictures are showing up mine are not. Why would this be?

[Mark Simmons]

Hello, Jessica.

I've opened a ticket on your behalf with our Support pros so we can track down the issue. I'm not sure why this is happening, but I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it.

And you've got a great blog!