New And Improved Comments Debut On GreenCarReports Today!

By John Voelcker

1,288 views May 24, 2011

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New comment design for High Gear Media websites

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We thrive on comments, pro and con, agree and disagree, especially those that add information and richness to the discussion.

And now, we proudly introduce (blare of trumpets, please): Comments 2.0!

Our goal was to make it easier for both regular users and sporadic visitors to add your points of view to our posts, and share them with others as widely as you like.

We want to make GreenCarReports a better place for you to participate in discussions about gas mileage, new cars, hybrids, clean diesels, plug-ins, and the plain old American value of doing more with the same or less. (Well, used to be, anyway ...)

You continue to sign in with your existing user ID, or Facebook ID. So if you've ever signed in to comment before, this one's 100 percent seamless.

Here are a few key features we've baked into our new commenting system:

• Login: Easier, faster ability to sign and get started, either as a native user of the site or via your Facebook ID
• Verification: No more Captcha graphics to type in!
• Speed: Comments should hit the page more quickly now, letting you see what your comment looks like
• Threaded Comments: Your reply to a specific comment is displayed as part of a conversation. (No more scrolling up and down comment lists to follow individual users so you can see how the conversation evolved.)
• Sharing:  It's easier than ever to share your comment on Facebook, if you're so inclined. If you're signed in with Facebook, it's a simple tickbox.
• Comment sorting: You can choose among different views of comments, to see them in the order they were posted, or starting with the most recent.

New comment design for High Gear Media websites

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We have even more comment goodies coming your way, too, once we incorporate feedback on what we've done so far. (So please contribute any thoughts you have on what we've done so far.)

We have plans for additional ways to sign in, even more sharing capabilities, as well as notifying you by e-mail when someone responds to your comment, so that you can see how the discussion is evolving ... and more.

We plan to add some or all of the following features:

• E-mail to notify users when a thread they commented on has been updated
• Sharing functionality even for a comment you didn't write (you'll be able to tweet, e-mail, or Facebook any comment)
• Sorting comments by the number of Up or Down votes they receive

Note: Remember that comments on GreenCarReports are subject to our Terms of Service. Be good to each other and keep it civil.

So please give it all a test drive, and let us know your reaction to the new features that have rolled out, below--plus any reactions to our proposed features as well.

Leave us your thoughts in the Comments section below (naturally!).

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