Embedding, but don't automatically create a topic until a user chooses to comment

Feature
41

I support it being the default behavior.
It does not harm small sites with a few pages if the topic is created only during the first comment attempt.
On the other hand it keeps the implementation simpler if you support only one behavior, instead of having to support two different behaviors that are controlled by a “switch”.

42

Another possible approach, which I believe also has other use cases:

1 Like
43

@erlend_sh can we add this feature as a project for GSoC 2018?

2 Likes
44

I’ll consider it when we’re applying next year.

45

Thanks. Applications start next month, isn’t it?

46

Yes. They’re opening the doors earlier than ever now.

47

I just want to add that I would be willing to (co)fund this feature if the GSoC / Outreachy route doesn’t work for whatever reason.

1 Like
48

We don’t have any immediate plans for this so if you want to expedite this you should post in the marketplace.

Thanks for being willing to sponsor!

3 Likes
49

I am happy to bring this feature request to the marketplace.

Before that, could you advise on the desired implementation, if only by linking to the related post in this thread? This topic is long and contains several ideas. I just want to make sure that the [paid] request corresponds to the PR you are welcoming.

1 Like
50

You can choose between two different implementations. Pick the one that best solves your use case.

Robin’s proposal is pr-welcome and is likely the best way to do this. Hopefully the “topic import” could also include a custom topic date, so that the date of the topic matches the original article date, whereas the first reply will be dated according to whenever the first reply is posted.

My proposal might only be acceptable as a plugin. We’d have to see how it’s implemented first:

3 Likes
51

I would also prefer the Robin’s proposal.

52

As I was creating the topic for the [paid] job, I started to think about the implementation details of Robin’s proposal, and I thought about a perhaps simpler alternative that would work better for our site: creating the topic when a user clicks the link.

The interesting thing about humans clicking the link is that such action denotes a level of interest. Even when a site has million of pages, it is very likely that only a fraction of them will get that interested human clicking the link.

Considerations:

  • What about search engines and other bots? For starters, we can start by putting our hopes in a rel="nofollow".

  • An alternative would be to put the sign up / log in dialog upfront, which is anyway required to post a reply. The topic would be created once the user has been identified.

  • What about the time it takes to create the new topic? First, how many seconds is that approximately? I think users would understand if we present a dialog with a spinner saying “You are the first user replying. A new discussion topic is being created for you.”

  • What about users not posting any reply at the end? That would be fine. The big filtering compared to topics created by pages loaded has already happened. In some cases (like our website) those cloned topics without responses are also useful, because they enter the radar of the regular users who mainly watch the forum.

  • Note that this procedure would allow users to simply Like a post without replying, also an interesting input.

What do you think?

3 Likes
53

I bet engagement goes down by half if you do that.

54

Depends on the time it takes to create a page, and this is why I ask. Testing casually in my site, a new topic is created 1-2 seconds after loading a page on an external site.

This is perfectly assumable, especially if this can be implemented with the nofollow link alone. Already registered users will be logged in or can log in quickly, they know what they are doing and they can wait the extra second or two. Anonymous users will have to sign up first, and this is where the real disengagement barrier comes.

55

Trying to simplify is always appreciated but I don’t see how this is meaningfully different from @eviltrout’s proposal. I suppose it might be a slightly more achievable MVP.

Feel free to go with your own proposal; after all, you’re paying for it!

1 Like
56

Alright:

2 Likes