Raise the Hammer
this blog entry has been updated
When we decided to implement a Comment Voting system on RTH comments, we added the actual comment voting as the first stage of the new functionality. Now the second stage is in place: the ability for registered RTH users to set a threshold score for displayed comments.
To set a threshold, log into your RTH user account via the Manage Profile page and enter a numeric value in the Comment Threshold field.
Any comment with a net score (upvotes minus downvotes) that is below the threshold you set for your user account will be hidden from view. However, you can temporarily unhide the comment by clicking the "Unhide this comment temporarily" link for that comment.
For example, if you set a threshold of -4, a comment with a net score of -5 will not be displayed. Instead, the following message will be displayed in its place:
This comment's net score is -5, which is below your comment threshold of -4. You can change your comment threshold using the Manage Profile page.
This is only available for registered RTH users. People reading the site without logging into an RTH user account will see all comments, regardless of their net scores.
Ihis is entirely optional. If you leave the Comment Threshold field blank, you will see all comments, regardless of their net score.
The default setting is to display all comments. You will need to go into your Manage Profile page to set a threshold.
You can change your comment score threshold at any time, simply by updating that field on your Manage Profile page.
The threshold you set for the comments you see will not affect what anyone else visiting the site sees. Each registered user can set their own threshold (or leave it blank to see all comments).
The last stage of the Comment Voting system, which we will implement shortly, is the option to disable comment voting entirely so a registered RTH user would only see comments and not their scores or voting forms.
Update: in response to a reader suggestion, we added the ability to unhide a comment temporarily. You can jump to the changed paragraph.
By zookeeper (registered) | Posted June 29, 2009 at 14:57:02
Perfect! This will definitely help cut down on the unauthorized feeding of our resident trolls.
By z jones (registered) | Posted June 29, 2009 at 14:59:20
I think I found a bug. When you log into the manage profile page, even if you didn't set a comment threshold it has a zero (0) in the field. If you hit the update button it sets your comment threshold as 0 and hides anything with a negative score. Not sure if that's the functionality you had in mind...
By nobrainer (registered) | Posted June 29, 2009 at 15:15:35
w00t! About time! Thanks for doing this.
By seancb (registered) - website | Posted June 29, 2009 at 19:57:59
This is awesome!
THe only thing I'd suggest (since you probably have lots of time on your hands) is to add a link to the hidden comment to unhide it - just in case you want to have a peek without changing your profile setting back and forth.
By synxer (registered) | Posted June 30, 2009 at 10:56:00
It's funny to think that this feature might have been implemented due to A Smith and Capitalist.
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