Dateline: A verbose corner of cyberspace
It has always struck me as somewhat annoying when reading a blog post to have to scroll back to the top of the story in order to hit the link to make a comment. Most templates seem to have this particular quirk, perhaps because it’s hard to code a comment button that lands at exactly the end of a post of unknown length. (At least unknown to the programmer.) However, I recently hit upon a solution, and added it to a couple of older posts, and IT WORKS!!!
What’s the solution? Simply add a “Jump to comments” link at the end of your post. How to do this? Read on! These directions apply to WordPress, but the same basic logic is surely available in Blogger/Blogspot too. (Just don’t use their commenting system, hahaha.)
Step one. Compose your post, and finalize your title. The title needs to be finalized as the URL for the comments is based on the title of the post.
Step two. Determine what the URL for this new post is going to be. The URL is the web address of your particular post. In the case of WP, it can be seen at the top of the compose window next to “permalink.” In WP, the format generally is https://nameofblog.wordpress.com/yyyy/mm/dd/the-title-of-the-post-separated-with-hyphens/ where yyyy/mm/dd is the date the post was composed. To get the full URL, you may need to play around a bit. In my case, I had to copy the first part of the URL, paste it into the end of the post (temporarily) and then hit the “edit” button, copy the text there, hit cancel, and then paste the text next to the first part of the URL at the bottom of my blog. From there, I could easily copy the whole thing. Note that this URL must be EXACTLY correct for this to work.
Note: though it’s an extra step, it might be easier if you simply publish your post, then go to your front page, click on the link to comment on the most recent post, then you can easily copy the URL, and then just do Step 3 as an edit to your already-published post.
Step three. Insert a hyperlink at the end of your post with text along the lines of “Add a comment,” or “Jump to Comments,” or whatever you want. Once you decide on the text, type it out and then select the entire “Jump to comments,” then hit the “Insert Hyperlink” button as shown above. For the hyperlink, type in (or copy and paste from where you already pasted) the URL of your blog post followed by “#comments.” Omit the period, and make sure that the “c” of comments is lower case. After you’ve inserted the hyperlink, make sure that your temporary pasting of hyperlink text is gone from the post. You might want to play around with an older post first, just to make sure you’ve gotten the hang of it before you “go live” with a new post.
And that’s it! Once your readers get to the end of the post, they can click on “Jump to comments,” and this should drop them right to the beginning of the comment section.
Step four. Publish your post, make yourself a margarita, and think of witty replies to your commenters.
You may need to tinker with step 3 immediately after publishing the post if for some reason the hyperlink text is wrong. In that case, you can copy the URL from the top of your post immediately after publishing (but make sure you are already in the comments section first), then make an edit to create the link and then update the post.
Saludos y buena suerte!
garydenness said:
Kim, I sometimes think you just really like hard work sometimes!
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Kim G said:
Hola Gary! Hard work? I thought this post was surefire evidence of laziness, given that I’ve now told the world I’m too lazy to scroll back up to click on the comment link at the top of other people’s posts. But this post seems to have confused people more than I’d have expected. Do you think these instructions are unclear? Saludos and thanks for stopping by.
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Angeline M said:
Well, looks like I’m gonna make my commenters work for their trouble. I’d need a couple of Margaritas in me just to begin thinking about following the steps you’ve listed to get the “jump to comments” link going on my blog. I have tech anxiety issues 🙂
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Kim G said:
Hola Angeline! Well, based on your comment and a similar one I received via email, I guess it’s not as easy as I thought. Oh well. But thanks for making the effort to leave a comment here. Saludos!
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Angeline M said:
PS: I always just immediately click on the title of the post I’m going to read which zaps you to the post’s page with ability to make a comment or like at the bottom right away, no scrolling required.
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Kim G said:
You’re smarter than I am. I always just start reading the front page, and then have to scroll up to hit the comment link before I start pontificating. Saludos y gracias por tus comentarios!
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Barbara Lane said:
Do NOT get me started on remote controls. Does anyone remember when there were 3 channels? ABC. NBC. CBS. You got up and turned the dial to change channels. While up you sometimes adjusted the rabbit ears. Worked just fine. I’ve not watched TV in 12 years give or take, and have no idea how to even get one up and running these days (not to mention I’d have no idea which kind to buy – oy vey). It pains me to t think of all this as progress. Isn’t there a point we can just say, “Here. We can stop right here. This is enough.” I know, I know. I know the answer to that.
And on we go…..
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Kim G said:
Hola Barbara, Hahaha…I grew up in a house with a black & white TV, broadcast only, and I think we had five or six channels. And as kids, it was our job to get up to change the channel and fiddle with the antenna.
And yes, you have a terrific point. Even formerly simple things like TVs have now gotten very complicated, with tens of settings, dozens of setup choices, and thousands of channels.
I’m with you. I watch a few shows (Frontline, Nova, NewsHour, a few DVDs) and that’s about it. I can go days without turning on the box.
Though if I ever move to Mexico, I think I’ll watch a lot more TV so as to improve my Spanish.
Saludos, and thanks for your many wonderful comments!
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Barbara Lane said:
P.S. Apologies for getting off topic!
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Kim G said:
No worries! I love off-topic! Comments and dialog are the best part of this! Have a great day and Saludos!
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William said:
Frankly, I’m scratching my head over this one. I can’t recall ever having to scroll up to the beginning of a post to write a comment… regardless of whether it’s Blogger or Word Press. On my blog at the very end of the post there is an indication of how many comments have been made. Even if it says “No comments”, you just click on that, and you will be able to read all posted comments (if there are any) and add one of your own.
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Kim G said:
Hola Bill! On my blog, you have to scroll up to the beginning of the post to make comments. Up there you’ll see either “x comments” or “Add a Comment” as a link to the comments section. Your template is one where you don’t have to do that. But take a look at some other blogs, like Felipe’s latest template. There you have to go back to the top to make a comment. Saludos and thanks for your comment!
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William said:
Kim, I’m not trying to be argumentative, but I have never had to scroll to the top to comment on your blog… but perhaps it’s because I always click on your latest post when it appears on my blog list, rather than clicking on your blog in general.
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William said:
Well, maybe I should correct that last comment. I guess when I first discovered your blog, and had not yet added you to my blog list. I did click on “comments” at the top of the post.
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Kim G said:
You may have noticed that if you click on my (sometimes) self-updating blog roll that it dumps you “inside” whatever blog post you clicked on. It doesn’t just bring you to that blogger’s front page. Saludos!
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Kim G said:
Hola Bill! No worries. You aren’t being argumentative. And yes, you’re right; almost certainly you are immediately clicking on the post’s header-link, which means when you get to the bottom of the post, you’re already in comment-land. This technique only applies to those who start reading the front page of the blog without doing any additional clicking (which tends to be my own M.O.). Saludos and thanks for your contributions to the discussion!
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Barbara Lane said:
I’ve thought of doing a blog for years yet am so utterly lost in the tech world that it’s seemed too great a hurdle to jump. You know that series of books, Blogs for Idiots….Excel for idiots, Word for Idiots, Taxes for Idiots, and so on, all for idiots? I tried that route years ago but quickly found I needed the prequels – what are you before you graduate to idiot? This post continues my belief that reading one is so much nicer than writing one would be. Interesting though, and I’m sure a great service, even if it made not a whit of sense to me. Coding? I’d need to make a martini and go lie down….. ; )
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Kim G said:
Hola Barbara! Hahaha…you gave me a good chuckle this morning. “Graduate to idiot,” hahaha. You’re not an idiot (or pre idiot). But you may have a point. I thought this was relatively straightforward, but another blogger emailed me that it was confusing too. Hmmmm….Well, in any case, did you like not having to scroll back to the top to comment here?
Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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Felipe Zapata said:
Oh, Kim, if we have reached the point that scrolling to the top of a post to click on the comment link is too much for us to bear, well, then we are lost.
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Kim G said:
According to any number of posts on your own blog, we are lost anyway. Why should the effort to click links somehow be free from the gravitational pull dragging the Western World into the abyss?
Besides, TV remote controls were invented for a reason. Just like I figured out how to put the comment link at the end of a post. For a reason. Saludos, and thanks for your comments!
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John Calypso said:
Have to go with Felipe on this one amigo. And of course I share your sentiment in the first paragraph of your reply 😉
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Kim G said:
Hola John! I’m cool with diverse opinions. And just because something is easy for me doesn’t me it’s going to be easy for everyone. Saludos and thanks for commenting!
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ladyofthecakes said:
I got lost at step 1….
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Kim G said:
Hahaha…I’ve been lost at step one most of the time, truth be told. Saludos and thanks for commenting.
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Croft said:
Witty comment…… It works!
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Kim G said:
Hola Croft! Wow! That was an early-morning comment. So you tried it on your blog? Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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