Design a comment form

    I would like to express my opinion on the topic covered in the topic “Ideal Commenting” (author dezmaster ). I came up with my own ideas on how to make this registration form more convenient:

    I, of course, do not pretend to be ideal, but hundreds of completed such forms allow me to express a few thoughts.

    To begin with, I propose to set the task more clearly: it is necessary to make an easy-to-use anonymous comment form for a general-purpose site . By anonymity, I mean that the user is not registered on this site.

    Step One: Field Revision


    We will carry out an audit of the fields to fill in and their necessity. The first field "Name" is optional. For some sites, anonymous comments are generally part of the culture. We remove the asterisk and correct the label (this will be needed later). Do the same with the "E-mail" field. The “Website” field is not critical, firstly, not everyone has sites and even blogs, and, secondly, the author’s site is not infrequently related to the subject of the comment, otherwise it can be indicated in the comment body. Delete this field.
    Rearrange input fields is not worth it, because on all other sites they go in the same order.


    Step Two: Controls


    We make controls standard, even if as a result they “look worse”, but the user is used to them. I inserted controls in my browser and OS. You also need to insert the “View” button, and change the name of the “Comment” button to the standard “Send” in this case, although the second point is a bit controversial.
    Again, we will place the buttons at the very bottom of the form, as is usually the case. To do this, raise the checkbox above them and make a clearer label.


    Step Three: Web 2.0


    Web two-zero is already in the yard, so that we will not stand aside. Let's make support for login via OpenID and LJ. The first option is to simply place the corresponding logos (with an explanatory tooltip) to the right of the login field and ask for a password when entering the appropriate login (for example, abcdef@livejournal.com). The password will have to be resolved through JS so as not to create a password entry field, unnecessary for those who do not use OpenID.

    You also need to add explanations to the email address input field so that the user is not afraid to leave it. And in addition, add a link to RSS with comments.

    Step Four: Visual Editor


    Not everyone knows HTML, but many want to create comments with links, images, and formatting elements. Is it necessary to allow anonymous visitors to do this, of course, a moot point, and what formatting elements should be resolved by the site owner (and do not forget about XSS!).
    I inserted the usual Tiny MCE visual editor and added a character counter to it.



    Step five: context or how to make the form easier


    The shape we got a little heavy. This step item is for those who think so. The form is not on our own, but on the site. Therefore, we can remove the link to RSS, and add a comment feed to the page itself. You can also replace the OpenID and LJ logo types with text, as a result, the form is easier.


    Postscript: what else can be improved


    • captcha - since the form for "anonymous" the
      heading of the form
      entering the password for OpenID in the same form, the
      stretching input field is a
      larger input field (do you know why supermarkets are so big trolleys? :))

      I think if this article will interest readers all of the above. Images when uploading to the hubr for some reason lost their sharpness :(
      Update: several people made a very interesting suggestion for optimization - to show the field for entering E-mail only if there is a checkbox for subscribing to news.

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