When I close comments beneath an article, should I…
1.) Change my “Add Comment” button to a “Comments Closed” button which is inactivated?
2.) Leave the “Add Comment” button, but when a user clicks on it, instead of a comment entry-form, they see a message “The admin has closed comments on this article.”
3.) Change my “Add Comment” button to a “Comments Closed” button, and if the user clicks on this new button, also display a message “The admin has closed comments on this article.”
I’d say just remove the whole form and replace with a simple text message. Still displaying a “button” may confuse people, plus the button is no longer relevant as it has no real use?
#1 would be the most logical of the 3 but I am in agreement with Bluedreamer.
If there is no form until the user clicks the ‘add’ button then simply do not display the button but a message saying that comments are no longer being submitted to this article.
We do, and it’s horrible design, because it doesn’t make any sense, and the difference between open/close are too small.
However that button does serve a purpose when a thread is closed because mods can still press that button we a thread is closed and still reply. (not that that is any help to non-mods, but okay).
To me it provides better continuity as “Comments Closed” is another state of “Add Comment” if you follow me.
Using the button is also less work for me, because I don’t have a lot of available space, and if I had to add a message, then that screws up the whole layout I worked so hard to develop last month!
I agree with Remon. If the comments are closed, there shouldn’t be a button to push - especially one which has a hover state which implies something will happen if you click it. Not to mention the accessibility/usability issues which will occur with keyboard users and having to tab through a useless button.
Not quite sure why you’re worried about space/layout. If comments are closed, don’t show the button and have the test in exactly the same position - problem solved.
Because I have my Filter and Sort drop-downs squeezed in after the “button” in the Comment Header.
I have space for a succinctly-worded button, but not a longer message…
I’ll take your suggestion under consideration, but since I removed the hover feature and the hyperlink, I personally don’t think a static button is such a bad choice…
Other people’s opinions are certainly welcome, since this seems to be a more controversial topic than I expected!
The message “Comments Closed” is perfectly adequate, but as it is not a button, don’t style it to look like a button. (In the same way that you shouldn’t underline text which isn’t a link - unless your aim really is to confuse folk. ;)) Put a border round it or something, if you feel you want it to stand out, but I don’t think that’s necessary. Anybody using your site will know there’s an “Add Comment” button, and if they go to look for it in the usual place and see instead a plain statement “Comments Closed” then they’ll quickly get the message. On the other hand, if they see a blue button where they expect to see a blue button, there’s every chance they’ll click it without paying much attention, and get frustrated that nothing’s happening before they notice the change of text.
