FIXED: Can't comment on Q&A

1. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 12 years ago

   There seems to be a new bug the last couple of days where I can't add a comment to a Q&A answer.  Does anyone else have this problem?  The comment field is there after each answer. But when I enter text and click to save it, I get an error stating that comments cannot be saved at this time.

   report
   1. 94

      melbelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I am having the same problem.

      report
   2. 89

      Jlbowdenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Glenn:
      
      I just went into answer a question that someone had and placed my comment text within the comment box. And when I submitted it just recently, there was no problem in it being submitted. So it looks like I am one of the lucky ones so far, who is not experiencing this problem.
      
      Jim

      report
2. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 12 years ago

   Thanks Melbel, I just discovered that this bug was reported already. I missed it because it was reported in the Announcements forum. Ari says he is working on it.

   report
3. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 12 years ago

   Ari, I just tried to comment again today on an answer in Q&A and it still does not let me. Just letting you know.

   report
4. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 12 years ago

   Ari, as of today I still cannot post a comment in the Q&A section. But I see some comments have been added by others, so it seems to affect only certain people.

   report
   1. 94

      melbelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I am still unable to post comments to answers to my own questions.

      report
   2. 0

      Ari Lamsteinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      We hope to have this issue of itermittent failure to accept comments on answers fixed by the end of the week.  We apologize for the delay.

      report
      1. 96

         Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Ari. At least I know now you are aware of it.

         report
      2. 96

         Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Ari,  I just left a comment in your other thread about how I love the new feature for best answer.  I already used it a couple of times today. But I just wanted to let you know that I'm a little frustrated with the fact that I still can't add comments to  answers. I realized this bug is only affecting a few Hubbers, but I wish it would get resolved quickly since it's been about a week now and I had many comments I wanted to make. My followers who have left answers may be wondering why I don't leave a response.

         report
5. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 12 years ago

   Just to let you know that the bug is still not fixed. I tried to comment again today on Q&A answers since your said it will be fixed by end of the week. I still get the error message.

   report
6. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 12 years ago

   Ari,  I tried it again today and still no go.  Please at least reply with an updated idea of when I can expect this to be fixed.  I can't post comments for two weeks now in my Q&A.
   
   I have tested it with all the following browsers and non work. They all get the same error message.
   
   IE 8.0.6001.18702
   
   Chrome 19.0.1084.56 m
   
   Firefox 13.0.1

   report
7. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   I have successfully posted a few comments yesterday and today. So whatever is causing the selective problem is probably not going to be easy to figure out. Might be a combination of two or more parameters, etc.

   report
   1. 96

      Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah. And for that reason I am willing to wait. I also realize that staff is really busy right now with "traffic loss" issues.
      
      I just wish we would get a reply here since Ari said it would be fixed end of last week and then no other post since then. 
      
      It has also been reported by melbel here and in another forum thread by Marisa Wright, Peggy W, and yougotme three weeks ago.

      report
      1. 59

         paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I wonder if you guys have something semi-uniquely in common...
         
         http://www.systemdetails.com/
         
         Maybe track them down and poke them with a stick?

         report
         1. 96

            Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I was thinking the same thing. Some common denominator must have something to do with it. But I don't think it has anything to do with our browsers or local access points.  I tried it with 5 browsers. I even tried it with my iPad out at a different location.  Anyway, Someone at HP changed the title of this thread to include the words "KNOWN ISSUE" so I assume they have a clue already.

            report
      2. 0

         Ari Lamsteinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         First off, we're sorry that this has taken a while to fix. 
         
         Several weeks ago a spammer attacked the site via the "comments on answers" feature and we responded by quickly by introducing a spam filter to that part of the site.  While this succeeded in preventing further spam attacks, it has had the side effect of preventing some high quality comments from a few trusted users from going thru.
         
         We decided that the best way to handle this was by introducing a comment moderation system to this part of the site.  This will go out with the next build.  Any question which the automated system marks as Spam will be accepted but need to be approved by the Hubber who asked the question before being shown on the site. 
         
         Again, we apologize to all Hubbers who have been affected by this situation, and we look forward to seeing you in the Answers section of the site again soon!

         report
         1. 0

            Ari Lamsteinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            This issue should now be fixed.  Instead of being unable to submit a comment on an answer, it should now be accepted but require approval from the question asker before being visible by the community.

            report
            1. 96

               Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Ari,  That's really good news. I appreciate the full explanation of what was happening. And I am glad you handled the solution so well. Spam has always been a big problem and it definitely needs to be controlled in any way possible.
               
               I went ahead now and entered a couple of comments on Q&A that I was saving to do when this was fixed. One was on my own Q&A.
               
               I have an idea for you, if you don't mind my input...
               
               When commenting on answers within our own questions, there is no need to moderate it. Clicking the "not spam" link is just an extra step. It's really only necessary to avoid spam if a comment is left on another Hubber's question.
               
               I also have a question for you... 
               
               When commenting on someone else's Q&A, how do they know they have something pending to be moderated?  I don't see Q&A under the comment moderation page. We can't expect people to go back and review their Q&A. I see many people never go back after posting a question. I watch mine and I even monitor the Q&A stats, but not everyone does. I am afraid many people may leave comments that never get approved.
               
               Besides all that, thanks for following up and making this work again. I know you guys have had a lot on your plate.

               report
               1. 0

                  Ari Lamsteinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi Glenn,
                  
                  Thanks for your patience.  You brought up 3 points.  Let me respond to each of them.
                  
                  1.  The spam filter should not be running when a user comments on an answer to their own question.  I confirmed that this is happening, and will submit a fix shortly.
                  
                  2.  For the purposes of notifications, potential spam comments are treated as normal comments - but are only sent to the person who asked the question.  It occured to me that we might want to do more to highlight these comments to users.  I will bring this up with the team. 
                  
                  3.  I just verified that I had to click "not spam" twice as well.  This is strange because I did not have that problem yesterday.  I will investigate and submit a fix.

                  report
                  1. 96

                     Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Ari,  All this sounds really good. It's good to know you were able to replicate the same problem with clicking twice. Thanks for the follow up.

                     report
                     1. 0

                        Ari Lamsteinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        Glenn,
                        
                        I have just implemented another feature that addresses notifying Hubbers when they have a comment on an answer that requires moderation. 
                        
                        Previously when you logged in you would see a number next to the word "Comments" if you had any comments on Hubs that required moderation.  That number will now also include comments on answers that require moderation.  Clicking it will show you to those comments.
                        
                        Ari

                        report
                        1. 96

                           Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           That's great!  I Like how the Q&A is being more and more integrated with the rest of HubPages. Thanks Ari. Great work you are doing.

                           report
            2. 96

               Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Ari,
               
               One other thing I just noticed.  I have to click "Not Spam" twice for it to take effect. I thought I made a mistake the first time. But then I see it happens each time I moderate a comment.

               report