"Offer your reply" link on node page

[Stevie-O]

I've been here for a while, and something that's always bugged me is the fact that the only way to reply to a node is to view its parent -- i.e. if you're looking at a Meditation node, you have to be viewing the Meditations page to post a reply.

I became a monk for the same reason I joined freenode #perl - I want to offer my assistance to others who need help, and receive advice/help when I am need of it. For that reason, I usually read a node and most or all of its replies before replying, so that I don't post a reply that repeats something somebody else said (since that's pointless, as it doesn't really contribute anything).

Another problematic situation is a <readmore> node, where you *have* to be viewing the node itself to see the entire contents.

I therefore propose that 'reply' and 'd/l code' links should be placed at the top of nodes, next to the 'print', 'w/replies', and 'xml' links.

Comments?

Update: sporty informed me that the blue bar at the bottom -- the one that looks like a heading -- is actually a pair of links.

As such, I change my proposition:

1. Make that box not blue (a white box with a blue border might be appropriate).
2. Make the links blue on white like all the other links on the site.
3. Change the text to 'Offer your reply to <node>' to match the text on the main pages.
4. Make both links the same fontsize (presently 'download code' looks like a subheading)

Update 2: Some people (who have been using these links for a while now) probably don't realize that, the "unvisited" CSS rules have those two links NOT underlined. Once you click them, they underline themselves and become more visible as links.

Update 3: (Lots of CB discussion on this!) theorbtwo has discovered the secret. When a site changes the color of a link, Opera doesn't change the color of the underline that goes with it. Therefore, the link's underline is a dark blue line on a dark blue background, rendering it invisible. Visiting the link changes the underline color to change to a light blue that stands out from the dark blue background.

[Happy-the-monk]

the fact that the only way to reply to a node is to view its parent

My experience is different, the "Offer your reply" link is always on the node itself, while the "reply" links are on the parent (etc.) nodes. Maybe this is a theme or browser rendering issue? I am using the standard theme.

[jryan]

I can definitely understand the confusion; when I was a newbie here almost 3 years ago, it took me a few weeks before I realized how to reply to a root node. (For somet reason, my eyes kept drifting over the blue bar because I thought it was simply a page divider, and it also didn't occur to me at first that "Comment on this Node" really meant "Reply to this Node".)

So yeah, I can definitely see a reason to change it; of course, I'm used to it now, so my opinion is largely indifferent. :)

[EvdB]

I once moaned about this with no result - although having mucked up my suggestion it is not too surprising. This is a problem that only new users have which makes it less pressing for experienced users to fix...