[Static]

Do you think that a (non-admin) feature to reply to comments is a good feature to add?

In order to implement it, I think that you would need to add another column in the comments DB called "reply_to" with a default value of "0" in order to make it easier to implement, and makes zero define it as not a reply. If it replies to someone, it defines the comment id to which it replies. If it's a reply, then it adds an extra div around the comment box to help style replies, like add a left margin.

The hard part would be putting it after the comment it's supposed to be after. I think that it can be addressed by taking the comments, putting the ids into an array, putting reply comments into a separate array, checking each one, sorting them in the correct order, combining them into a final array, and then printing them.

The back-end will need some work on this though. It should be able to set the comment to which it replies, and that can be done with a small preview of each comment, or something like that.

Deleting a comment with replies should either delete the replies, set "reply_to" to "0", or set some sort of box with "Comment removed" and the replies still visible after it.

Replies to replies should not have any special styling, other than the default reply styling.

Anything I missed? If you want, then I can try adding the feature myself.
As a side note, do you think it's worthwhile to create a button for the admin reply feature as an add-on? It should be easy to do so.

[Steven]

Yeah I definitely think it would be a good feature to add. I've thought about it several times before but it's the complexity of it that puts me off.

I agree that the reply box should be indented. I've seen with some comment scripts if you reply to a reply then it indents it even further but it looks messy. I think a comment box should only be indented once in relation to the page. I think that's what you were saying.

I think if you delete a comment with replies then the replies should also be deleted because the replies may not make sense without the original comment.

You're welcome to have a go at it. It would be helpful.

Regarding your side note, are you talking about the frontend? So an admin can reply using the frontend?

[Static]

I also agree that there should be one indent. I'll take a go at it a sometime tomorrow. And yes, that's for the frontend.

[Steven]

Personally I don't think it's a problem to log in to the admin panel to write the reply so it's up to you. Maybe other people would like it.

[Static]

You're right. No complaints so far, so it's not a big deal.

[Static]

Started working on it recently, and so far, so good. I've successfully been able to determine if the comment is a reply, and have it displayed correctly.

Right now, if you delete a comment with replies, then the comment is deleted, and the replies are not visible, but still exist. Is that good, or do you think I should change it to something else? If so, any ideas will be helpful.

Right now, I need to work on integrating it with the front-end. What I will be doing is adding a button (temporarily) to set the reply, a button to remove the reply (also temporary), and a safety feature to check if the reply id has been tampered with by checking if the id is on the correct page, and if it exists. If there is anything I missed or something that you would like, tell me.

[Steven]

Sounds like you're making good progress with it.

If a comment is deleted, I'd delete all replies to it. If a reply is deleted, I'd delete just that reply and leave the others. The administrator can delete them manually if desired.

I'd add the reply link to the bottom right of the comment boxes. I think a link would be better than a button.

[Static]

OK. I'll add "This will also delete any replies to this comment." when someone deletes a comment in the back-end. I'll use the link, as you said. For now, though, I'll just use a drop-down list with the author, date, and small preview of the comment replied to.

[Steven]

This feature should be optional, right?

[Static]

Yes, I'll make it so that it can be disabled. Thanks for reminding me.