Add-on for quick-loading posts with multiple pages of comments

[rallamajoop]

I wrote a Greasemonkey script a while back that's been useful for browsing through comments on posts like the Fandom Promo Post and Nomination Coordiation Station, and figured I'd link it here in case it's useful to anyone else. You can find it here at Greasyfork.

What it does
Basically, the script grabs just the top comments from all threads on all pages in any Dreamwidth post and compiles them into one page. Handy for when you want to run a Ctrl-F/textsearch for favourite tropes or genres in people's recs, or just want to browse without having to click through and separately search many different pages.

Further details at at this link, or under the cut below.

How to use it
Once you've got the script installed, just click the to the "Top-level comments only" link on any DW post (the regular threaded view shouldn't be affected). Later pages of comments will be added to the bottom of the page as they're loaded in sequential order, and may take some time to complete on larger posts.

Full threads can be accessed as normal by clicking on the 'Thread' links ‒ though I'd recommend opening threads in new tabs so you don't need to load the whole post more than once. 'Show all comments' links will work as normal on the first page, but will be broken on pages after that, as making them work proved too complicated (I've left the text indicating how many replies there are, but disabled the non-working links).

Like any GM script, you can can also disable it pretty easily from the monkey icon on your browser if it gives you any trouble.

How to install it
If you haven't used Greasemonkey or similar tools before, it's basically an add-on that makes it easy for people to create/install/use custom javascript-based scripts like this one. Greasyfork's own help section has you covered.

Script should work on whichever of the Greasemonkey variants (TaperMonkey, ViolentMonkey, etc) you prefer and/or is compatible with your browser (though if it doesn't, feel free to let me know and I'll see what I can do.)

Feedback and suggestions
Are welcome if you've got any!

Comments

[snickfic]

!!!! This sounds extremely useful, and not just for Yuletide. I am going to try this out right away. :D

[snickfic]

Update: I've installed it, and it's not working for me. I use other DW scripts (through Tampermonkey on Firefox), but for some reason this one doesn't seem like it's triggered when I go to a DW page. Usually when I'm on DW, I can click my little Tampermonkey icon and it will show all the scripts I have running that apply to DW, but this one isn't showing up in that list, even when I specifically go to a Top-Level Comments view of a DW page.

Any idea what I might be doing wrong?

[rallamajoop]

Hm, do you have any other scripts running on those pages? Could be worth temporarily disabling them, in case they're interfering with each other. Also worth double-checking it's installed properly - if it's not showing up on the list at all, that might be an issue?

If neither of those ideas help, I'll have to have a try with Firefox and TamperMonkey myself, see if I can reproduce the problem.

[snickfic]

Okay, I tried turning off the scripts and reloading the page, but that didn't cause this script to run or appear in my list of scripts for the page. It is listed on my Tampermonkey dashboard, though, as installed and active. It seems like Tampermonkey just isn't recognizing which pages the script applies to.

[rallamajoop]

Okay, think I've got it figured out! Seems Tampermonkey is pickier about URL contents than the others - if you replace the @include statements at the top of the script with just the line below, it should work for you.

// @include https://*.dreamwidth.org/*.html*top-only*

I'll have to have another look at a neater solution later.

[snickfic]

Hey hey, it works! Thank you so much for the customized fix. :)

[rallamajoop]

No worries, I said it should work with Tampermonkey, I can at least make sure it actually does. XD

Have updated Greasyfork with a new, slightly-tweaked version of the fix I sent you that should clear up some minor weirdness that can otherwise pop-up on top-level-comment pages >1 (script isn't supposed to run if you're looking at a specific later page, as it doesn't really make sense there) - and should save anyone else installing it from running into the same issue.

[trobadora]

This is great, thank you! :D

[rallamajoop]

You're welcome, nice to know it's being useful. :)

[arcanetrivia]

Oh that works an absolute treat. Thanks so much!