Default comment sort order changed
We’ve changed the default sort order for comments on reviews to the “Most Recent First” option. This will allow new comments more exposure and as more and more comments are added it should result in relatively equal exposure for all comments.
Posted September 14th 2009 to
IM Report Card Updates •
Comments (12)
Comments (12) 
I just subscribed to the RSS feeds through “MyYahoo” and that’s really cool to have on my home page.
I also just sent in a few tickets because before subscribing to the RSS feeds I simply noticed the change on the site.
I guess that’s understandable for giving new comments more exposure, but then again it still defeats the purpose of (from FAQ):
Why do I want to be one of the first few people to comment on something?
Because the first few comments on any review are always read the most!
Many of the popular products and services we review end up gathering dozens and dozens of comments, and sometimes people will just scan through them. But almost everyone reads the first few comments – especially the very first one.
If you’re the first one to comment on something – or even the 2nd or 3rd – that means your Signature will be seen by lots more people, and you’ll get a lot of exposure for whatever you want to promote in your signature!
We don’t think it defeats the purpose of that at all. The first or 2nd comment will still receive the most overall exposure because they will have been listed the longest and seen by the most people.
We’ve surveyed a lot of people, and most people who are interested in something we’ve reviewed read all the comments regardless.
Plus, if you’re the 1st or 2nd to comment on something you earn bonus credits – so there’s still plenty of reason to be one of the first few people to comment on something!
I don’t see the “big picture” like you do, so it seemed to conflict with what’s posted in the FAQ on the subject.
Especially this part:
“But almost everyone reads the first few comments – especially the very first one.”
So anyone joining now will see the last few comments first, especially the last one.
It just seems to completely turn the whole concept backwards, but like I stated earlier you see the “big picture” and I don’t, so thanks for making the change and hope it does as intended.
The idea now is that *every* comment has a chance to be listed at the top for awhile. As new comments are added, the older comments move down, and over time all comments should receive roughly equal exposure.
This is much more “fair” for everyone we think, plus users have the option to sort the comments however they want.
Hello, I have just found this site, and will definitely be reading the reports about programs listed here that I have come in contact with over time. I think it is a good idea to put the latest comments first, and then if a user needs to re-read a previous comment they can scroll down till they find it.
Had I known of the existence of this site I probably would have saved myself some money from joining programs that turned out to be a lot less than what was advertised, and often the support email address given either did not work or went unanswered.
Hello:
I am a new member to IMRC as well and have been enjoying the experience of navigating through the pages to get my profile and everything set up.
In response to this topic thread, I think that changing the comments default to “Most Recent First” is a great idea! I know that when I am in online business and marketing forums and other social sites, I appreciate seeing the most recent comments first. Thanks!
StarrBizz.com
Being new to this site is very exciting where else can you rate products, I agree that “Most Recent First” is a great idea and will help newbies an opportunity to be seen. I sure wish more marketing forums would do the same.
I am glad that I stumbled upon this site and I plan to make good use of it,
Thanks.
Laman (olujade) Richards
The idea to post most recent comments first is a sound, industry-wide strategy that best serves the community as a whole. Undoubtedly, we all have our special criteria for deciding which is best. But then, we don’t all agree, because these types of judgments are never subjective. Being merely one’s personal opinion, it hardly qualifies for matters of ranking or priority.
Since the community ALL agree that reliable information best serves us all, fresh ideas will always be appreciated, if not fully agreed with, because they will bring new ideas to the forum. Newer posts will likely have read pre-existing ones and formed a basis for their own post built upon previous info. Therefore, the newer posts should be listed first, just as ‘breaking news’ is always allowed to pre-empt an ongoing news broadcast. The freshest reports are usually the most insightful and beneficial.
Early reports, or comments, usually are not as in-depth, simply due to the lack of attention already paid to a given topic. The more reports that begin to come in, the greater and more interesting the ‘buzz’.
The fact that early comments will simply drop down the page, doesn’t mean that they won’t be read or be perceived as less important.
Almost every social networking site (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) uses the ‘newest at the top’ method of posting. It certainly hasn’t detracted from their popularity or usefulness.
This strategy is a welcome improvement, but that’s just my opinion.
I think putting the most recent first make the navigation through the products and services easier. I tried to subscribe to the RSS feed to receive alerts but it didn’t work, probably an error with my computer. But the most recent first make it a lot easier for me.
I believe that putting the Most Recent comment first will work better, as it means that the first comments will not recieve the excessive exposure they would normally have, and everyone has a chance for their view to be heard (or in this case, seen).
This format of ‘Most recent post first’ has already been proven sucessful on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, which shows this to be a winning formula, and well worth using.
I think it would be a great idea for everyone’s review to be posted. starting form the oldest to the newest. That way, eveyone would feel valued and important, and they would be more open to give their views, anytime.
I am a new member to IMRC as well and have been enjoying the experience of navigating through the pages to get my profile and everything set up.