The comment form on news stories, news updates and blog posts can carry a short message at the top, such as your house rules or a link to the commenting or acceptable use policy. The text comes from the intranet options, not from the story. This article shows where to set it and how to make it stand out.
Where the comment instructions are set
- Go to Options, then General. On most intranets only administrators can open this screen; your set-up may differ.
- Select the Text and features tab.
- Scroll to Comment instructions (logged in) and type your message.
- If your intranet lets people comment without logging in, fill in Comment instructions (logged out) as well.
- Select Update.
The logged-in text appears inside the comment form, under the Add a comment heading and above the comment box, on every item with comments open. The logged-out text appears in the same place for people who are not logged in. If login is required to comment, those people see the Must login message instead and the logged-out text is never shown. Leave either box empty to show nothing.
The other comment settings, including whether login is required, are covered in Allow comments on a news story or blog post.
Format the comment instructions in the Visual tab
Each box is a small editor. Its Visual tab offers bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, quote, bulleted and numbered lists, alignment and the link button. There is no heading menu, no colour picker and no image button. For most intranets a short sentence with a bold phrase and a link to the policy page is enough.
Make the comment instructions stand out with a button or an alert
To go further, select the Text tab of the box and add one of the theme’s own classes. These are the same styles the theme uses for its buttons and notices, so they match the rest of the intranet. The options screen does not preview them: save, then check the result on a story with comments open.
Show the commenting policy as a button
<p>Keep comments polite and on topic.</p>
<a class="govintra-btn govintra-btn--primary" href="/commenting-policy/">Read the commenting policy</a>Replace the address with your own policy page. Use govintra-btn--secondary instead of govintra-btn--primary for a quieter outlined button.
Put the instructions in an alert box
<div class="govintra-alert govintra-alert--info">
<p><strong>Before you comment:</strong> comments are public to all staff and must follow the <a href="/acceptable-use-policy/">acceptable use policy</a>.</p>
</div>The alert shows as a shaded panel with a coloured left border. Swap govintra-alert--info for govintra-alert--primary to use your intranet’s brand colour, or govintra-alert--warning for a yellow border.
You can switch back to the Visual tab afterwards; the classes are kept when you save.
Related
- General intranet options: every setting on the Text and features tab.
- Allow comments on a news story or blog post: opening comments, requiring login and moderation.
- (Govintra) Recent Comments widget: show the latest comments on the homepage.