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Normal Behaviour:

Following this link to a non-hidden comment in the responses area of my profile, the screen scrolls to where the comment is.

Bug Case:

If I follow this link to a hidden comment it does not (I assume because the comment is initially hidden).

Expected result:

If a comment link is followed to a comment that is hidden, it should be un-hidden, with the page scrolling to it (as happens with non-hidden comments).

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  • 1
    FYI: This doesn't even work yet for answers if the answer is not on the first page. Also: Permalinks to comments are not supported. And another also: the comments aren't really hidden, they're retrieved with an ajax-call when you click on the "show more comments" link.
    – fretje
    Jun 9, 2011 at 15:37
  • Hmmm, ok. Shouldn't the link on the Responses bit of the profile be a link that is supported then? Maybe a link to the answer/question with the comment. If i follow a link on the site, i'd expect it to perform consistently. Fair enough if i typed the link in, but i'm clicking a link in a common place within stackoverflow.
    – George Duckett
    Jun 9, 2011 at 15:40
  • Re. ajax call, ahh i see why it's not trivial then. Still, it's not a great user experience; I click the link, then have to hunt for the comment, which could be a hidden comments in any of the answers.
    – George Duckett
    Jun 9, 2011 at 15:44
  • @George That's why comment links are not provided nor supported. To get one you have to use a userscript or dig through the page source. If you're using a userscript to generate them, you should be aware that other users might not be able to use links you produce. In other words, this is not a bug - it's a feature request. You'll have to be more convincing to the powers that be that this feature is very important to implement, otherwise it won't happen. It's been asked before and rejected - comments are not primary content.
    – Pollyanna
    Jun 9, 2011 at 16:01
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    @AdamDavis Eh, the links come from the responses tab of your profile though, so there is a bug here. I suspect the bug is actually that the responses tab uses those links, but I guess we'll see.
    – Tim Stone
    Jun 9, 2011 at 16:13
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    @Tim - Ah, good point. If there is a place in the site that links to them, then they should be supported.
    – Pollyanna
    Jun 9, 2011 at 16:14
  • @Adam, yes, that was what i was trying to say in my first comment. "Shouldn't the link on the responeses bit of the profile be a link that is supported then?`. I also mentioned that i was following a link in my question too. Sorry if i wasn't clear. :)
    – George Duckett
    Jun 9, 2011 at 19:56

2 Answers 2

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Comment linking isn't actually supported, so what you're seeing is technically the expected result.

As you point out, these links are used in the responses tab, so this seems counterintuitive. I'm fairly certain though that the real bug is that the comment anchor is appended instead of the answer anchor, since you'll note that this only happens for response links to comments on answers, and not questions.

As a side note, a userscript I work on will attempt to expand hidden comments in this case and scroll appropriately.

Update: Per Nick's answer, the links have been updated and functionality added to take you to the comment even if it's hidden. Currently this only applies to comments on answers, although that's likely just an oversight.

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  • That the feature request was rejected two years ago, doesn't mean that the feature wasn't eventually implemented anyway. Indeed, it appears to have been.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Jun 23, 2011 at 15:52
  • @TomalakGeret'kal You could always technically link to comments (or anything else with an ID), but outside of this specific case the site never provides you with those kind of links.
    – Tim Stone
    Jun 23, 2011 at 15:55
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This will work after the next build. We changed format here for some other upcoming bits...so as a result this will work in the hidden case too.

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  • Can I ask, how? everything after hash isn't sent to the server, so how do you know, WHICH comment to show up when necessary?
    – genesis
    Sep 26, 2011 at 20:23
  • @genesis-φ - oh we know :)
    – Nick Craver
    Sep 26, 2011 at 20:25
  • That was my question (;)), how? Are you sending that information to the server with ajax? Is that confidential?
    – genesis
    Sep 26, 2011 at 20:26
  • @genesis-φ - maybe.
    – Nick Craver
    Sep 26, 2011 at 20:26
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    you're so mysterious
    – genesis
    Sep 26, 2011 at 20:27
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    @Nick: Is it on purpose that the "add comment" box is expanded when navigating to a "hidden" comment? It somehow makes sense, but feels a bit strange - maybe I'll get used to it.
    – Hendrik Vogt
    Sep 27, 2011 at 8:16
  • @Hendrik - yup, we may adjust it later, but intentional atm...we're basically clicking expand for you
    – Nick Craver
    Sep 27, 2011 at 10:19
  • @Nick: Ah, that's what I thought - thanks!
    – Hendrik Vogt
    Sep 27, 2011 at 10:21

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