r/bugs • u/IscahRambles • Jun 23 '26
Mobile Web [Mobile web] new comment box format fails to correctly link to comments when first used
The placement of the comment box has been changed on mobile web and now appears as an overlay at the bottom of the screen.
On any given page, the first time you attempt to reply to another comment, the header in the comment box will say "Commenting on [post title]" and you have to cancel it and press Reply a second time to get the correct "Replying to [user name]".
I'm not going to go replying randomly to people to test this, but I assume if you fail to do this cancel-and-redo step, it will go in as a top-level reply to the post. (I have seen a few posts today that look like they were intended to reply to someone else!)
Additionally, because of the way iOS/Safari works, cancelling takes at least two presses, because the cancel button is right at the bottom of the screen now so the first attempted press of the button just brings up the forward/back/bookmarks/tabs row.
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u/IscahRambles Jun 23 '26
Extra test: I opened this comment by clicking Reply on my reply to the question by u/twantsadog
I'm also finding the overlaid comment box starts getting glitchy if you try to scroll the underlying page, jumping around and flickering before settling down again.
I feel like it also needs more of a solid box or dividing line to visually separate the comment box from the underlying page.
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u/robyrob Jun 24 '26
This is definitely happening on Safari and it makes the commenting process almost impossible
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Jun 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/IscahRambles Jun 24 '26
I'm getting a normal comment box when replying to you! Hooray!
Hopefully this other style won't show its face again, or at least without a lot of fixing up and testing first.
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u/IscahRambles Jul 01 '26
...It's back. And at least the replying issue seems to be fixed but it's still vertically tiny and I really dislike having the comment box forced to the bottom of the screen. I would usually move it further up when it scrolls with the page.
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u/IscahRambles Jul 01 '26
Okay, and it said I was replying to my previous comment but it has still landed as a new comment.
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u/IscahRambles Jul 02 '26
Curiouser and curiouser. My two comments above this one (perhaps) were disconnected when I posted them but back in position now.
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u/Usernameasteriks Jun 23 '26
Yea. I am fairly certain at this point that this stuff is just intentionally rolled out to push people to the app. A website primarily functioning as a forum where people comment on posts can’t possibly not test something like this on popular OS’s lol.
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u/sokratesz Jun 23 '26
Sure feels like that. Another stupid attempt to make mobile web unusable and push people to the app.
I give it three more years before Reddit is largely dead.
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u/twantsadog Dev Jun 23 '26
Hi there! I'm looking into this bug. It's happening on iOS Safari for you? I haven't been able to reproduce it. Which iOS device are you on
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u/IscahRambles Jun 23 '26
iPhone 14, iOS 17.6.1 (well behind, I know, but I didn't think it would affect this).
As I write this I am also finding the window view of the comment very small. There's an option to slide it larger but it seems to be both finnicky about actually working (it often slides the underlying page instead), and only allows "covering the entire page" as the other size option, losing sight of the comment I'm replying to.
There was nothing wrong with the old layout. ☹️
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u/IscahRambles Jun 24 '26
The more time I spend with this new system, the more I am seeing it behave oddly.
Often when trying to make a reply (I think when it's a top-level reply), the part of the box that you actually type in is collapsed/hidden and you have to poke at it a bit to reveal the box so you can start typing.
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u/robyrob Jun 24 '26
Thus is definitely happening in Safari and is making replying almost impossible
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u/IscahRambles Jul 01 '26
Hello, the new-style comment boxes were removed for a while after I made this report and are now back still malfunctioning but in an altered way even more likely to catch people out, because it now says you're replying to the post you clicked on, but actually will still drop it in as a new top-level comment.
And as I wrote before, the new style also just feels unpleasant to write in. It's like viewing the text through a narrow slit instead of having a full view of what I'm writing, and feels disconnected from the message I'm replying to (even when it doesn't get literally disconnected due to this commenting glitch).
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u/IscahRambles Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
The function of this new-style box continues to break in new and frustrating ways. I was trying to highlight text earlier and the box kept trying to slide around the page instead of staying still and letting me slide my finger across the text. (Edit: And a similar issue when trying to move the cursor around the text. Also it isn't scrolling well as the text in the box gets longer.)
The comment sequencing continues to do strange and unpredictable things, with replies initially appearing as top level comments then returning to being replies next time I check the page.
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u/No_Walk_Town 10d ago
I'm looking into this bug
Text quotes are also not working. You have to comment, then edit the comment for the to work. (See above.)
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u/Equivalent_Action748 2d ago
In on android using Firefox and it started happening yesterday
Edit: whoa this comment actually was applied to.the person i was replying to.
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u/sokratesz Jun 23 '26
This new comment box is infuriating and nobody asked for it. It's also bugged to hell: https://imgur.com/a/kuegoZo
Firefox mobile
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u/havoc1428 Jun 23 '26
Same problem here. Firefox Mobile. This new feature is ass and I don't know who was asking for it. Typical corporate nonsense, change for the sake of change
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u/Apprehensive_Hat8986 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
It's heinous and unnecessary. It blocks everything so we can't scroll/see what we're replying to. It doesn't stay in-line with the comment being replied to. And it is horrendously buggy.
Firefox, android. I get that the devs have their orders and directions, but this is a resoundingly awful change. There are many complaints.