Some comment notifications don't point to the comment

[dzver]

When I get a response on a longer comment thread, the mobile app is confused. Particularly common for p2 pings but I can't screenshot that. Here is an example with a post that has 30+ comments and I got a response:

ScreenRecording_04-17-2025.07-52-14_1.mov

It also glitches when it attempts to scroll but doesn't.

[dangermattic]

Thanks for reporting! 👍

[kean]

We need to rethink this. The existing implementation is pretty basic: it loads the first page of comments and scrolls to its index path if it finds it there. It ignores the fact that there can be more than one page of comments. This has been an issue for a while.

When you tap on a notification, the app already has all the information to display the entire comment and let you like it or reply to it – there are the main things you want to do and what the app should be optimized for. Ideally, the app would open the comment details immediately. I can see a couple of options how to start addressing it:

Option 1.

Create a new "Comment Details" page that would focus on the selected comment (take full width) and would (lazily) load the comments before and after it in case you need to see it in the context. It could look something like this:

I originally proposed it in pbArwn-6Zh-p2 to address this exact issue, but I'm not sure how well it can work without the other parts of the proposal – namely, flat comments. I'm not sure how well it could work with the threaded comments: do we display the selected comment with its current depth? Do we know the depth from the selected comment alone?

Cons: will take a while to implement and will likely require new APIs (fetch comments "before" and "after").

Option 2.

Use an existing "Comments Details" page as is:

It's currently used only in scenarios where you can moderate the comments (comments left under one of your sites). We can extend it to the scenarios for any other comments. It will just not show the moderation options.

Pros: you'll instantly see the full comment and be able to reply to it. It will require the minimum amount of work. No need to worry about how to display the threaded variant of it – the comment is displayed outside of the threaded context.

Cons: you'll need a separate tap to open the threaded list, and will still have the same problem as described in this ticket.

Option 3.

Try and fix the issue as is by throwing a spinner, fetching the comment pages until we find the one you are looking for, recomputing the height for all cells to establish the correct position, and only then showing the list to the user – it will be slow for sure.

cc @jkmassel , wdyt? It's a pretty common issue – need to address it sooner than later.

[kean]

Just to show just how quickly we can make Option 2 work: #24476 (see attached video). I think it makes the whole lot of sense as it makes it super easy (and instant) to read the full comment and interact with it.

There are a couple of issues:

• The loading animations are a bit off
• It doesn't show when the comments are closed (easy fix)

It could be improved in the future by replacing the top "Comments On" button that opens a new screen to load the comment "before" inline (and do the same for the comments "after").

[dzver]

A quick and incomplete solution will be better than what we have right now. I encounter this mainly for p2s and I have to open the laptop to find the comment.

[kean]

That's what I'm also leaning towards. This flow changes in 2024 in #22595. It used to show the details screen, which is the behavior I suggest we revert to. It may not be perfect, but it works, covers the main use-cases, and it's quick. If we change it again, it needs to be a clear improvement.

[kean]

Fixed in #24476 with a couple of other minor improvements in #24484.