comments_popup_link() displays Add Comment when comments closed

[error]

When comments to a post are closed, but pings are open, comments_popup_link() displays "No Comments". ($zero parameter) It should display "Comments Off" ($none parameter) if no comments/pings exist on the post, or the comment count if comments/pings do exist on the post.

[error]

Display "Comments Off" when comments off but pings open

[markjaquith]

-1

"Comments" in this case means either pings or regular comments. When comments are closed (and no comments have been received) but pings are open, people can still add a comment, either by pingback or trackback. The Trackback URI is typically displayed on the permalink, down by the comment form. If it says "no comments" and is unlinked, Trackback users are unlikely to leave Trackbacks (they won't know they can!)

[jrawle]

I agree with the original ticket. It should display "Comments closed" ($none) if comments are disabled, irrespective of whether pings are enabled. The link goes to the comment section, which will just say "Comments closed" even if pings are enabled. Many responses come as pings rather than trackbacks, so the presence or not of a trackback link is irrelevant - the permalink can always be used. I don't believe people follow a "Leave comment" link to leave a comment via a trackback; rather, a trackback is a consequence or writing a related post.

My application of this tag would be to have it say "Leave a comment" when there are no comments. This becomes nonsense if I can't have it say something different when comments are disabled.

[pishmishy]

-1, agreeing with markjaquith. WordPress is fairly consistent (at least internally) in referring to both traditional comments and track backs as "comments". If you wish to make this clearer to your users then your $zero argument could be set to "No Comments or trackbacks".

Perhaps the included, or the function, should do this by default? Looking at the amount of discussion here it doesn't appear to have bothered many people so I'm closing as wontfix. Please reopen it if you wish me to write a patch.