Comments for pages turned off by default

[kostek00]

Most of the time I really don't care how are you changing WordPress as it doesn't bothers me at all (read: changes are good). But at some point everyone find something which is not good for them. In my example details like removing turned on comments for pages by default annoys me like hell.

For god sake you have options why don't you make use of it? Why do you force users with solutions which with not everyone will be happy?

In options you can tick on "Allow users to comment on new articles" (or something like that). You could just add new field with "Allow users to comment on new pages" and have them choose whether they want turned on comments by default on article and pages or not. Was it so hard to make that? Next time you remove some features think: Does removing this will be usefule for everyone? Does noone use it?

My site is based on pages not articles so this option is essential for me as I will forget about that little detail to tick on next time I create page and many more times.

TL;DR;

Allow users to decide whether they want turned off/on comments on pages and articles by adding in options additional field "Allow users to comment on new pages". That way all users will be happy.

[swissspidy]

Duplicate of #33516.

Hi there and welcome to trac.

This was ​changed by design in #31168. As part of these changes, the filter get_default_comment_status was introduced to allow site owners to enable comments by default should they wish to. An example:

function wp33535_open_comments_for_pages( $status, $post_type, $comment_type ) {
	if ( 'page' === $post_type ) {
		$status = 'open';
	}
 
	return $status;
}
add_filter( 'get_default_comment_status', 'wp33535_open_comments_for_pages', 10, 3 );

Modern WordPress development is focused on including sensible defaults as part of the core experience but allowing plugins to add settings for sites that require them.

I'll close this ticket off for now, but you should feel free to add any bug reports and feature requests in future.

[kostek00]

I know it's has been changed that's why I signd ticket with new feature to allow peaoples to choose without need to know how to code this.

[SergeyBiryukov]

This is still a duplicate of #33516.

Adding a new option would go against the ​"Decisions, not options" philosophy, so using the filter is the way to go here.

I just wrote a plugin that restores previous behaviour: ​Allow Comments on Pages by Default.

[DrewAPicture]

Replying to kostek00:

I know it's has been changed that's why I signd ticket with new feature to allow peaoples to choose without need to know how to code this.

Hi @kostek00,

Looks like @SergeyBiryukov beat me by about a minute.

Anyway, I understand your frustration with this change.

When decisions like this are made during WordPress development, we first ask, "would this change be useful for 80 percent of users?". If the answer is a resounding "yes" as this one was, then we follow our core ​decisions, not options philosophy in making the change. This is why a filter was introduced instead of a new option.

Think of it this way: WordPress is well-known for our commitment to backward compatibility. And in introducing a filter, we're saying, "yes, absolutely, you can still do this" but maybe making it a little harder by switching it from opt-out to opt-in. This change, I think, is natural to the evolution of WordPress and is how many other opt-out situations have been changed throughout the years.

Not everybody is going to agree with every change WordPress makes, and that's OK. The best thing we can do is try to find a middle ground. The filter is that middle ground, and changing this feature from opt-in back to opt-out now falls squarely in plugin territory, for which it looks like there's already a ​plugin available.

[peterwilsoncc]

Remarking as a duplicate and closing as such.

Discussion is welcome to continue on tickets regardless of their status; status wars and reopening duplicates is not.

I'll include some key quotes from comment:4 and comment:5 in an update on #33516. I'd encourage any further discussion to occur there.