If commenting and favoriting were also available while you vote, it could encourage people to do all of those things at once if they want, much like it does in major battles.

it would be interesting because the comments on an anonymous submission will inevitably be different than on a submission where one knows the author.

i rlly wish ppl could give criticism in the form of comments, it would rlly help me and many others improve

i agree with kittystar. comments would be baller.

it's not like people can't comment criticism after the battle has concluded. just both that ppl dont want to be too blunt and a lot of songs create an apathetic reaction in listeners that simple criticism can't solve.

Plus it would allow you to confirm you voted without having to be in IRC/Discord

I guess the current system does that... but still, I support this idea for the above reasons, dammit!!

As a tangent on the current discussion around XHB hosting and comments on xhb entries in general, I think this is a solid idea from a while back!

I love comments on entries, it is absolute favorite thing to see, and it would be so fun and helpful to have some comments right at battle close. I agree with the earlier comments that we would get significantly more non-IRC/Discord comments (i.e. long term, findable comments) on xhb entries this way.

I checked in on a whim and felt like i should say that I agree with what tennisers said a bit. It's like I start to wanna hold back what I originally thought because I see who posted what, and/or feel a bit hesitant to speak my mind freely during the times I did vote.
I can't say I fully agree with apathetic responses affecting critique, but I just feel like I'm too harsh/unfair with criticisms, and try to stick with compliments as to not offend.
This is especially true when judging in a skill I'm not proficient with, which is like 90% of what i see here. Tastes are subjective, but without understanding things fully I can't feel confident enough to say something sounds bad, and so i get afraid to despite my initial thoughts.
Even if something sounds off, it just doesn't feel right... Not to mention seeing people's names and pfps afterwards leaves a strong hesitation to comment because most of them are supportive or cool people I'd rather not hurt the feelings of.

tl;dr I also think commenting while voting would be baller. i feel bad critiquing things after seeing who posted it cause almost everyone is cool people. i've been awake for 40 hours from coffee and forgot what else i wanted to say. soz.

I'm into the idea of vote + comment / critique / feedback PRE slugs too. I've been trying to get into the habit of making notes for myself when I vote anyway - this would only formalize the process.

I really appreciate how supportive and kind everybody is in chat, but I could honestly go for a few more comments along the lines of "Hey I really like what you're going for at :57, but the duty cycle makes that bassline sound really thin and you might be better off throwing V02 in there to beef it up."

It can be tough too when everyone else in chat is handing out compliments, and you feel like the critique is inappropriate in the moment... I try my best to push through that awkwardness of course.

Generally in favour of encouraging people to leave more comments! (I say, probably not even doing a good job of taking my own advice 😅)