[rt-users] Comment

[Bill Cole]

On 17 Jun 2015, at 13:57, Daniel Moore wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Is there anyway to take the "comment" directly out of lifecycle for 
> the Tickets? I have been able to rename some things but we do not want 
> users commenting on Tickets since the default behavior for a comment 
> is to not reply or send emails at all.
>
> We want users to be only click "reply" when they are replying to their 
> ticket.
>
> Please let me know if this is possible.

It can be handled as a Rights issue, if you want to use Comments as 
designed (i.e. to be a private channel in a ticket for staff...) A user 
without the "CommentOnTicket" Right ("Comment on tickets" in the 
"General rights" tab of the modern Rights screens) for a ticket is not 
shown any UI offering to let them do that, and any user without the 
"ShowTicketComments" Right ("View ticket private commentary" in the 
"Rights for Staff" tab) for a ticket sees none of the Comments.

The RT deployments I've wrangled have all managed those Rights based on 
global and per-Queue Group Rights. Sites obviously vary in their 
preferences or there wouldn't be so many ways to twiddle so many Rights, 
but *generally* the pattern I follow is that the AdminCc and Owner roles 
get the two Comment Rights at the Global Group Rights level, with none 
of the System groups (Everyone/Priv./Unpriv.) or other roles having them 
at that level. User Groups with a need for special oversight privileges 
(e.g. "Executive Management") may also get those rights at the Global 
Group Rights level. Individual Queues then don't need those Rights 
assigned to any of the System or Role "Groups" and in most cases don't 
need them granted to any User Groups either, as the appropriate users 
(e.g. staff members working the tickets) get them by way of being in an 
Owner or AdminCc role for the Queue.

Of course you COULD create a custom lifecycle that removes the Comment 
action entirely and remove the feature of a private commentary side of 
tickets from RT entirely. Speaking only for myself and not for any 
company I've ever used RT at, I think that would be a terrible 
functional impairment and a destroyer of morale, as the comments in 
tickets (unseen by Requestors & Cc, a.k.a. "Those Who Are Always Right") 
can be both useful AND entertaining. In *principle* I mostly use 
Comments to document arcane technical process details of possible 
interest to my fellow staff members who may need to pick up where I 
leave off, but that is often supplemented with warnings/tips/incident 
documentation regarding the interpersonal facets of handling requests. 
(no examples will be provided)

> Please do not try to sell me a book.

Aw shucks, I've got a bunch of old paperbacks in boxes I need to get rid 
of, mostly old SF I haven't reread in decades... :)

But seriously, the issue of Comments vs Replies is one that I've seen a 
lot of confusion about over 15 years of using RT. While I have no idea 
whether The Book (which I don't own) discusses it, I'm pretty sure I've 
seen it covered in BP's online documentation but it's clearly not 
explained well enough. The RT4 Rights UI helps a little by putting "View 
ticket private commentary" in the "Rights for Staff" tab, but if you're 
using an organically evolved RT where Rights haven't been managed 
fastidiously from the start, it is easy to miss the concept that 
Comments are designed to be an entirely different thing from Replies.