How to remove the default "Anonymous" from comment author name?

Question

In the comment form field (core comment module) I would to leave the comment author name empty, in order to encourage commentators to come up with original epithets.

What's the easiest way to do it?

Answer 1

I see a few of ways this could be done:

1. Custom module - someone has even written it for you - http://drupal.org/node/240610#comment-1096024
2. Using string overrides - change Anonymous to [empty string]
3. Remove it from the comment module - Content management -> Content types and click edit for your node type and enable "Anonymous posters may not enter their contact information"
4. Use javascript - someone has also written this as well - http://drupal.org/node/240610#comment-2051378

I would probably opt for option 1 as this provides greater flexibility in altering the forms to suit other requirements in the future

Answer 2

hook_form_alter()

http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/modules--system--system.api.php/function/hook_form_alter/7

Allows you to hook in to and alter any form, including setting the default text to empty. Here's some more help on what the valid elements are:

http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/developer--topics--forms_api_reference.html

Best way to start is to determine the form ID by creating a mymodule_form_alter() function and printing out the $form_id using print so it appears at the top of the page. (Or better still, use the devel module to print it out in a Drupal status message). Once you know the form ID, you can add an if to make sure you only act on that form and then alter the array to remove the default value you don't want.

Look at pretty much any module for an example implementation. Many modules use this hook. I can't think of any specific example off the top of my head, but there are loads.

EDIT: Here's a good Lullabot blog post on the matter... there's not much different between Drupal 6 and Drupal 7 in this regard, AFAIK: http://www.lullabot.com/articles/modifying-forms-drupal-5-and-6

Answer 3

Just a note for those who decide to go with a custom module, but get Anonymous in the Name input box for no apparent reason, and their hook_form_alter (or hook_form_comment_form_alter) is okay.

Make sure to remove the comment_info_name cookie, which the comment's module Javascript uses to store the previously used name. It took me some time to find out...

It's all covered in one place here: http://jan.tomka.name/blog/how-remove-anonymous-name-comment-form

Answer 4

This is the kind of simple tweak that I'd do with JavaScript.

$(document).ready(function() {
    var editbox = $('#edit-name');
    if (editbox.val() == 'Anonymous' {
        editbox.val('');
    }
});

Pop that somewhere in your theme and the name field is cleared when the page is loaded.