diff --git a/public/s/js/f0ckm.js b/public/s/js/f0ckm.js
index f779a65..fb655f5 100644
--- a/public/s/js/f0ckm.js
+++ b/public/s/js/f0ckm.js
@@ -3147,7 +3147,8 @@ window.cancelAnimFrame = (function () {
     if (visualizerRafId) window.cancelAnimFrame(visualizerRafId);
 
 
-    const media = document.querySelectorAll('video:not(#gchat-messages video), audio:not(#gchat-messages audio)');
+    const media = [...document.querySelectorAll('video:not(#gchat-messages video), audio:not(#gchat-messages audio)')]
+        .filter(m => !m.classList.contains('emoji') || !m.closest('.sidebar-activity'));
 
     media.forEach(m => {
       try {
diff --git a/public/s/js/sidebar-activity.js b/public/s/js/sidebar-activity.js
index 2fe7923..3b65396 100644
--- a/public/s/js/sidebar-activity.js
+++ b/public/s/js/sidebar-activity.js
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@
                         </div>
                         <span class="comment-time timeago" tooltip="${fullDate}" style="font-size: 0.75em;"${tsAttr}>${timeStr}</span>
                     </div>
-                    <div class="comment-content has-overflow"><div class="comment-content-inner">${displayContent}${attachmentsHtml}${pollHtml}</div><button class="read-more-btn" style="display:block">${window.f0ckI18n?.sidebar_read_more || 'read more'}</button></div>
+                    <div class="comment-content${c.is_long ? ' has-overflow' : ''}"><div class="comment-content-inner">${displayContent}${attachmentsHtml}${pollHtml}</div><button class="read-more-btn"${c.is_long ? ' style="display:block"' : ''}>${window.f0ckI18n?.sidebar_read_more || 'read more'}</button></div>
                     ${itemPreview}
                 </div>
             </div>`;
@@ -644,13 +644,14 @@
             container.appendChild(ioSentinel);
         }
         attachMediaLoadListeners(container);
-        // has-overflow is set by default in the HTML template so all comments start
-        // clamped with the "read more" button visible.  We must NOT run checkOverflow
-        // synchronously here — the browser has not yet laid out the freshly injected
-        // innerHTML, so scrollHeight / clientHeight are 0 and checkOverflow would
-        // incorrectly hide every button.  Instead we defer to after the first layout
-        // frame so measurements are accurate and short comments get their buttons
-        // removed while long comments keep them visible from the very first paint.
+        // has-overflow is now set per-comment by the server (via is_long) so the
+        // correct clamped/unclamped state is baked into the HTML on first paint.
+        // checkOverflow still runs deferred to handle two edge cases:
+        //   1. Comments with images whose heights are 0 at inject time — the server
+        //      correctly marks them is_long:true, but images that load extra-tall
+        //      still need a re-check after load (handled by attachMediaLoadListeners).
+        //   2. Any mis-estimates: content that the heuristic got wrong is corrected
+        //      after layout so measurements are accurate.
         requestAnimationFrame(() => {
             checkOverflow();
             // After 1s, re-check everything — by then even slow ctrl+F5 images will
@@ -843,7 +844,11 @@
 
         // Update DOM if visible
         if (container) {
-            const html = renderActivityItem(newItem);
+            // is_long may be provided by the server (SSE payload) or absent for legacy events.
+            // Default to true so the button is always visible; checkOverflow will hide it
+            // if the rendered content is actually short.
+            const itemWithLong = { ...newItem, is_long: newItem.is_long !== false };
+            const html = renderActivityItem(itemWithLong);
             const temp = document.createElement('div');
             temp.innerHTML = html;
             const node = temp.firstElementChild;
diff --git a/src/inc/routes/comments.mjs b/src/inc/routes/comments.mjs
index a331d36..1cd0ad0 100644
--- a/src/inc/routes/comments.mjs
+++ b/src/inc/routes/comments.mjs
@@ -610,6 +610,11 @@ export default (router, tpl) => {
             db.notify('comments', JSON.stringify(livePayload));
             
             // 2. Sidebar activity update
+            // Compute is_long using the full content (not the truncated notifyBody) so the
+            // sidebar renders the correct clamped state immediately on first paint.
+            const activityIsLong = content.length > 120
+                || content.split('\n').length > 2
+                || activityFiles.length > 0;
             db.notify('activity', JSON.stringify({
                 user_id: req.session.id,
                 item_id: item_id,
@@ -623,7 +628,8 @@ export default (router, tpl) => {
                 username: req.session.user,
                 username_color: req.session.username_color,
                 display_name: req.session.display_name || null,
-                files: activityFiles
+                files: activityFiles,
+                is_long: activityIsLong
             }));
 
             // Automatically subscribe user to the thread
@@ -1090,14 +1096,24 @@ export default (router, tpl) => {
                 else if (c.rating_tag_id == 2) { ratingLabel = 'NSFW'; ratingClass = 'nsfw'; }
                 else if (c.rating_tag_id == (cfg.nsfl_tag_id || 3)) { ratingLabel = 'NSFL'; ratingClass = 'nsfl'; }
 
+                const commentContent = (c.content || '').trim();
+                const commentFiles = filesMap.get(c.id) || [];
+                // Compute overflow hint: true if content is likely taller than the 80px clamp.
+                // ~120 chars ≈ 2-3 wrapped lines in the sidebar; any newlines > 2 or file
+                // attachments (images/video) will also push height above the limit.
+                const isLong = commentContent.length > 120
+                    || commentContent.split('\n').length > 2
+                    || commentFiles.length > 0;
+
                 return {
                     ...c,
-                    content: (c.content || '').trim(),
+                    content: commentContent,
                     username_color: c.username_color,
                     item_rating_class: ratingClass,
                     item_rating_label: ratingLabel,
-                    files: filesMap.get(c.id) || [],
-                    poll: pollMap.get(c.id) || null
+                    files: commentFiles,
+                    poll: pollMap.get(c.id) || null,
+                    is_long: isLong
                     // created_at stays as the raw ISO timestamp so the frontend f0ckTimeAgo can localize it
                 };
             });