HI
i just noticed that one can switch On or Off the "comments allowed " as Admin. But when you Turn off comment then the Top menu still has "last comments" Link On. one can remove it from template ofcos but can this be linked to Comments On Off feature in upcoming CPG ? So one doesnt have to edit template everytime comments are diabled for temporary time like couple of weeks?
Interesting idea but I don't think it's feasible. Comments permissions are not global as they vary for usergroups globally and by albums. Just because people can't post comments doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to read other comments.
you'd have to run an extra query to find out if comments exist within the page shown, which would be resources-consuming. Imo it's easier to disable the menu entry as you suggested in the theme.