fix(compare): prevent comparison loading from getting stuck

[kiran-madhav]

Description

Prevents comparison requests from leaving the Compare Developers page stuck on "Comparing...".

Fixes #8009

Changes

• Prevents duplicate in-progress requests for the same comparison
• Adds a 20-second timeout using AbortController
• Resets the loading state after success, failure, or timeout
• Displays a clear timeout error message
• Replaces the unsupported Vercel vs Netlify organization preset with a clearly labeled founder comparison (rauchg vs biilmann)
• Updates both the main showdown card and top rivalries ticker
• Adds tests for timeout handling and duplicate-request prevention
• Updates the ticker navigation test for the supported founder profiles

Testing

• npm run format
• npm run lint
• npm run test
• npm run test:coverage -- --run
• Tested torvalds vs gvanrossum
• Tested rauchg vs biilmann
• Tested the main showdown card
• Tested the top rivalries ticker

Evidence

Before

Screen recording showing the comparison remaining stuck on "Comparing...":

• Screen.Recording.2026-07-12.163706.mp4

After

• Successful torvalds vs gvanrossum comparison
• Successful rauchg vs biilmann comparison

Screen.Recording.2026-07-12.163706.mp4

[vercel]

@kiran-madhav is attempting to deploy a commit to the jhasourav07's projects Team on Vercel.

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[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This pull request addresses a UI state bug on the Compare Developers page where comparisons could remain stuck on “Comparing…” by preventing duplicate in-flight comparisons, adding a request timeout, and ensuring the loading state is always cleared on completion.

Changes:

• Adds in-flight request de-duplication and a 20s AbortController timeout to prevent comparisons from hanging indefinitely.
• Ensures loading is reset after success, failure, or timeout; adds a clear timeout error message.
• Updates the Vercel vs Netlify preset to use founder accounts and updates/extends tests to cover timeout + duplicate-request prevention.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
components/TopRivalriesTicker.tsx	Switches the Vercel/Netlify rivalry to founders and adds optional display labels for ticker text.
components/TopRivalriesTicker.mouse-interactivity.test.tsx	Updates ticker navigation expectations for the new founder-based preset.
components/DeveloperArena.tsx	Updates the trending showdown preset to compare founders instead of org accounts.
app/compare/CompareClient.tsx	Adds active-request tracking, abort timeout, and more robust loading/error cleanup to avoid “Comparing…” getting stuck.
app/compare/CompareClient.test.tsx	Adds test coverage for timeout handling and preventing duplicate in-flight requests.

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[github-actions]

📦 Next.js Bundle Size Report (Gzipped Sizes)

Asset	PR Size	Base Size	Difference	Status
static/chunks/app/compare/page-[hash].js	15.42 KB	15.18 KB	+0.24 KB (+1.56%)	🔴 Regression

📊 Summary of Totals

Category	PR Size	Base Size	Difference
Total JS	3911.14 KB	3910.49 KB	+0.65 KB (+0.02%)
Total CSS	326.92 KB	326.92 KB	0 B

[Aamod007]

Good catch on the vercel vs netlify rivalry! Since those are orgs and the compare page expects users, changing it to the founders (rauchg vs biilmann) is a smart way to prevent the loading state from hanging. Approved!

[github-actions]

🎉 Congratulations @kiran-madhav! Your PR has been successfully merged. 🚀

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