New commenting system being installed
November 15, 2009 by Jeffrey Kishner
Yesterday, I went to WordCamp – this blog runs on WordPress – and learned about a new commenting system that includes threaded responses, integration of Facebook and Twitter, and more. I believe the integration of this new system will speed up the site a bit, as well as solve the problem of commenter’s headshots not showing up. Until now, I’ve had one system for Google FriendConnect, one system for Facebook Connect, and the regular WordPress commenting system, which includes Gravatar support. IntenseDebate makes for a smoother integration. Unfortunately, it does not currently support Google FriendConnect, so all 194 members will not be able to leave comments using their Google profiles.
I am currently importing the old comments into the new system – which may take a few hours – so during part of Sunday afternoon you may not be able to read previous comments on blog posts. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I think the upgrade will be worth it.
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I like the new commenting system
i don't like the new system much at all, sorry I'm sure you meant well but the previous was easier on the eye. Sometimes a similar version (with direct replies visible and pics in the right hand corner )reappears when the new system hasn't loaded fast enough…and is a joy to see!! Loved the font, alternating coloured boxes and things in user friendly order.
Lulu, I can disable the nested replies if that is the primary issue. Please tell me what you mean by "user-friendly order."
Oh screw it, I’m going to just revert to the old system. I personally like all the bells and whistles, but I can see that intensedebate formatting can be confusing, especially for a post that has 100s of comments.
Hi Jeff, thanks the site looks great today (old format?)
am a bit confused myself now too, as I have experienced the old format, new intensedebate and also I think a version that was somewhere between the two, (it appeared to be the old format but with nested replies to specific posts on view – which worked fine – no problem with that…that was like a slightly improved version of the old lovable format. It appeared along with a message which said intensedebate had not been able to install fast enough or because i had no Javascript…anyway…I was pleased it couldn’t load!
What I didn’t like about the totally new version was: posts labelled as ‘103 weeks ago’, I tried the ‘last activity’ function but was not happy with that!! Everything seemed back to front & upside down with no continuity, as a previous user. Messages were displayed with the very first post on page one and a list of page numbers at the bottom 1….56 so a person has to click on the last number each time you log on to view latest comments, or if you select ‘last activity’ it throws up a back to front ordering of posts…plus hidden repies I just don’t feel it was what I’d call ‘Progress’ you know. Also seemed to give different results depending on which of these I selected, so the intimate dynamic which draws people repeatedly to the conversation was lost.
In comparison the older format makes sense with things in an order you can follow and make return visits to (as a club member if you see what I mean). I like the date and time being displayed – ‘older comments’ ‘previous comments’ funtion is fine.I like the two coloured boxes A LOT in comparison, no eye dazzle.
Yep, I see it is probably that the old format worked well for the particular thread I was reading, just my experience of finding something like a special place away from the rest of the crowd I guess. Great site all in all.
To sum up…The old familiar system is cool for (perhaps sadly!!) members who have an intense personal interest in following comments on an almost daily basis. If you don’t have a strong longterm (again, saddo) personal interest in the posts I can see that it would not appear to be much of an issue.
Where Sssstrology wins is that it is a site I am drawn to checking out regularly & can easily follow, rather than flitting around the net, dipping in & out here & there…it draws a loyal following. Congrats on that.
Thanks Lulu for the feedback. I’m glad you and others are so committed to the site.