While it might not be too apparent, one of the things I like doing with my blog is experimenting with how it works or looks. Part of this is no doubt because I come from a science background and so, being interested in testing and evaluating outcomes is a given. The other reason is because I do believe that, like most things in life, there is always room for improvement and the need to make adjustments to reflect the changes going on around us.
It’s for this reason I want to draw your attention to the fact that I’m now using the IntenseDebate comment moderation system to manage the comments and discussions I hope to continue fostering here on my site.
Of course, there are several comment moderation systems out there, Disqus being another popular one with bloggers and websites. However, after reading some of the complaints and loss of features that goes with using Disqus, I’ve decided that IntenseDebate would be the better upgrade and one I hope my readers will welcome using here on my site.
For those who might not be familiar with the IntenseDebate comment system, here are some of the key features that will now be offered in my comment system:
- Threaded comments: One of the most obvious changes that’s been made to the comments section is having threaded comments. Basically, this feature will allow readers to either leave their own comment or use the “Reply” button to comment on what someone else wrote in response to the piece in question. It’s a feature I’ve been wanting to offer on my blog for some time and a big reason why I wanted to improve on the previous comment system.
- Social commenting: Thanks to the IntenseDebate comment system, readers can now sign in to leave a comment by logging in through their Twitter, OpenID and other social media service accounts. This will allow readers to connect and build connections with other readers, as well as allowing commenters to keep record of the comments they’ve made on my blog. Of course, you can still leave comments like before by filling out your name and email address.
- Selective notifications for new comments: Before readers had the option to subscribe to new comments and that would mean getting emails for every comment that was made on a particular piece. If you’re like me, one of the goals you have is to reduce the amount of emails stuffing your inbox, not increasing it. And yet, at the same time, when I post comments on blogs, I do look forward to seeing what response it might get from the blog writer or from other readers. With this new system, commentators can choose to have only new replies to their comment or have all comments sent to their inbox.
- CommentLuv-compatible: If you’ve left comments on my blog, I’m sure you’ve noticed the tick box for CommentLuv. For those who aren’t familiar with this feature, basically this is a plugin that inserts a link to the latest blog post of the person who wrote the comment. As the creators behind the plugin state, this is a way for bloggers to show their gratitude to other bloggers who leave comments on their piece by helping to draw attention to the commenter’s latest work. Knowing that I’d still be able to offer this option on my blog was a big plus for making this move to IntenseDebate.
Of course, there are many other reasons behind my decision to make this change, but as you can see, one key factor I looked at was how it would improve your ability to participate in sharing your thoughts on the ideas I write about here on my blog.
I’m hoping the move to the IntenseDebate system will make things more ‘social’ for my readers, both by allowing for a greater sense of participation and involvement, as well as allowing commenters to share their comments in their various social streams. And naturally, I look forward to making more modifications in the future to keep making my site the best resource it can be.
If you have any thoughts about this change, or any other ideas about things you’d like to see here on my blog, please feel free take this new comment system out for a ride. If nothing else, you’ll at least get to enjoy that fresh off-the-assembly-line smell.
Thanks for sharing this, Tanveer. I've been using Disqus for about 6 months now and it seems to be working well, although there are some added features that intensedebate has that I really like (Comment-Luv, added profile information, opt-in settings and such).
I think you made a good choice switching over and I think I might play around with the idea and make the switch myself. This is of course that I'm sure the transition will go over smoothly…I'd probably pass out if I lost what little input I've received due to implementing the service. 🙂
Best regards,
Geoff
I'm glad you found this helpful, Geoff.
When I decided that I'd make the move to using IntenseDebate, I thought that it was important for me to bring this to the attention of my readers since commenting is one of their main outlets to discuss and interact with the content presented here on my blog. I believe it's only a matter of time before bloggers need to offer such options to readers as people will want to have some way of sharing with others the comments they've posted on all the various blogs.
After researching and reading up about the experiences, both good and bad, other bloggers who I respect and trust have had with the various comment moderation systems, I thought it would be helpful to other bloggers to share the reasons why I ultimately decided to go with IntenseDebate.
It's all still very new and I'm sure they'll be some more tweaking and adjustments to make before I feel it's working the way I want. But so far, I'm pretty happy with the decision as it's nice to give commenters more control/access to the comments they share here and allowing them to take them elsewhere.
Thanks again, Geoff, for the support. Let me know which route you decide to take in the end as well.
Thanks for sharing this. I think you made a good choice switching over and I think I might play around with the idea and make the switch myself.
Glad to hear this was helpful. I figured that making this change might cause some curiosity and interest. And honestly, the information that helped with making my decision was reading the experiences and reasons why other bloggers had chosen to switch to a particular comment moderation system. So for me, it was only fair that I offer my input as well to help others decide which route would work best for them.
Love it, Love It, LOVE IT!
I made the switch to ID several months ago after using both WPress Comments and DISQUS. I'm happy to say that it has been nothing but a pleasure having this comment system!
I firmly believe the system has helped my community to find new ways to interact with each other on my blog.
Great stuff Tanveer – I'm sure you won't be disappointed!
Thanks Frank. You hit the nail on the head for one of the big reasons why I wanted to make this shift. Given how I've been having – and will continue to have – guest writers on my blog, I realized that it would be beneficial for everyone to allow for conversational threads instead of a simple volley back and forth that you get with native comment platforms. Also, let's face it, with the rise in curating going on thanks to social media sites, I realize that people will understandably want to include the comments they post on blogs as part of the content they curate to share with others.
I have to admit I'm still bewildered by all the options and features that are now at my disposal. But I think you're right that this will definitely help to improve the process of commenting here on my blog.
If I can help or answer any questions – just let me know my friend!
I will definitely be taking you up on your offer for help, Frank. Looking forward to talking with you about this and learning from your experiences in using this platform.
Delighted with your decision. I moved to Intense Debate a month ago after having been a Disqus user for a brief three weeks. I got a lot (one too many) of complaints from readers saying that they couldn’t log on to make comments or the comment section itself wasn’t loading (it used Javascript)…came to a head when a regular reader emailed me saying she had wanted to comment on two previous posts but got so frustrated that she decided not to read my blog for a week.
Wow, talk about making things worse than improving the readers' ability to engage and interact. I have read complaints about Disqus slowing down page loads (I've even noticed it myself on certain sites) and I also read about how their spam moderation can be pretty weak. But your case certainly shows something that others should be aware of as a potential risk; that instead of helping people to comment, you might actually be losing them.
By the way, that was very nice of your reader to take the time to let you know about this problem; I'm sure her effort helped to ensure you didn't lose any other readers because of using the Disqus platform.
In any case, thanks Mansi for the thumbs-up on using IntenseDebate here on my blog. It's becoming very clear that this was a smart move to make.