Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Let's Discuss - What do you use for your comments?


Okay, so I have a question for all you more experienced bloggers out there - Do you use a third party tool (like Disqus) for your comments?  If so, what do you use and how well has it been working out for you?

I've been very disappointed to discover that people don't get notified if I reply to their comments.  I always just assumed that if someone left me a comment on my blog and I replied to it, that person would get an email or some type of notification to let them know that I replied.  But, apparently with Blogger's standard comments box, that isn't the case.  This is a big problem as far as I'm concerned!  I mean, let's face it, people aren't so excited about commenting on my posts that they're checking back constantly to see if I've replied.  That's just not realistic.  But, what's the point in replying if the person who made the comment in the first place will never know you did?

So, I definitely would like to use some other type of commenting system, but I'm not sure what to use.  The only one I really know of is Disqus and I've wondered what people thought of it.  I'm a bit worried that people won't bother to comment at all if they feel like they have to register with Disqus in order to do so.  Any thoughts?  Any other solutions out there that I'm missing?

Okay - discuss.  (And if you care to actually see my replies to your comments, for now click on Subscribe by email at the bottom of the post - until I come up with a better solution, that is).

UPDATE: There's a new blog hop over at Oh, Chrys! and The Fiction Conniption called Let's Discuss!  I'm adding my post to this hop!

30 comments:

  1. I also just use the Blogger comments and I've been asking myself too if people get my replies..

    EDIT: I've just installed Disqus, I can now see replies on my own comments. But I guess for people to see my replies they have to have Disqus too..

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    1. I created a Disqus account so that I could reply to others' blogs. I like that I get an email when someone replies to my comments made via Disqus and I'm thinking I might switch my blog to Disqus too, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some other method that I'm missing! Let me know how you like it!

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    2. I switched back again :( I could not see anyone's profile and blog at the comments anymore and my replies would not show up under the comment I replied to but somewhere at the top. Until I can figure out how to fix this I will use Blogger again and just remind people to subscribe to my comments..

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  2. Whenever I comment on someone's blog, usually there's something to click so I get an email when the blogger replies to my comment. I'm registered with Disqus but don't use it on my blog. With blogger, I click the "subscribe by email" to see if I get a reply.

    I'm actually thinking about switching from Blogger to Wordpress. I started out making my blog with Wordpress but didn't like how little control I had over making it personalized. Now I think maybe I just go there. I don't know - I'm torn! It'd be a lot of work I don't have much time for, plus I don't really want to give up my current layout.

    Are there any other choices for comments other than Disqus?

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    1. I use the subscribe by email link too, but sometimes it's frustrating to get tons of emails from that post (like in the case of a giveaway or something). I'm starting to think maybe I should have used Wordpress too, but I'm pretty new to blogging, so I don't think I want to make any major switches just yet.

      If I find out about any alternate options for comments, I'll let you know!

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    2. I end up getting a ton of emails, too. Same here - if I find anything else, I'll let you know, too!

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  3. I don't like the setup for disqus or blogger. I really wish people would get my replies too. It just feels pointless to reply it they are never going to see it!! I feel like people never click the suscribe to comments because then you get all of the comments. I know livefyre (I think) is another comment thing but if you leave a comment then you automatically get all of the comments for that post in a separate email! If the post was popular then that would suck!

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    1. Yes, that's my problem with subscribing to a post. Sometimes I would like to get a notification if I get a reply to my comment, but I don't necessarily want to get an email every time someone else comments on that post. Depending on the post, that could be a lot of emails that may or may not pertain to me!

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    2. That's so true. It's happened to me before.

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    3. Okay so I just switched to commentluv and it seems to have an easier reply system where you can chose to just suscribe to the replies. So I'll see how that goes.

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    4. Okay changed my mind. Every time I opened up the page where I had the commentluv on (I chose only to put comment luv on new posts instead of changing the old) and an error message repeatedly showed up on my screen saying "oh, snap" there is a problem with the page. Try reloading. So I finally gave up and switched back to Blogger.

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    5. Oh, man! Sorry you had so many problems with these different commenting options. Sounds like there's no perfect solution. Ugh!

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  4. I use good old fashioned comments through blogger. I don't bother with the captcha, what I do is moderate them. Works for me.

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    1. I agree with you on captcha. I turned it off. I don't even moderate - I just watch and delete spam comments right away. So far, I've only had a couple, but if it gets to be a problem I'll moderate.

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  5. I understand why you guys are having so much trouble with Disqus? I use it and it works wonderfully. You don't even need to register to Disquis to be able to reply to a comment. You can use your facebook account. And as far as the reply thing. I get an email for all comments and all replies and they get them as well. And you can see their profile in the comments section as well as it being in the right order. Sometimes you have to make sure you approve the comments so they show up in your blog, but asides from that. I like Disqus a lot.

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    1. This is great to know!! I thought people would had to register with Disqus if they wanted to leave a comment on my blog, so I was nervous about using it. I'm thinking I'm going to give it a try.

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  6. Thanks for linking up to Let's Discuss!
    I still use the native Blogger commenting system (with the Name/URL and Anonymous option) because I a lot of people do not enjoy connecting their personal accounts, especially Facebook. I also hate how long it takes to load! It is so frustrating. Though I do love the comment notification system, I cannot install Disqus on my blog. Worse, LiveFyre. I will just stick with this boring one until I move to Wordpress. Hope you make a decision soon!

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    1. Hmmmm.... Guess there's no perfect solution and you just have to decide which issues bother you the least. I'll still need to think about this...

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  7. If you have the ability, please use something like Disqus instead of the typical Blogger comment option!! I hate Blogger commenting, because since I'm not a Blogger user, I don't have very many options for how to present myself. If I'm given the option (like on your blog, thank you!) I can put in my name and URL, but that gives me no way for reply notifications (since it doesn't ask me for my email). And using my Blogger profile basically means using my Google profile, which I am pretty much loath to use. Sigh!

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    1. Another good point. I think I am leaning toward Disqus, but it seems like there is no solution that makes everyone happy!

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  8. Thanks for linking up in Let's Discuss! :) This is a great topic - I've gone back and forth with the default Blogger commenting system and Disqus... I find disqus works well, but then I also feel like it slowed down my blog so I eventually took it off. Though I'm not a huge fan of the default Blogger comments either, so I'm definitely in the market for something new!

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    1. I'm gonna have to get some of my developer friends to make a good commenting plug-in. Sounds like we need it!

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  9. I think Disqus is a pretty cool idea but unfortunately it is not compatible with my version of internet explorer so it won't load on my computer. This is a huge pain for me a commenter because a few of my favorite blogs use Disqus now and I have to make it a point to visit their blogs on my tablet or another computer to leave my comments. I also feel like it slows down blog loading time.
    If I leave a comment with a question or one I am looking for a reply on, I try to remember to go back to it the next time I am visiting that person's blog to see if there is a reply.

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    1. That's an interesting issue. Are you on an older version of IE or is Disqus not compatible with the newest version? I use Chrome now, so I haven't run into this problem.

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  10. I have very recently transitioned over to commentluv. I'm liking it a whole lot more than disqus and it gives my commenters a chance for backlinking.

    Mei @ Diary of a Fair Weather Diver

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    1. Ah, now there's an option I hadn't thought of. I'll have to take a look at your blog and see how it works!

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  11. Back when I had Blogger, I used DIsqus so that people who chose to register an email would receive my replies to their inbox. I didn't notice that people weren't commenting (I'm pretty sure Disqus has a guest option, for people who don't want to register, which you just enable in the settings)

    Now that I'm on Wordpress, I use the native commenting system and a plugin that notifies my readers when their comment has a new reply.

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  12. Thanks for a wonderful share. Your article has proved your hard work and experience you have got in this field. Brilliant .i love it reading.

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