Oh the fun of creating new things!!! I’ve had the time of my coding life over the past few weeks while I develop the 2.0 version of CommentLuv.
It’s took me to the sites for jQuery, Mysql, php, wordpress and others a million times and I’ve learned tons from my toe dipping into mysql and seeing just how many requests are sent to my server…
I can’t wait to show you what is happening to what started off as a simple Wordpress only plugin!
Here’s the list of changes for the upcoming 2.0 loveliness .
The Plugin
- Runs with jQuery
This will help an awful lot to combat the automated spam comment scripts. Because the plugin is activated and displayed using javascript, the remote script wont get called by people posting directly to the comments file or for Curl’ing scripts. I’m happy with that! - Runs with AJAX
This makes it much faster, it wont add any load on the hosting server because all the fetching is done client side and it’s all done while the visitor is typing their comment. - Link Tracking
Track which of your comments get the last blog post clicked, see what post titles work best for you - Works with registered users and on Wordpress MU
Now blogs with ‘register to comment’ restrictions can use the plugin. It’s also compatible with Wordpress MU which opens up a whole new section of bloggers. - Theoretically compatible with more than just blogs or wordpress
Because it uses javascript only, it opens the plugin up to any blog that allows the user to add code to the head of their template. This even opens it up to places like forums and simple guest books. Work will start on other platforms as soon as the 2.0 final is out - Free Support Site
CommentLuv.com is a support site where I can provide lots of cool extras that you just can’t get with the current commentluv plugin. It only takes a moment to register a site and afterwards you get a whole heap of cool things (see The Site below) - It looks pretty!
- Language support
I’ve added the code for language support, there is a German language file coming soon as well as Hebrew and Chinese - It’s FREE
I’m not a big corporation, I’m just one guy with too much pc time on his hands. If the site gets a lot of traffic, I might make some money on adspace or I might not. It doesn’t matter, I have felt a great sense of fun and satisfaction from creating this plugin and site and find it really helps me to learn new programming languages and methods to have a project that continues to challenge me it’s also nice when people say how cool I am for creating a plugin
Advantages of registering your site for free at the CommentLuv.com site
- Choose from your last 10 posts instead of just the one when you comment on CL blogs
- Faster retrieval of your posts for your registered URL
- Choose your cache time for even speedier return of links
- Change your feed address
Useful if you want to register a domain that has no feed of it’s own so you can use blogs with KeywordLuv to point to your business domain with keywords and also have a titled link to it’s/your associated blog. - Default link and anchor text
Set it so the plugin returns a link to a particular page on any site when you comment on CL blogs using your normal domain name as URL. This is particularly useful if you want to promote a post that isn’t on your last 10 posts or promote a splash page or if your blog is offline. - Statistics
By being registered, you get your sites comments that get a commentluv link and all the comments you make on other CL blogs stored which will enable the site to show you where you’ve commented and if they’ve commented on you.Other great stats will be things like, your most advertised blog post, your most frequented blog, your most commented post, the top commentluv receiving commentator and so on. I am working on some pretty hardcore things that will create a ‘map’ type network for you to look at that shows how your own personal ‘comment web’ grows.
- A place to report spam
If you find a particular url is spamming yours and/or your friends site then this can be dealt with at source, enough reports of a spammer will see them removed from CommentLuv and no blog using it will display their last post so it benefits everyone, when a spammer knows that no CommentLuv enabled blog will show their last post, they’ll stop using those sites to spam their crap. - Featured sites
Every week will be a new CommentLuv enabled site featured bringing fameand fortuneto the blog owner. It will be on the first page and (if all goes well with traffic) should get a fair amount of click-thrus - CommentLuv directory
Add keywords and a description to your site and users will be able to browse through different categories to find what they’re after. This could increase your traffic and commentators (and spammers I suppose but see above about reporting spam) immensely - Support
One stop shop for questions and feature requests - Exclusivity
Enable CommentLuv only for registered users. Could be useful if you’re finnicky with giving out links - Contests!!
I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time but I didn’t have the resources in place. I’d love to have random ’spot’ prize winners, all someone (registered user) has to do is comment on a registered CommentLuv enabled blog and they could win a cool gadget or Amazon voucher or paypal payment.The great thing is, the blog owner wins too! This could really encourage comments for blog owners and they also get to win something too. Rules will be simple, a winner will know they’ve won because instead of their last blog post coming back, a winners message will be there. They’ll have to claim the prize on the blog that they won it on so the blog owner gets return visitors who participate in the discussion.
Summary
So, that’s it (for now). Some of these changes are already live and others will be phased in as and when I am happy that each new addition is working well. I should have the stable beta release of the new plugin by the end of the weekend. Once that’s out and doing well, all the rest of the stuff can be worked on with the site without having to change the plugin. I might even get it done in time for entry into the Wordpress MU plugin contest.
Once the stable version goes to a full 2.0 final, I will slowly phase out the remote scripts for the existing commentluv. In the past 8 days, the remote script has been hit over half a million times! lots of those are unnecessary spam hits but it still handles tens and tens of thousands of last blog posts every single day so I will have to handle the handover gently!
It amazes me how long someone will wait to upgrade a plugin or wordpress because they feel FTP is too intimidating to try and do it themselves. It’s a normal thing though I suppose, wordpress is so easy to use that just about anyone can get a blog up and running with very little knowledge. I hope WP2.7 comes with a browsable plugin directory from the dashboard with automatic plugin upgrades and installation to make things easier.
You can register your site already at the CommentLuv.com site and be one of the first to be able to choose from your last 10 posts on the sites that install the new version. It’s already live here and at commentluv.com and a few beta testers sites (see previous post). It’s free to register and easy to verify your site with the automated process on the settings page once you’re logged on.
11.09.08 5:45 pm
Awesome, looking forward to it!
I’m not sure if I should ask this here, but it seems my CL (some version) is not working today….or working strangely.
The post it’s finding is the last one, not the current one just posted today.Dennis Edells last blog post..Merging Blogs: Internet and Offline Markeing Together. I’d Like Your Thoughts.
#111.09.08 5:47 pm
Wooohoo, can’t wait!Susans last blog post..Una Latest
#211.09.08 5:49 pm
On some blogs, nothing is coming up.Dennis Edells last blog post..Merging Blogs: Internet and Offline Markeing Together. I’d Like Your Thoughts.
#311.09.08 7:01 pm
dennis: sorry, apparantly my hosting company is doing stuff with the server to make it faster so there has been a little bit of downtime. users of the beta commentluv wont be affected.
#411.09.08 8:10 pm
Do you think mine will start working, or should I just upgrade to beta…..the reason I ask is, as a general rule I don’t do BETA’s unless I have to.
If so, can you directly link me to the download…this blog confuses me sometimes
Dennis Edells last blog post..Merging Blogs: Internet and Offline Markeing Together. I’d Like Your Thoughts.
#511.09.08 11:05 pm
sorry for the confusion Dennis!
#6I’m involved in so many projects that I get confused myself!
I am so very close to having a stable beta version to release, once that is out everything should work nicely. I just finished the code for tracking last blog post link clicks so I should imagine that the stable beta release will be on Sunday.
11.09.08 11:14 pm
I knew there was a problem with the old commentluv as it was acting up a little lately. Can’t wait for the new one. Do I get a pic of the sexy bird as well?
#711.09.08 11:21 pm
Mmmm, I notice it didn’t pick up the commnetluv on my last comment? Weird?Sires last blog post..Google Sucks And How Inspiration Can Help Your Blog
#811.09.08 11:24 pm
sire: haha, sexy bird has gone and been replaced with something shiny. It’ll keep updating whenever there is a newer picture with the tags “shiny” or “bright”
#9sorry about the acting up, my host was changing servers
11.09.08 11:29 pm
it should all be fixed now, here’s what my host had to say
look how nice they are!
#1011.09.08 11:34 pm
NOOOOOOO!!!! Bring her back, perhaps in a bikini Sires last blog post..Google Sucks And How Inspiration Can Help Your Blog
#1112.09.08 1:27 am
Hmm, lets see…Dennis Edells last blog post..50 Post Milestone! And a PR Downgrade? Hmm…
#1212.09.08 1:28 am
Yes!Dennis Edells last blog post..50 Post Milestone! And a PR Downgrade? Hmm…
#1312.09.08 4:34 am
I’m not sure if this is the place to ask this… First of all, I love this plug-in! I’m not sure what is going on with mine, but if you will look at one of my posts, the Comment Luv text is at the very bottom of the page. Then, when people leave comments, it isn’t picking up their info. I have upgraded to the most recent version, but it still isn’t working.
#14Have others had this problem or am I unique
Thanks!
KristenKristens last blog post..Commitment Issues
12.09.08 4:40 am
OK – well the commentluv text is still at the very bottom of the page of each post, but it is finally bringing the commenters recent posts in
Sorry for the confusion.Kristens last blog post..Commitment Issues
#1512.09.08 8:53 am
Dennis: having fun? (or just washing your hair with Herbal Essence?)
Kristen: hopefully it will continue to work for you now, the server was being worked on yesterday so there might have been a hiccup on sending back last blog posts.
#1612.09.08 1:54 pm
Andy,
The new site is great, I went and registered instantly. I have so enjoyed watching your progress with this.
Ooh, I love the in-progress feature… though that isn’t quite my latest post. Hmm.
Pardon me for not understanding the jargon too well, does the 2.0 version have a longer timeout limit for page load times? Goodness I hope so, because in the last month or so it seems that not only are my own posts not showing up when I comment, but a lot of my commenters at my own site are not getting their posts picked up.
(As one of the biggest fans of Comment Luv, I am blogging this as soon as you’re ready with the new version—I want everyone to come and upgrade!)
Regards,
KellyKellys last blog post..Inspiration Points: Bill Gates on Bad Experience
#1712.09.08 3:14 pm
LOL just happy it’s working again. No offense to you personally of course, but I just don’t do BETA’s.
I’m a magnet for murphy’s law
Dennis Edells last blog post..50 Post Milestone! And a PR Downgrade? Hmm…
#1812.09.08 4:44 pm
kelly: thanks for your kind words!! it’s been a baby of mine to grow since I started it and it’s nice to know it’s not all in vain
Dennis: no offence taken although, a murphys law magnet is ideal for finding all the bugs in a beta!
#1912.09.08 8:44 pm
Sorry to hear about your server problems but it looks like everything is back up and running now.
I think I’ll wait out the beta for a little while longer, as well.
byteful-travellers last blog post..How to Balance Blogging and Travelling
#2012.09.08 8:57 pm
NP my friend, I’d be more then happy to BETA with the promise of payment upon system crashes…
With my magnetism, you best have deep pockets LOLDennis Edells last blog post..50 Post Milestone! And a PR Downgrade? Hmm…
#2113.09.08 9:11 am
Great to see your progress Andy. Every time I visit CommentLuv looks a little better, or has some new features!
Cheers, JonJons last blog post..Salon Marketing – Should you advertise in Yellow Pages?
#2213.09.08 11:35 am
byteful: good idea. I need to know the server is rock solid before it goes out. shame because I wanted to get it finished by this weekend but it’ll probably have to come out next weekend now.
dennis: haha, I’d better not commit to that then
jon: there is a point where I have to stop adding new features and just get it out there working… I think I’ll try and keep the plugin side of it as simple as possible. thanks for visiting!
#2313.09.08 11:45 am
Andy – yes, “feature creep” is the bane of software projects! But you’re getting plenty of “buzz” around the blogging community, so I wouldn’t rush it
Cheers, JonJons last blog post..Salons for Sale – Business for sale websites
#2413.09.08 8:31 pm
thanks Jon, I will concentrate on getting it to work properly and if there are new features to add, do them one at a time after it gets released with the standard features
#2527.09.08 6:48 am
Hi Andy,
I’m cruising by from Google and am impressed by your new idea. I think it has huge potential for all the folks who love this plugin and might get very popular fast.
I’m going to check out the free site now to learn more about this cool idea.
Lucia´s last blog post..Dominican Republic A Top Nation for Business
#2627.09.08 7:33 am
How do we know you’re *really* from google?
byteful´s last blog post..New Widescreen Wallpaper & Be A Mind At Play
#2730.10.08 1:11 am
Wow! I’ve wondered often when they would come to this. I hated having the option of only using my latest post. Now this new version will help by allowing people to work a blog with man posts simultaneously.
crystal@straightening balm´s last blog post..Straightening Balm
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