If you haven’t yet noticed, I’ve got a different comment engine than most other WordPress blogs. It’s called IntenseDebate - and it’s pretty much the bomb digity.
IntenseDebate replaces the original comment system and provides some real value for bloggers. How? For one, it has profiles with avatars and reputation - giving your community the feeling they belong. This may not seem big on a personal site like this one, but on larger sites it’s a plus. Secondly, users can easily subscribe to RSS feeds on comments or strings of comments, staying involved. Thirdly, IntenseDebate will email a commenter when someone responds to their comment - this drives traffic BACK to the site and encourages conversation.
What does it do for the user? It helps keep them connected to topics they’re interested on. It helps keep track of who responded to which comment with nested or threaded comments - it’s easy to see who responded to who at a glance.
There are some sweet widgets and such, but it’s a really easy, painless system to intsall. And if you have any trouble, you’re not up a creek - everyone I’ve dealt with is really quick to respond and very nice.
Check it out if you have a blog - it’s installable on almost every popular blog system. And if you’re just a reader, comment on this post for me and let me know what you think about the system - you’re the one that matters.
Take care,
Colin
