Blog Comments?

[bobrocke]

Does Grav have the features necessary to create a simple comment system to go with a blog?

I'm thinking the upcoming forms plug-in would allow a comment to be entered and then saved as a Markdown file with the appropriate YAML front matter. Perhaps they'd be saved in a folder within the folder holding the parent blog post.

Those files could then be cycled through and displayed much like the blog posts themselves.

Or will it not be that simple and require a plug-in (or plug-ins) to implement?

[rhukster]

You could easily add Disqus, IntenseDebate, Facebook comments etc would be trivial to add. All you have to do is add the relevant JavaScript to your template file and they would just work. In fact its so easy, there's really no point in even creating a plugin for it.

I think a JS-based solution is going to provide way more functionality (spam protection, social hooks, feeds, authentication options, moderation, etc, etc) than you could ever hope to write in a built-in system. I think even in a blog platform like WordPress, these service based comment systems are preferred. All the big blogging sites use them.

[bobrocke]

One of those external commenting tools would be a possibility, of course.

But they come with some downsides:

• You don't control your own content.
• They may not have the customization needed to fit the look of your site (that's one reason I didn't use one on my last site.
• JavaScript must be enabled (although that's getting to be less of a problem).
• Those sites may be inaccessible (maybe they're down).

I know that commenting is becoming less and less of a thing for the larger sites as those comments are difficult to police for abuse. But comments do still seem valuable enough for smaller sites to allow them and to keep the resulting content on your own server.

A first-party plug-in may be pretty far down the priority stack for Grav, however. I was just hoping the basic pieces of functionality would be part of Grav and the forms plug-in. I would think the forms plug-in would need to be able to handle spam and save files, at least.

[rhukster]

I really believe the future lies with these service based solutions for additional functionality. A lot of the points you raise are legitimate, and a few years ago those same points would of been a enough to end the argument. However, today, in this much more social and interconnected web in which we live, these services are the norm, and really what people want.

I think that a first-party plugin is doable, but it would be that a plugin, and someone who really wanted it could develop it, but it's not something I can see us doing when JS solutions are just better.

[bobrocke]

No problem. As Grav grows, if the need for a native comment system becomes apparent, the beauty of open source means an enterprising soul could add it. An even more enterprising should could develop a plug-in for sale, especially if an ecosystem around Grav develops.

[rhukster]

kk, closing this issue for now.

[mahagr]

In fact during some testing I've already implemented very simple commenting system with the help of form plugin (which isn't released yet). With Grav doing things like that will be easy, but it doesn't support any forms of spam detection so it will need some work still not to become a spammers lair.

[bobrocke]

That's interesting! I suppose a "honeypot" system of some sort would work. I might have a look as the Akismet API to see how easy it would be to add to Grav as a set after a form submission. Statatmic's Raven add-on talks to Akismet somehow.

[mahagr]

Well, I also happen to have Akismet class implemented for another project. ;)

[bobrocke]

Nice. One of the things that Statamic's Raven will not yet do is create entries such as blog posts or comments. It does hook up to Akismet, though.

It sounds as if Grav may be able to do all of that soon.

[nunocodex]

If anyone need i write a simple plugin for this: https://github.com/nunopress/grav-plugin-disqus_comments

Suggestions are welcome :)