Blogging has had a major impact on the evolution of the Internet. Although not everyone understands why, the main reason is because it has allowed publishers to connect directly with their audiences. Instead of simply broadcasting content, a blog allows a publisher to have a discussion with their readers about that content. As you probably know, the main area where this discussion between the publisher and readers takes place is in the comments section of the blog.
To ensure that you are getting the most out of your WordPress comments, let’s look at some of the best plugins related to comments that are available for you to add to your blog:
WordPress Threaded Comments: Although the purpose of the comment section is to mimic a conversation, the default format of WordPress comments isn’t setup in a way that truly reflects what a conversation looks like.
To solve this problem, you can install the Threaded Comments plugin. This plugin allows users to reply to specific comments, and instead of displaying at the bottom of the comment section, that reply will be nested directly under the comment that it is referencing. This allows readers to engage in back and forth discussions with each other, along with allowing you to reply directly to specific comments that are left.
Subscribe to Comments: When someone leaves a comment, there is a good chance that they may be interested in the responses it generates. Under normal circumstances, they would have to continually revisit the comment area to see if anyone has directly replied to them.
However, once the Subscribe to Comments plugin is installed, when someone leaves a comment, they have the option to subscribe to the subsequent comments that are left. This means that instead of checking back (which they may forget to do), they will be sent an email each time a future comment is left on that specific post.
Top Commentators Widget: If you are looking for a way to encourage more discussion on your website, one method for accomplishing this is by rewarding the people who contribute the most. The Top Commentator Widget allows you to add a box to your sidebar that displays the individuals who have left the most comments on your blog over a specific period of time (along with a link to their blog or website).
Gravatars: Although this last item isn’t technically a plugin (even though there is a WP-Gravatar plugin that has been designed to provide different gravatar functionalities), it’s definitely an important element for getting the most out of your comments. The reason that gravatars are important is because they give your readers an opportunity to define their identity. Also, because gravatars are a visual representation of a person (whether it is an actual picture or a fictional avatar), they give readers an opportunity to connect with you and other readers on a more personal level.
Since gravatars are automatically supported by WordPress, you can control their settings from the WordPress dashboard (in WordPress 2.7, click the Settings menu in the left side of the Dashboard, followed by the Discussion link, and you will find the relevant settings at the bottom of the page). If you are having trouble getting your current them to properly support gravatars, you can visit the official help page.
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