I said it was coming, and sure enough, it's here: the new Unfair Park comments courtesy Disqus, which promises "a higher quality of conversations" (we'll see about that). I know, I know -- and just when you'd gotten used to Captcha, which has provided the Friends of Unfair Park with countless seconds of amusement in recent months as we attempted to keep the spam in a can. Alas, to Captcha we bid a fond scure dozney.
On the other side, our web editor, Nick Rallo, has provided a list of just a few of the things Disqus does, though, look, it's fairly self-explanatory -- or should be to anyone who's ever been on the Internet. Long story short: It's intended to turn comments into a "community," which means you can talk directly with each other (in a thoughtful, even-handed and hilarious tone of voice, cough) via threaded comments, create a profile (or not; see Schutze, Jim), like and dislike comments and so forth -- very 2007, in other words, which for us is a giant leap forward. Still no sarcasm font, though. Shame.
Next on the to-do list: new search engine, coming in a few weeks or thereabouts. So, Christmas done come early. I know -- you already hate it.
So, Friends of Unfair Park, here's Nick:
Disqus is the same commenting system on CNN.com, TechCrunch and many, many hipstery Tumblr blogs. We've decided to make the switch because Disqus offers some very cool features that include:
Instant Posting
Comments will go live as soon as hit send -- which means the ability to have a real-time conversation is more likely. Think of it as an online chat. We're trying to make this whole deal more personal. Disqus also lets you comment via Smartphone, so have at it there too.
Threaded Conversations
Remember all those times you had to type a response like "@Man In The Mirror: That's a bunch of nonsense." No more. In addition to commenting on a post, you can post comments to OTHER comments -- inline. You'll also be able to share those comments on Facebook and Twitter.Get Comments By E-mail
Each user can subscribe to comments -- on any blog post -- to be notified when someone replies to your comments.
Commenter Profiles
You can be as anonymous or as open as you desire. Disqus allows you to create a profile for yourself, or log in through Facebook. You'll stay logged-in, and you'll be able to comment as easily as before.
