DISQUS has proven to be unique. I am able to record my observations about this distinctive comment management system in my blog. Firstly, I realized that what makes DISQUS a winner is that it removes hurdles for users across the web for managing multiple logins when all they want to do is just comment. The user can log in with Facebook, Twitter, OpenID, or a Yahoo! account and comment. This is the first win.
Other significant advantages that make DISQUS stand out from other commenting platforms are:
•Real-time comments – DISQUS launched a newer version of their system named “DISQUS 2012” which has improved features. One major enhancement was that DISQUS now works in real-time which implies that you don’t have to refresh a page to check for new comments. In fact, you can have a conversation within the DISQUS comment section as you would have on Facebook or MSN.
•Email replies to commenters – If you leave a comment in DISQUS, you will get an email when anyone replies to your comment. This also helps in active commenting and replying.
•Seamless integration with any website – DISQUS integrates seamlessly into any website or blog regardless of the platform of that website/blog. With a few quick and easy steps you can have your new commenting system up and running in no time.
•Practically handles all spam – DISQUS uses its own anti-spam software to smartly combat comment spam. As it was designed to learn over time and becomes increasingly accurate with your moderation activity.
•Shared profiles – As more and more websites are opting for DISQUS for their websites, profiles that commenters create are shared across blogs. This benefits bloggers in their communities.
•User analytics – The DISQUS dashboard provides information on the users commenting on your site, including user reputation, history, post-approval rating, like from other users, and more.
While there are certainly advantages to this system, there are also a handful of disadvantages in using DISQUS. The biggest problem which websites face is Search Engines Optimization (SEO). As search engines cannot crawl in a JavaScript comment widget and comments are fresh content to any website which search engines value highly. This poses a pretty big drawback. Another big disadvantage of using DISQUS or any other third party commenting system is that it lessens your control over it. Users can sometimes experience a slow page load or even no response if the DISQUS server is down.
Though the blog details some of the pros and cons of using DISQUS, the system eds up being easy to use for both commenters and readers.
