• Better local sync queue management for faster, more reliable syncing
• Better option management to reduce the number of queries generated by the plugin
• Improved mobile device support (the iPad now always loads IntenseDebate and ID works with the WPTouch theme)
• Better compatibility with WordPress 3.0 (and previous versions) running in WP_DEBUG mode (avoid deprecated functions etc)
• Some syncing fixes that make sure your WordPress comments database matches the comments in IntenseDebate

Please note that this version REQUIRES WordPress 2.8 or higher (and has been tested all the way up to the latest 3.0.1). If you are running a version of WordPress below 2.8, we have NOT tested this version, and it’s likely not to work. Hey, it’s time to upgrade that thing!

We strongly recommend that you update to this version of the plugin as soon as it appears in your WordPress admin panel as it provides some great performance improvements. If you don’t have IntenseDebate installed yet, or would rather update manually, jump on over to our WordPress.org plugins directory page and grab a copy now.

Hats off to all contributors, including Beau Lebens (you know him as the code ninja behind the IntenseDebate WordPress Plugin and Gravatar Profiles).

Major new features in this release include a sexy new default theme called Twenty Ten.

Theme developers have new APIs that allow them to easily implement custom backgrounds, headers, shortlinks, menus (no more file editing), post types, and taxonomies. (Twenty Ten theme shows all of that off.) Developers and network admins will appreciate the long-awaited merge of MU and WordPress, creating the new multi-site functionality which makes it possible to run one blog or ten million from the same installation.

As a user, you will love the new lighter interface, the contextual help on every screen, the 1,217 bug fixes and feature enhancements, bulk updates so you can upgrade 15 plugins at once with a single click, and blah blah blah just watch the video. (In HD, if you can, so you can catch the Easter eggs.)

via – WordPress.org

Version 2.8 is available right now in the WordPress Plugin Directory, and you’ll be prompted to upgrade within your WordPress admin panel in the next few hours if you’re already running it. With this version you’ll be able to install our IntenseDebate widgets directly through your WordPress admin panel without having to insert them directly into your theme.

To add an IntenseDebate widget to your sidebar, select the Appearance tab in your WordPress admin panel sidebar → select Widgets → drag the IntenseDebate widget from the Available Widgets or Inactive Widgets area on the left into the Sidebar area on the right. When you see a dashed line appear, you can drop the widget into place. You can also change the order of the widgets by dragging and dropping them around in the sidebar.

Please note: in order to use this widget install method, your theme must support widgets.

We’re also working on some very-cool backend updates to our sync and import queues. More details to come.

UPDATE: our Blogger to WordPress comment import plugin has been temporarily disabled while we make some backend changes. The plugin will be available again once we’re done. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your patience!

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I’ve received a lot of emails lately from IntenseDebate users interested in moving their blog from Blogger to WordPress, along with their IntenseDebate comments. Moving your IntenseDebate comments from one blog platform to another may seem like a simple task, but the changes in post ID and URL structures can lead to some difficulties.

Luckily our good buddy and fellow Boulderite, Josh Fraser, wrote an excellent plugin for moving your IntenseDebate comments from Blogger to WordPress. Josh’s plugin has been around for some time now (over a year!) and it’s been tested pretty thoroughly – so far it has performed flawlessly (a testament of Josh’s coding wizardry).

So, if you’re planning on moving from Blogger to WordPress, you can download Josh’s Blogspot2WP plugin. You’ll need to install it the old-fashioned way, via your FTP client, and drop it in your WP-Content → Plugins folder. Make sure you install, activate, and run the Blogspot2WP plugin before you install the IntenseDebate WordPress plugin. Give us a shout at support@intensedebate.com with any questions.

Please note: IntenseDebate is and will always be platform agnostic, and will always be available for use with any CMS and blog platform.

Some info if you’re interested in moving your blog from Blogger to WordPress:
Making the transition is pretty painless thanks to the Blogger importer built-in to the WordPress core. You can use the importer to transfer all of your Blogger posts, native Blogger comments, and users.  The importer is available in your WordPress admin panel under Tools → Import → Blogger. You can learn more about importing in the WordPress Codex.

Today we released version 2.6 of our WordPress plugin, which is available in the WordPress Plugin Directory, or via your WordPress dashboard.  It’s been a while since we released a new version of our WordPress plugin (over 2 months actually).  That’s because we’ve been pushing-out all the new features and code on our end, rather than making you update all the time – no one likes upgrade fatigue.

Version 2.6 has a few minor changes that are needed to make the IntenseDebate plugin fully compatible with certain combinations of WordPress 2.9 and PHP.

If you’re already using the plugin without any problems then it’s not critical that you update, but it’s always a good idea to stay up-to-date with the latest versions. If you had any problems getting the plugin working previously, now is a great time to give IntenseDebate another try.  Version 2.6 should be the perfect cure for your plugin fever.

Download the latest version now and give it a shot!

We recently reached a major milestone for the IntenseDebate WordPress plugin: we’ve passed 100,000 downloads of our plugin through the WordPress repository!

Even cooler yet, that statistic does not include the total number of Blogger, Typepad, Movable Type, Tumblr, Joomla, Squarespace, iWeb, Ning, Omeka, Drupal, or Generic installs of IntenseDebate.

Thanks for your continued support and for helping us spread the word about IntenseDebate.  Here’s to the next 100,000!

The screencast:

Audio & shots of Beau:

You can read Beau’s full post at his blog, DentedReality.

• Added a bunch of new API functions to enable better remote queue management (for syncing): get comment counts, get approved comment counts, get a copy of your sync queue, manage individual operations, lock queue temporarily
• Improved handling of duplicate comments
• Improved syncing on comment statuses
• Fixed a bug with closing comments on a Post/Page
• Added partial support for the Trash feature coming in WordPress 2.9*
• Added functionality to allow us to re-import a single Post to help fix up any sync problems (more efficient than re-importing your entire site)
• Lots of small improvements and fixes to the way the sync queue operates to avoid overloading your site (and ours) and to increase the success of requests.

* We’re going to be releasing an update in the near future, once we sort out a few remaining issues with the Trash functionality. When you upgrade to WordPress 2.9 (once it’s released!) you’ll also want to upgrade to that new version.

This version of the plugin has gone through a load of testing on WordPress versions 2.5, right up to the current “trunk” and WordPressMU version 2.6 to the current release (2.8.5.2). We’d like to note that in the next versions, we’re going to drop support for versions of WordPress below 2.7, so if for some reason you’re running an old version of WordPress, we’d strongly recommend that you upgrade!

If you are already using IntenseDebate on your WordPress blog then you should see a plugin update notification in your admin dashboard soon. If you haven’t tried us out yet, then now is the perfect time, with our best plugin release to date! You can search for the plugin (“IntenseDebate Comments”) under Plugins > Add New, or download it directly from the WordPress Plugin Directory.

We also got the chance to collaborate with the rest of the Automattic crew to look at how IntenseDebate can integrate with other Automattic projects, and learn how to apply their scaling knowledge to our systems.

While some of the projects aren’t ready to be disclosed yet, here are some general details about what we’re working on (please note that these include long-term projects):

• Backend Loading Optimization: We’re really excited about this project.  We are currently working on a new method for optimizing how we load comments and trackbacks.  This will improve load times even as the volume of comments on your blog continues to increase, as well as correct a couple of bugs.  Loading IntenseDebate will be even more seamless!
• More Sync Improvements: We had the opportunity to pick the brains of our brilliant WordPress system engineers about the inner-workings of WordPress. We will be adapting some of the code and principles they use to improve the quality of our syncing engine.  This is going to be huge for our plugin and will correct those pesky sync discrepancies that have been floating around affecting comment counts and backups.
• WordPress Plugin Overhaul: The core of our WordPress plugin was written prior to joining Automattic.  Since then our understanding of the WordPress codebase has drastically improved.  We have now identified significant portions of the plugin code that can be simplified or optimized making it much more lightweight and perform better.  The principles that we are applying in this overhaul will eventually be applied to our integrations with other platforms across the board.
• Moderation, Moderation, Moderation! Bug fixes aside, optimizing moderation is high priority.  The main moderation project that we’re currently working on is reworking your moderation page.  We will be minimizing the time you spend moderating comments and filtering spam, and simplifying your user experience.
• Support Documentation and Forums: We’re beefing-up our FAQ and support resources for end users, publishers and developers. This will help  everyone to find the answers they’re looking for.  More info to come on this one soon.

It’s an exciting time here at IntenseDebate!  We’re looking forward to pushing out loads of new code, and we will be depending on you for your feedback.  Keep an eye right here on our blog for the latest news.

We’re extremely excited to introduce the latest enhancement to your IntenseDebate comments, Admin Comment Editing.

Now you can edit the details of all comments on all posts on your site (if you’re a site admin of course).  No more letting your users run wild, unless you’re into that sort of thing.

Comment Edit links are located in two different places in your account at IntenseDebate.com: your Moderation page, and your Comment History page (for editing comments that have already been posted).  If you are using our WordPress Plugin, you will find a link to edit comments in your WordPress admin panel.

Please note: you will not be able to edit user info for authenticated comments (like those posted using an IntenseDebate, Twitter, or Facebook account).

We built this feature based on your feedback, so keep it coming.  We’ve always got an eye out for cool ideas and we’re always listening, so please feel free to share your thoughts with us.  If you haven’t given IntenseDebate a try yet, there’s no better time than now.  Get started!