We released a cool new setting for reported comments (comments that your readers flag as inappropriate). You can now opt to have the comments automatically put into moderation for review. This handy option can help you and your readers keep your comments clean and debates friendly.

To enable this option, visit your Comments Settings, and check the box next to Send comments to moderation when reported (located at the bottom of the page). Make sure you save your settings. This setting excludes comments posted by site admins and moderators, as well as comments that you have already approved.

While you’re there you can also take advantage of our Auto-Delete setting for reported comments. With the Auto-Delete option, you can set a maximum number of times that a comment is reported before the comment is deleted. This is another super-handy feature for crowdsourcing moderation.

Both of these options are based entirely on your feedback, and we’re happy to deliver them!

Posted by Michael Koenig in features

We receive loads of feedback from you all on how to improve IntenseDebate, and the majority of what we develop is based on your requests. I read and respond to all of your emails, and one piece of feedback I receive daily is that we all love trackbacks, but sometimes they can really get in the way of a solid debate when they’re mixed in with your comments.

With that in mind, we’ve added a new layout option to separate trackbacks from the comments section. This new stylish option places your trackbacks above the comment section instead of having them mixed in.

This option is available at the bottom of your Comments Settings page at http://intensedebate.com/edit-site-comments.

Thanks again for your feedback!

Posted by Michael Koenig in features

We love it when the entire Automattic team gets together – it gives us an opportunity to hang out and work side-by-side. During our last meetup in San Francisco, fellow Aussies, Beau Lebens and Alex Shiels, sat down to brainstorm some ways to improve our Akismet spam filter integration in IntenseDebate. A short-while later they cranked out a completely reworked integration that has drastically improved the accuracy of our spam filtering.

If you haven’t already, please make sure you enable Akismet in your IntenseDebate account at http://intensedebate.com/edit-site-moderation.

Please give us a shout at support@intensedebate.com if you continue to encounter spam issues. Thanks!

Posted by Michael Koenig in features,News

We’re stoked to introduce our latest plugin, Facebook Share for Comments. This nifty plugin was written by Jon, the master code ninja himself, and gives your commenters the option to click to share their comments on Facebook after they post.

While we have offered this as standard integration with our Facebook Connect feature, the new Facebook Share for Comments plugin gives all commenters (IntenseDebate, WordPress.com, Facebook Connect, Twitter Sign-in, and Guest users) the option to post back to their Facebook activity stream when they comment.

After posting a comment, just select the “Share on Facebook” button → connect to your Facebook account (if you’re not already logged-in) → customize the message you’re posting in your activity stream → hit submit!

The implementation is similar to our Facebook Share button plugin, so you don’t need to setup a new Facebook app or enter a Facebook API Key. Like all of our plugins, you just have to go to your Plugins Directory at http://intensedebate.com/plugins, select the “Activate” link next to the plugin, and voilà, the plugin is activated and ready to use in your comments. There’s no additional code for you to manually install, so there’s no need to get your hands dirty messing around with your template.

Interested in flexing your own coding muscles and developing a super-slick plugin? Check out our Plugin Resources and documentation. You can also check out our Plugins blog post for more information.

Posted by Michael Koenig in community,features

Happy May 5th everyone. To celebrate we’ve released two updates: bit.ly URL’s for tweeted comments, and comment voting for everyone.

We used to use tinyurl.com for link shortening when you sent a simultaneous tweet when commenting. Now we’ve switched to bit.ly and you can track real-time click data for your tweets.

And in the spirit of freedom, we have enabled comment voting for everyone: IntenseDebate, WordPress.com, Facebook Connect, and Twitter Sign-in users, along with Guest commenters.

Both of these updates have been requested frequently so we’re happy to deliver. Enjoy! 🙂

Posted by Michael Koenig in features