From dcfb172704f3afb68a30425029ec834be2883274 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: bt Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2024 13:22:19 -0400 Subject: More content porting, on-going markdown changes for lowdown support --- build/poormans-comment-system/index.html | 85 +++++++++++++++++++++----------- 1 file changed, 55 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-) (limited to 'build/poormans-comment-system/index.html') diff --git a/build/poormans-comment-system/index.html b/build/poormans-comment-system/index.html index feca90a..e8554e5 100644 --- a/build/poormans-comment-system/index.html +++ b/build/poormans-comment-system/index.html @@ -1,63 +1,88 @@ - + My Cheapskate Commenting System - - + + +
-

My Cheapskate Commenting System

+

My Cheapskate Commenting System

+

2022-02-03

-

My blog now has comments! Well, kind of...

-

I went down a two day long rabbit-hole trying to find the best solution for implementing comments on my static website (generated via Jekyll FYI). There are a ton of options out there and many open source models that allow you to spin up your own instance with something like DigitalOcean or AWS. But I'm a cheap bastard. I refuse to spend $5/month on a blog mostly used for fun and one that I have zero incentive to "monetize".

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So, what free options did this old miser have left to chose from? To my surprise, there were two solid options that initially caught my eye! Let's take a look then, shall we?

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Remarkbox

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Overall I don't have many bad things to say about Remarkbox. It looks nice, is easy to implement and runs a "pay what you can" pricing model. What more could you ask for?! The major issue (for me, personally) is precisely that; the free model. This makes it difficult for me to trust 100% that this system will still be around in 3-4 years. Now I know - even paid systems can shutdown unexpectedly, but I find free tier options end up shutting their doors sooner. There is an option to self-host Remarkbox, but that requires a yearly license and also comes back to the point I made about not wanting to pay for hosting...

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Utterances (Github-based)

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The other major option was Utterances. This system was almost the winner due to it's pretty great feature set:

+ +

My blog now has comments! Well, kind of…

+ +

I went down a two day long rabbit-hole trying to find the best solution for implementing comments on my static website (generated via Jekyll FYI). There are a ton of options out there and many open source models that allow you to spin up your own instance with something like DigitalOcean or AWS. But I’m a cheap bastard. I refuse to spend $5/month on a blog mostly used for fun and one that I have zero incentive to “monetize”.

+ +

So, what free options did this old miser have left to chose from? To my surprise, there were two solid options that initially caught my eye! Let’s take a look then, shall we?

+ +

Remarkbox

+ +

Overall I don’t have many bad things to say about Remarkbox. It looks nice, is easy to implement and runs a “pay what you can” pricing model. What more could you ask for?! The major issue (for me, personally) is precisely that; the free model. This makes it difficult for me to trust 100% that this system will still be around in 3-4 years. Now I know - even paid systems can shutdown unexpectedly, but I find free tier options end up shutting their doors sooner. There is an option to self-host Remarkbox, but that requires a yearly license and also comes back to the point I made about not wanting to pay for hosting…

+ +

Utterances (Github-based)

+ +

The other major option was Utterances. This system was almost the winner due to it’s pretty great feature set:

+
  1. Open source
  2. No tracking, no ads
  3. All data stored in GitHub issues
  4. Free!
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But take a look above at point number three. The fact that readers wishing to leave a comment are required to have a Github account. For me, this is a non-starter. I don't want to force my audience to sign up for or sign in to any account just to leave a simple comment on my humble blog. Considering a number of my readers are part of the FOSS community, this just seemed like a bad fit.

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Finding Inspiration

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I absolutely love the solar.lowtechmagazine.com website (both for it's content and design) and indirectly found my comment system inspiration there. Okay let's be honest, I completely stole their commenting system "concept". Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

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My Comment System is...

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E-mail. It's just plain e-mail.

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I've setup a basic comment-prompt.html in my _includes folder that contains a mailto action button[^1]:

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<a href="mailto:myemail.com?subject=RE: { { page.title | uri_escape } }">
-    <button>Comment via email</button>
-</a>
+
+
But take a look above at point number three. The fact that readers wishing to leave a comment are required to have a Github account. For me, this is a non-starter. I don’t want to force my audience to sign up for or sign in to any account just to leave a simple comment on my humble blog. Considering a number of my readers are part of the FOSS community, this just seemed like a bad fit.

+
+
Finding Inspiration

+
+
I absolutely love the solar.lowtechmagazine.com website (both for it’s content and design) and indirectly found my comment system inspiration there. Okay let’s be honest, I completely stole their commenting system “concept”. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

+
+
My Comment System is…

+
+
E-mail. It’s just plain e-mail.

+
+
I’ve setup a basic comment-prompt.html in my _includes folder that contains a mailto action button[^1]:

+
+
<a href="mailto:myemail.com?subject=RE: { { page.title | uri_escape } }">
+    <button>Comment via email</button>
+</a>
 

-
This include template is placed at the bottom of every article automatically. Then, that action pulls in the article's title as the e-mail subject line in the user's default mailing app. That's it.

-
Pros

+
+
This include template is placed at the bottom of every article automatically. Then, that action pulls in the article’s title as the e-mail subject line in the user’s default mailing app. That’s it.

+
+
Pros

+
 
    
 
  • No third party application needed
    • 
 
  • Privacy focused
    • 
-
  • More direct interaction with my audience/readers
    • 
+
  • More direct interaction with my audience/readers
    • 
 
  • Builds a much more close-knit community
    • 
 
  • Completely free!
    • 
 

-
Cons

+
+
Cons

+
 
    
 
  • Must be manually curated and posted
    • 
 
  • No notifications
    • 
-
  • No "built-in" reply functionality
    • 
-
  • Has the potential to become unwieldy...
    • 
+
  • No “built-in” reply functionality
    • 
+
  • Has the potential to become unwieldy…
    • 
 

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Fun Experiment

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I figure either way, this will be an interesting experiment. I don't know my audience size (since I don't use any type of tracking) but I assume it's very small. Those willing to write me a personal e-mail in order to share their thoughts on my stupid little blog probably have something interesting to say. At least I hope so. 

-
Let's see how this thing goes...

+
+
Fun Experiment

+
+
I figure either way, this will be an interesting experiment. I don’t know my audience size (since I don’t use any type of tracking) but I assume it’s very small. Those willing to write me a personal e-mail in order to share their thoughts on my stupid little blog probably have something interesting to say. At least I hope so. 

+
+
Let’s see how this thing goes…