Blog Azeroth

Please note that I'm talking about subscribing to comments within the wordpress native comment system. If you use DISQUS or INTENSEDEBATE, subscribing is built-in to that system.

Subscribing to comments by e-mail is KEY! Your commenters don't want to have to check articles over and over to see if someone new has responded.

There are a few options that will add a check box to the bottom of your comment form. If the commenter checks the box, he or she will then receive e-mails when the topic is updated.

What is double-opt-in? Double opt-in means that the commenter will click the check box, hit submit, and then receive an e-mail asking ARE YOU SURE? The commenter will have to click the link within the e-mail to confirm that he or she does in fact want to receive these e-mails with comment updates on that post.

I'm interested to hear what you think about double opt-in. I do not like it, because it is a pain!

Here are your basic options for subscribing by e-mail:

Subscribe to Comments. This is the original and is not updated. Does not include double-opt-in.

Gurken Subscribe to Comments. Updated Frequently. Double-opt-in is optional.

Subscribe to Double-Opt-In Comments. Updated Frequently. Double-opt-in is mandatory.

I use Gurken because I do not like double-opt-in but I wanted something up-to-date.

Subscribe without commenting. Has it ever happened that you submit your comment, realize you did NOT check the box, and now it is too late to subscribe by e-mail, unless you leave another comment? Or is there a thread you are following that you want to watch the comments, but you don't want to leave one?

Well, all of the above comment plugins ALLOW you to subscribe without commenting. Except they require you to change your theme template. Ugh. No.

Soooo... you can download Subscribe to Comments Now. This puts a little e-mail box at the end of the comment form that allows people to subscribe without commenting. Hawt.

Check out my blog to see Gurken and Subscribe to Comments Now in action.

Nice. Thanks for the updates, I'll be looking at both of these options.

Ok, an update on this. Hands-down Subscribe to Comments Reloaded is the best. It allows subscribing without commenting, double opt in if you want - all in one neat package. It is the most elegant solution.