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The Late, Lamented ‘Edit’ Feature

James Joyner
16

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Some while back, we installed a plugin that allowed limited editing of comments after posting. Alas, that plugin is not compatible with more recent versions of WordPress, our blog software, and there do not appear to be any forthcoming updates to said plugin. Nor do there appear to be other plugins available that perform the same basic function that are compatible with the current version of WordPress. You’d think this would either be quite simple or part of the core WordPress functionality. Alas, not so much.

We’ll keep an eye out for updates and test them out if and when they’re available.

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16 responses to “The Late, Lamented ‘Edit’ Feature”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    Oh man, now I am going to have to read and edit my posts before I hit the post comment button. On a serious note, thanks for letting us know up front, James.

  2. mattb Avatar
    mattb

    Part of the reason that WordPress hasn’t been developing out the comments is the number of third party solutions that are dedicated to this. Automatic picks and chooses where it wants to compete with developers and the general feeling is that comments are not a winner for them.

    James, if editing is important, again, let me suggest looking into Disqus (again) – http://disqus.com/

    The latest build is very configurable, its proven that it can handle a lot of traffic (see the Atlantic), and is free.

  3. Stormy Dragon Avatar
    Stormy Dragon

    Um… I haven’t seen the edit button in like six months. Is this the reason why it disappeared, or was it working for some people until now?

  4. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Yes, disqus please

  5. mattb Avatar
    mattb

    @Stormy Dragon:
    It also depends on what browser you used. If you’re a chrome user, that button was gone a long time ago.

  6. sam Avatar
    sam

    Damm Dumn Danm Damn.

  7. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    @mattb: @Andy: I tried Disqus a couple years back and didn’t like it. Not a fan of having a third party control my comments. Also, it didn’t handle emailing comments to me very well. I could give it another try to see how it’s evolved if it’s popular with readers.

    @Stormy Dragon: It was working for logged in users, so it was there for me. Some commenters had noted it a few times, so I had my guy look into it.

  8. Solomon Kleinsmith Avatar
    Solomon Kleinsmith

    I can’t stand Disqus or the other replacements either.

    BUT… there is a plugin you can try that I use on Rise of the Center, called ‘Ajax Edit Comments’, that has some nice options and sounds like what you’re looking for.

  9. mattb Avatar
    mattb

    @James Joyner: Totally understand the reluctance to use third party tools — in particular on content ownership issues.

    As with many “Free” internet apps, control is always a big trade off.

    All I’ll say is that Disqus has made some huge improvements to its system. And, at least for me, I find it to be the best compromise solution among the third party options.

  10. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    @Solomon Kleinsmith: That’s the plugin we’d been using here. It’s not compatible with current WordPress versions.

  11. Fiona Avatar
    Fiona

    I guess this means that I’ll actually have to read my posts before I post them.

  12. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    Tasting, tasting…

  13. steveegg Avatar
    steveegg

    @James Joyner: The current 5.x version, hijacked by an entity charging far more than the original developers, is indeed broken. Version 3.2.1 (the last “free” one from the original developers) however, works (or at least it works on my blog).

  14. anjin-san Avatar
    anjin-san

    My kingdom for a spell checker…

  15. Solomon Kleinsmith Avatar
    Solomon Kleinsmith

    @James Joyner: Weird… works fine on my site, and I’m fully updated as well.

    If I had to guess, I’d bet its an incompatibility with the theme or some other plugin. Have you tried turning off whatever plugin adds that “Helpful or Unhelptful” thing to the comments, that few people seem to be using anyhow?

    I’d be surprised if there aren’t other options out there that do the same thing…

  16. James Avatar
    James

    @James Joyner: I would like to chime in, in that the e-mail feature is very appreciated. Please try to keep it if you can.

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