Comment Notifier

Let the users to subscribe a post and receive an email each time other users add comments. Keep the discussions in you on fire!

Do you already use the subscribe to comment plugin? If so you don't need the comment notifier. If not, you may want to try out this plugin: it's like subscribe to comments but a lot easier.

I wrote it while explaining others how a WordPress plugin works. It's very easy to understand and to use (and it can import the subscribe to comments subscriptions).

If you decide to install a try it, remeber you have to modify your theme to add the "checkbox" where the user can choose if or not to subscribe to the new comments.

The code to add is very simple:

<input type="checkbox" name="subscribe"/> Notify me of new comment

or, if you want the checkbox to be already checked (not very nice), use the code below:

<input type="checkbox" name="subscribe" checked="checked"/> Notify me of new comment

Probably you need to adapt a little the codes above to your theme.

Then you must configure the plugin. A little number of settings are required: a sender name and password, the subject of the emails to be sent and the message. There are some "tags" that can be used in the message body and in the subject to customize the layout and the content.

Pay attention to add at least the {unsubscribe} placeholder in the body of the email message: it will be replaced with a link to unsubscribe the notifications.

The emails sent out are pure text emails: do not insert html code!

Another field to be filled if the "successful unsubscribe message": it's the text showed to the users when they decide to unsubscribe. After unsubscription they will be redirect to the home page. Simple and useful.

What follow are some examples of subject and body for the emails:

Subject:

New comment on "{title}"

Message:

There is a new comment left by {author}:

{message}

If you like to read more or answer, follow this link:

{link}

If you don't want to receive other notification, please unsubscribe

following this link: {unsubscribe)

Good bye!

The plugin create a new table in the WordPress database named "subscriptions" if you need to look into it. There is no translations available if you wonder about it, but all the messages are modifiable on the options page. There is no subscription management (like in the subscribe to comment plugin) and I think I won't implement it. Feel free to ask for, I'll be free to say no...

Importing from subscribe to comment: if you press the button "import" in the options page, the plugin look to all you blog comment, seeking for comments that has the column "comment_subscribe" to "Y" (this columns is added by the subscribe to comment plugin) and the "comment_approved" to "1".

All the subscriptions found are added to the new table. If you run the import more times, nothing bad happens, there is a unique index that avoids duplicates. Not the best way to do it, but works and requires no php code...

You can download the plugin here. As usual, for any problem leave a comment or write me: info@satollo.com.

How works the unsubscription? To unsubscribe, a user follow the link in the email: this link points to the home page of the blog, adding two special parameters (and id and a token).

The plugin "intercepts" those calls and delete the relative suscription. Easy.