Plugin Review – Fun With In-Context Comments
16. Jun, 2008 
15 Comments - Leave your comment
Andrew Rickmann, friend and fellow RA Project contributor, has released a new plugin called Fun With In-Context Comments for WordPress 2.5.
The plugin allows you to add questions to your comment section, which readers can optionally answer.
Applications
The applications for such a plugin are enormous. If you’re running a political blog, you can ask questions on current issues.
If you’re running a celebrity blog, you can ask questions based on a certain celebrity.
And, most importantly, if you are writing a support-type post, you can ask users for their browser, operating system, and whatever else you can possibly think of.
Brief Overview of Features
When you head into the WordPress 2.5 Comments panel, you’ll see an option for “Global Contexts”. From there, you can specify a number of options. You can also add questions, which you can then optionally add on any post or page with comments enabled.
Global Contexts – Adding a Question
The neat thing about this plugin is you can also add questions from a post, which will only apply for the post in question. This makes the plugin both flexible, and completely post independent.
Post Contexts – Choosing or Adding a Question
From a commenter’s point of view, you are presented an optional question when leaving a comment, which will then show up in the comment.
Leaving a Comment
And the final feature I’ll mention: It’s fully compatible with the latest version of Ajax Edit Comments.
Compatible with AEC 2.1
Future Versions
Andrew mentioned to me that he’s planning on adding a feature to tally how many people have answered a question in a particular manner, which is very similar to a poll.
Conclusion
Fun With In-Context Comments is a nice way to unobtrusively ask readers a question, which will hopefully put a reader’s comment in the context of a post.
The plugin will help with support issues, and will also assist readers when filtering comments based on a particular answer.
As a sidenote, Andrew’s plugin is also part of the WeblogToolsCollection plugin competition. If you have a moment, please check out his plugin over there and give him some feedback.
I also have the plugin installed here if you’d like to try it out on this post.
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Author Info
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
Test comment for In-Context Plugins.
Blog Platform : Movable Type
Another test comment – “I Don’t Blog”
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
Cool!
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
Wow, this is very cool
Blog Platform : I do not blog
Hey, this is cool! I’m already thinking of a questions list
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
Nice plugin… It would be cool to be able to answer without leaving a comment I think.
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
I agree with previous comment.
Admin should be able to choose not to make answers visible to public.
I see big potential with this plugin but with some basic improvements (more questions, mandatory or not, back-end re-presentation of answers, basic features for surveys) and I am sure it would become must to use for all serious marketers.
You guys are doing great job and deserve success with your commercial projects
Glad that I found you!
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
If I want to show inside the comment another title different for the filter?
Sorry wrong words, I’m brazilian.
Thanks!
PS.: WP is 2.6
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
thanks a lot from Russia
I’ve recently updated to 2.6 and I find it so easy compared to previous Word Press releases. Fantastic plugin and online resource for Word press.
Tony.
Blog Platform : WordPress 2.5
That plugin is cool. I think ill use in my blog!
I left my email, but work for a large SEO firm. I have been wanting to work on a tool and have some ideas for a tool that similar to what you are speaking about. Would love to chat with you further as I am not a programmer : { But I am a Geek and understand the principles…Just not main area of focus -Let me know if you would be interested,thanks
’ve you’ve ever tried to find the solution to a problem in the comments of a plugin author’s blog then you may have encountered the frustration of reading a possible solution only to find that it related to a different version of the plugin, or a different version of WordPress
see big potential with this plugin but with some basic improvements (more questions, mandatory or not, back-end re-presentation of answers, basic features for surveys) and I am sure it would become must to use for all serious marketers.