Open-source comment engines

Question

I'm looking for a solid open-source commenting engine written in PHP. It needs to have workflow/moderation capabilities as well.

I've checked into Disqus, and while I like the concept, the site owner's may develop their own login system at a later point, which would have to integrate with the comment system. Also, I'm not sure that they want the comments hosted remotely.

Does anyone have any recommendations that I might look into? Alternatively, if you have experience with Disqus, what do you like/dislike about it?

Answer 1

I've used disqus on several of my sites and I really love it. The best part about it is the login. Like you said, they have a Disqus specific login for comments, but you can also login using Facebook connect, Twitter, OpenID and many others. You don't have to have a Disqus account to comment. Even if you don't, it still pulls your avatar, and basic information from those other services.

However, if you do decide to sign up for a Disqus account, you can associate it with Facebook and Twitter, so you can log in with any and it keeps track of all your comments.

As a commenter, it's a very simplified comment service. As a blog admin/writer it gives me a way to have a great comment system that's also social with minimal investment from the users. By just clicking the facebook connect button they're automatically logged in and commenting.

On the downside, I have seen some scripting errors that cause the comment editing area to render improperly. It doesn't happen very often, but has made me consider trying out Intense Debate.