So yesterday you may have noticed that the comments changed a bit on the site.

First off, we added that recent comments thing on the sidebar there (freaky, Eric), which allows you to toggle between top commenters and top posts comment-wise as well. But there’s also been sort of a semi-drastic overhaul with how you can post comments now. We use Disqus here (you can get a username at disqus.com, not that you need one) as most sites on the web do — and they actually had been working on a new version of their system and allowed plenty of people to try it out before it’s technically released, which is why it’s blue. After several days of using it myself, I activated it on the site…for one sole reason, really, because it seemed to me that it loaded faster. (I’ve struggled with whether or not I should use Disqus at all, but it seems I will for the near future.)

Besides that, there are some changes that I want to outline here so that you can use it however you’d like.

STARRING POSTS

Previously, if you liked a post, you could show support by clicking a “like” button below the post, before the comment input box. Instead of the like button, however, there’s a new “star” button…which is basically the same thing. Just click the star button to show that you appreciate the post. The downside, however, is that no one knows who “starred” that post — unlike before. But it is what it is.

VOTING

Also, previously, if you liked a comment, you could show it to that person by clicking “like” below their entry. Now however, it’s voting. And here’s the thing (that I kind of hate): you can vote up or vote down. It’s supposed to be a better way to reflect the feedback for the discussion, which I guess it is, but also just seems rude. Ha!

COMMUNITY TAB

Above the comments is a bar with three buttons: “Discussion,” “Community,” and “My Disqus.” Discussion is the current comments for the post you’re on; My Disqus is a list of notifications you have around the web. Community gives you an overview of comment interaction on the current site.

ANONYMITY?

For now, you can still log in as a guest and leave a comment. I’ve been thinking of removing that option and forcing people to sign in through some social network, only, truly, to build a community of familiar names and faces…but that remains to be seen.

So that’s basically what’s different. I just wanted to let you know that much of the same functionality is there, but just has a different name. Happy commenting!