JComments 2.3.0

The stable version of JComments 2.3 is available for download. This release took over a year to develop with extensive effort in optimizing the code, provision of maximum compatibility with third-party extensions and support for all existing versions of Joomla — Joomla 1.0, Joomla 1.5, Joomla 1.7 and Joomla 2.5. Multitude of new features and configuration options have been added. data importing has been extended to include five new third-party extensions and over 100 bugs fixed.

Download JComments 2.3.0!

All current users of previous versions are strongly advised to update JComments in their installations to JComments 2.3.

Detailed information about changes in JComments 2.3: Changelog for JComments 2.3.0.. In our opinion, the most exiting innovations are:

Comment list sorting order

In the Tree layout offers three display modes:

Usual - comments are sorted in the received order
Reverse - comments are sorted in the reverse order
Combined - the first comment level sorted in the reversed order (newest on top), replies to comments - in the order they are added

Comment deletion mode

There are two comment deletion modes implemented.

Delete the comment and all its replies - when executed, the comment is removed from the database along with all its replies
Mark as deleted - the comment is marked as deleted but is not removed from the database and is not displayed in the list of comments. The future version will offer the option to revert this deletion.

"Report to Administrator" feature

This allows the site users to send a notification with a complaint or issue about contents of a particular comment. The administrator (or administrators) will as the result receive an e-mail with the text of the report, the text of the reported comment, and links for quick deletion or unpublishing.

This version of the component has added a list of complaints in the Control Panel (in comment editing mode), the ability to filter comment list by presence of complaints, and three new options:

The maximum number of user reports accepted - after this number has been reached, the users will be given the message that this comment has already been reported
The number of reports before unbublishing - if the number of reports reaches this value, the comment is automatically unpublished. St this number to 0 to disable this feature.
Requirement to give a reason for the report - this allows to require the users to state their reason before the report is excepted.

"Blacklist" feature

This feature allows site administrators to block (ban) the author of a particular comment by IP-address. The list of blacklisted users can be viewed and edited in the administrative Control Panel. To begin using this feature you need to do the following actions:

In JComment's Settings, go to Restrictions tab and set Enable blacklisting to 'Yes'
In JComment's Settings, go to Permissions and assign Allow blacklisting users for those user groups whom you'd like to allow this function

"Import comments" feature

The updated mechanism for importing comments from third-party extensions now supports unlimited import volumes thus solving the age-old problem of PHP scripts execution timeouts.

Access level control

The component implements flexible Access level control for all existing user groups. For the sites built with Joomla 1.7 or Joomla 2.5 the new user group will be available to JComments as soon as it is added in User Manager.

Automated updates

Automatic updating functionality is available in the Extension Manager for Jomla 1.7 and Joomla 2.5. Therefore, after installing the component at your site, you will always know about new releases ans be able to update the component without leaving the Control Panel. New versions of JComment modules also support automated updates.

JComments modules

The following modules have been released for Joomla 1.5, Joomla 1.7, and Joomla 2.5:

JComments Latest - displays the list of latest added comments, featuring grouping by objects and time display relative to present (ex. 2 minute ago)
JComments Latest Commented - displays the list of last-commented objects (all objects from any extension integrated with JComments are supported)
JComments Most Commented - displays the list of most frequently commented objects (all objects from any extension integrated with JComments are supported) with ability to set a time period for tracking comments
JComments Top Posters - display the list of most active commenters (by by number of comments, by the aggregate comment votes)

Updating from JComments 2.2 to JComments 2.3

In order to update from JComments 2.2 to JComments 2.3 the following must be accomplished:

Make a backup of the database and files (just in case)
Make a backup of the folder /components/com_jcomments/images/smilies (if the smilies set was customized)
Remove the component in the Extension Manager of the Control Panel
Install JComments 2.3.0
Restore the backed up contents of the folder /components/com_jcomments/images/smiles
In the component's Control Panel select Manage Comments menu
Click "Refresh Objects" in the buttons panel and wait for the process to finish

Database structure updating, necessary fields addition, and data updating will be automatically performed during the installation. All comments and settings will be preserved.

Direct updating from older versions (1.4 or 2.1) is not available. Therefore, if you still run such an ancient version you will need to update to JComments 2.2 first.

Localizations

The standard distribution of JComments supports 40 languages for the site and 2 languages - English and Russian - for the component's administrative Control Panel. Additional language packages can be downloaded from the Localization page.

If you discover errors or inaccuracies in translation you can help fixing them at the JComments' localization project (Transifex.net).

Compatibility

JComments component is fully compatible with the entire Joomla! product line - from Joomla 1.0 to Joomla 2.5. Please note, however, that JComments 2.3 is the last version to support Joomla 1.0.

Development plans for JComments

Since Joomla 2.5 offers automated extension updating in the Control Panel which significantly simplified the process of updating extensions, the decision has been made to release new versions every 2 to 3 months. Thus the next version is planned for April or May of 2012. A list of schemed changes will be unveiled later.

How to start using the JComment if you used other comment systems and save all data.

The component supports import feature from 50+ third-party comment system components, including: AkoBook, BeeHeard, Chrono Comments, ComboMax, Cinema, EasyComment, HekimaBlog, HotOrNot2, Datso Gallery, JA Comment, JMovies, JMyLife, JXtended Comments, Jom Comment, JoomGallery, JoomlaComments, Link Directory, LyftenBloggie, MightyExtensions Resource, MosCom, Mosets Tree, MusicBox, Music Collection, MXcomment, Ice Gallery, PAXX Gallery, RDBS Comment, Remository, RS Gallery2, rsiComments, sliComments, SOBI2, TPDugg, J!Reactions, VirtueMart, UdjaComments, UrComment, yvComment, Webee Comment, ZiMB Comment, zOOm Media Gallery, ZOO 2.0.

The import feature allows you to start to use the JComments without any data loss.

Support

We provide support in English on our support forum and website. We will try to answer all your questions and hope that you would like our component.

For getting support of JComments component you may follow to special forum sections:

Gratitude

Let us express the greatest gratitude to the translators, members of the testing team and to all those who supported development of JComments morally and financially during these months. Thanks to all who assisted or simply patiently awaited JComments 2.3!

If you find JComments useful, please vote for it on: extensions.joomla.org