
Show HN: CommentBox.io – a responsible alternative to Disqus - shaunpersad
https://commentbox.io
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darekkay
This looks really solid! I will include it in my blog post [0], where I
evaluate many different ways and tools to integrate comments on a static site.

I really like that you provide a free plan, but I don't understand, why your
pricing depends both on bandwidth _and_ monthly comments published. I would
also prefer a flat comments-per-month plan, so I didn't have to pay extra 5$
if I get 51 comments in a single month.

[0] [https://darekkay.com/blog/static-site-
comments/](https://darekkay.com/blog/static-site-comments/)

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shaunpersad
Hi Everyone! I'm the maker of CommentBox.io. Many of us who have built blogs
in the past have at least considered Disqus or Facebook Comments as their
commenting system. Their ubiquity is unquestioned, and the free price can't be
beat. But we're giving up trillions of data-points about us in return,
strengthening their data-mining, ad-serving machines.

What if providing a great hosted commenting platform was the only goal, and
didn't come with strings attached? I built CommentBox.io because I wanted to
give users an alternative, and I hope you like it!

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caesarbell
Finally, something we can use, with a piece of mind that our data is not being
sold. I also really enjoy the easy setup this product provides. I was able to
create two projects in minutes, which is really good because I have two
clients I am building blogs for.

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foxhop
I'm also in the space of "a responsible alternative to Disqus".

My offering is Remarkbox - I've been bootstrapping it for a few years now.

Reference: [https://www.remarkbox.com/](https://www.remarkbox.com/)

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masukomi
looks good, but when comparing it to CommentBox.io I have to say that their
blurb of "No ads. No Tracking. Just Comments. Hosted commenting that's
painless to embed, a pleasure to use, and a breeze to moderate." is _exactly_
what I want. I _think_ you offer the same thing (not sure about the
moderation), but they tell me that up front. that being said their $5 per 100
comments is effing scary if anything gets unexpectedly popular.

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foxhop
Thank you for the feedback. Copy writing is really hard and I will work on
getting the proper details upfront.

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18pfsmt
Sorry for the off-topic (and cyberstalking :), but that blog post about
Instagram's acquisition by FB? It has not aged well, but would be interesting
with an update 6 years later.

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foxhop
Thank you for the advice. I added an update to the top which reads:

    
    
        This post was originally written from a place of jealousy and bitterness.
    
        Turns out I was wrong about this transaction and for better-or-worse,
        Facebook (and Mark Zuckerburg) solidified their edge as the king of social for the last 6 years.

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RileyJames
Excellent, I was just building a website today which needs a privacy focused
version of Disqus. Signed up.

Feedback: Little annoying that it throws you straight to the "Create a
project" page, but then disables the "create button" until email is verified.
I went and verified my email, but then needed to refresh the page and fill all
the details out again to progress. Minor, but annoying (and right in your buy
funnel really)

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hkhanna
This is great, just signed up. A responsible alternative to Disqus has been
needed for years. I hadn't been able to find one when I was looking for a
hosted comment platform for my static page blog. Consider me a fan!

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darekkay
Some Disqus alternatives emerged in the last few years: Muut[0], Remarkbox[1],
Hosted Comments[2]. I've also linked my blog post in this thread with some
more alternatives for static sites.

[0] [https://muut.com/](https://muut.com/)

[1] [https://www.remarkbox.com/](https://www.remarkbox.com/)

[2] [https://www.hostedcomments.com/](https://www.hostedcomments.com/)

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foxhop
Thanks for including Remarkbox.

Could you update your blog post to explain that the Free Remarkbox plan does
include the ability to moderate comments? This is a change I made a few months
back.

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darekkay
Done, keep up the good work :)

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codegeek
Build a WordPress Plugin and you could get a huge market share with blog
writers etc. I know its embeddable using JS but build a WP plugin and could be
huge for you. All the best.

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shaunpersad
Yeah, it's been the #1 requested feature so far. It's in progress!

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codegeek
The plugin itself can be free and it will give you huge marketing exposure
with literally millions of people. Use the recommended practice by codex and
get it added to wordpress.org. Profit while giving something back to the
community. Win-Win. Don't delay it. Get it out there NOW.

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caesarbell
A very good product, I feel like for a v1 product you are providing us the
users with some pretty strong fundamental features needed for a great
commenting box system. Keep up the good work, I am excited to see what this
product does in the future.

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hbcondo714
Is it possible to allow users to add their comments in an annotation format?
This would be helpful for lengthy web pages where users can inline their
comments within the content itself.

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shaunpersad
Not at the moment, no. But that would be a great addition. Thanks for the
suggestion!

