yvComment 
Version
2.01.0 (last update on Feb 11, 2013)
Rating
Compatibility
Reviews
81
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Date Added
3 May 2007
Editor's Note
- This extension inserts a hidden backlink to the developer.
It has two required parts (i.e., extensions): component + plugin. It also has a lot of optional extensions, including Module, Community Builder plugin, Content Subscription plugin and 35 Language packs, so the resulting solution may be very simple or more complex - it's up to you.
yvComment supports Captcha (secret word) extensions, Smileys, BBCodes, WYSIWYG editor, Community Builder, JNews and many content plugins and tools designed to work with Articles of Joomla! (e.g. GeSHi). yvComment allows users to add Comments to Articles (and optionally Comments to Comments also). Comments may be stored in the same database table used by content (where they are treated as a special type of Article), or in their own table. (Read more on the Homepage).
Replying to the Editor's note above: This extension does NOT have any hidden links. It does have the only visible link of the form: "yvComment v.X.XX", which appears below the list of comments. The link leads to the yvComment's Home page. This behavior is exactly the same as of Joomla!'s core: look at the bottom of the page in built-in Joomla! templates!
BTW that yvComment's Home page hasn't had ANY advertisements in the previous 6 years ;-)
February 2013 v.2.1.0
^ Updated for Joomla! v.2.5. No "strict standards" warnings any more.
+ Added support for the native Joomla! v.2.5 Captcha plugin (ReCaptcha)
First, I must say, that your job is great. I use yvcomment, but IMHO there is stil one thing to do. It isn't Seo friendly (comments have no description and no keywords). Every comment must be edited manualy. But this is minor bug. At the end I'll say again that I love your job.
Owner's reply
Hi, what you said is the "New feature request", that should be discussed before anything can be done. So, welcome to the forum!
... And of cause, "no description and no keywords" is not a bug at all :-)
Great work and very easy to install, set up and use. Very true to Joomla as well.
However, I'd love one more feature to the module; fixed number of chars to show. I often get long comments and it would be nice if the module could show only the first xx number of chars.
However, I'd love one more feature to the module; fixed number of chars to show. I often get long comments and it would be nice if the module could show only the first xx number of chars.
Owner's reply
The feature to restrict maximum number of chars to show in the module, called "Max characters in the text of comment" is implemented in the upcoming v.1.20 of yvComment.
I read some of the reviews but decided to push ahead anyways. Yuri is 100% correct. 20 minutes and fully operational.
There is a lot to do in the plugin and Yuri's English might not be perfect (let's be honest here, my Russian is no where close to his English) but the How To document supplied gives all the information you need and is easy to follow.
Great Job Yuri ....
Nigel Aves.
There is a lot to do in the plugin and Yuri's English might not be perfect (let's be honest here, my Russian is no where close to his English) but the How To document supplied gives all the information you need and is easy to follow.
Great Job Yuri ....
Nigel Aves.
Owner's reply
Thank you for paying attention to the yvComment's documentation. I'm proud that you liked it, and I'm glad to announce that English language of this documentation became _much_ better now: I've got a help from the volunteer native speaker of English, who already made text proofing of almost the whole document.
Welcome to the yvComment's Documentation page and enjoy reading :-)
This is a very useful tool to provide comments for your website and as a free option it is completely without par. Setting up is not nearly as complicated as some of the other reviewers would have you believe. I had this up and running as I wanted it work within 20 minutes. Just follow the instructions.
The only thing that would make it better is if the comments were collapsed which I believe is on the to do list for further articles. Thank you though it does almost exactly what I want and I am very pleased with the component and plug in. Haven't used the module yet but suspect I will want to if and when people start commenting on my articles!
The only thing that would make it better is if the comments were collapsed which I believe is on the to do list for further articles. Thank you though it does almost exactly what I want and I am very pleased with the component and plug in. Haven't used the module yet but suspect I will want to if and when people start commenting on my articles!
OK so first up I do agree; It was a little confusing to start, it's not like a traditional component. But after I took the time and went through the steps it really wasn't difficult (http://yurivolkov.com/Joomla/yvComment/index_en.html). Works a charm and is nice and clean. Doesn't mess up the look of the site with crazy css styles. AND doesn't clog up the head of the page with ridiculous amounts of javascript which is important to me. Good work, thanks.
Hi!
I am awful disappointed in this component.
First of all, it needs three archives to work (com,plg,mod).
If it takes all of three things to work, why not make them install automatically?
I'm not happy with how the component needs a section/category to work.
The plug-in and module, each have a ton of configuration that blows you out of track.
Reading the documentation is like reading Karl Marx. (a novel full of information with little chance of gettin' it right for the first time )
I, personally get the "Section is not set. Please configure Section for yvComments" info-box, everywhere in the backend, although I have set one.
I have done every step by the book, and still it does not work.
It may work, it may be good, it may be clean.. but not for me it isn't. (And I am not really a newbie in Joomla! )
I rated it 2 stars just in case it's my mistake!
One thing it's sure. The install/configure process is painful.
I am awful disappointed in this component.
First of all, it needs three archives to work (com,plg,mod).
If it takes all of three things to work, why not make them install automatically?
I'm not happy with how the component needs a section/category to work.
The plug-in and module, each have a ton of configuration that blows you out of track.
Reading the documentation is like reading Karl Marx. (a novel full of information with little chance of gettin' it right for the first time )
I, personally get the "Section is not set. Please configure Section for yvComments" info-box, everywhere in the backend, although I have set one.
I have done every step by the book, and still it does not work.
It may work, it may be good, it may be clean.. but not for me it isn't. (And I am not really a newbie in Joomla! )
I rated it 2 stars just in case it's my mistake!
One thing it's sure. The install/configure process is painful.
Owner's reply
Hi, Vampy!
Of cause, you're not the one, who don't get, why there are so many configuration options in yvComment, just like there is a lot of users, who ask for MORE options and more modules for yvComment...
And I agree with you, that reading (and trying to understand) long documents and searching support forum is not for everybody.
In order to skip this boring steps you may try something like 'Intellispire Software Installer - com_updater', that advertises ability to "install a variety of Joomla! software with just a single click" (that one has free version...).
I tried !JoomlaComment which worked fine but was visual overkill - boxes & buttons everywhere. yvComment is much more pleasing for a clean, simple look.
When I first tried yvComment on a site, I didn't particularly like it, but felt that it was the best choice of all the Free Commenting Evils. It did some things I didn't want it to do, didn't do some things I wanted it to, but overall it was a better fit than the others. I resigned myself to overlook its flaws and go with it.
On the second site I built, I started to look around for a good commenting system again. I tried them all out again, and found myself with the last option once more: yvComment.
For a moment, I almost decided to buy a commercial product and test it, but I decided to give yvComment one more go-round, as it had been updated within the last week. I'm glad I tried it again.
The latest incarnation of yvComment shook out what I perceived as the software's flaws, and it is now rock solid and beautiful. You have a good selection of templates, the comments do not appear as articles, and there's a new management section back-end.
I love it! Great work, Yuri!
On the second site I built, I started to look around for a good commenting system again. I tried them all out again, and found myself with the last option once more: yvComment.
For a moment, I almost decided to buy a commercial product and test it, but I decided to give yvComment one more go-round, as it had been updated within the last week. I'm glad I tried it again.
The latest incarnation of yvComment shook out what I perceived as the software's flaws, and it is now rock solid and beautiful. You have a good selection of templates, the comments do not appear as articles, and there's a new management section back-end.
I love it! Great work, Yuri!
At first, I was a little bit confused on the plain format and layout of the manual (single page from leftmost to rightmost), but YV really mean it that way -> read the manual from top to bottom (not only left to right).
Great plugin, I like it!!!
Great plugin, I like it!!!
It's quick and easy to install and looks great out of the box. When I was downloaded Polish language pack there was one mistake. Warning like "Article must have some text" never been translated. I discovered, that in en-GB.com_yvcomment.ini and in polish translation lack of this one. When I added in pl-PL.com_yvcomment.ini this stroke:
ARTICLE MUST HAVE SOME TEXT=Prosz wpisa tre[ komentarza
After all works without trouble. Keep good work .@89 :)
ARTICLE MUST HAVE SOME TEXT=Prosz wpisa tre[ komentarza
After all works without trouble. Keep good work .@89 :)
Owner's reply
You are right: language packs are not updated in sync with main package. Moreover, some of them are VERY outdated (and user will see many untranslated strings...).
If you found time to make the language pack up-to-date, please send it to me to be published at JoomlaCode.
Thank you!
I am a new Joomla user. I do not know PHP, but have been developing in ASP for over a decade, so I understand a bit about coding.
The reason I chose this comments system for my Joomla site is because it's built to use the same table as for articles and uses a regular Joomla account for anonymous comments. It struck me as much more logical to use Joomla's own architecture for an extension rather than reinvent the wheel.
It seems to me a lot of extensions are built by developers who do their own thing, and that puts me at risk of their extension breaking when I upgrade Joomla. Working *with* Joomla seems better than just adding a bunch of stuff *to* Joomla.
As a new Joomla user, figuring out Joomla itself is a bit challenging. A lot of the extensions I've installed have required me to learn their backend as a separate learning experience. It's a *lot* easier to manage this extension because it treats comments as just another article.
The other advantage of using Joomla functionality for Joomla extensions is that you can then use Joomla tools on them. For instance, you can use the Latest News module to make a "Latest Comments" module on your site.
I like it *very* much. IMO, the developer made all the right architectural decisions to result in an elegant solution for comments.
It's not fancy, it's not flashy, it just *works* and it's easy.
I have struggled and gotten confused with nearly every extension I've installed. Partially, this is because I don't fully understand Joomla's architecture yet. But a *user* shouldn't have to!
This one, I installed, followed the instructions to set it up, wrote a few test comments, and never thought about it again. It's just there and it works and I don't have to remember how it works or what I did to hack it or anything. Simple.
I recommend this extension highly, not just to users to download and install, but to other Joomla developers to emulate!
The reason I chose this comments system for my Joomla site is because it's built to use the same table as for articles and uses a regular Joomla account for anonymous comments. It struck me as much more logical to use Joomla's own architecture for an extension rather than reinvent the wheel.
It seems to me a lot of extensions are built by developers who do their own thing, and that puts me at risk of their extension breaking when I upgrade Joomla. Working *with* Joomla seems better than just adding a bunch of stuff *to* Joomla.
As a new Joomla user, figuring out Joomla itself is a bit challenging. A lot of the extensions I've installed have required me to learn their backend as a separate learning experience. It's a *lot* easier to manage this extension because it treats comments as just another article.
The other advantage of using Joomla functionality for Joomla extensions is that you can then use Joomla tools on them. For instance, you can use the Latest News module to make a "Latest Comments" module on your site.
I like it *very* much. IMO, the developer made all the right architectural decisions to result in an elegant solution for comments.
It's not fancy, it's not flashy, it just *works* and it's easy.
I have struggled and gotten confused with nearly every extension I've installed. Partially, this is because I don't fully understand Joomla's architecture yet. But a *user* shouldn't have to!
This one, I installed, followed the instructions to set it up, wrote a few test comments, and never thought about it again. It's just there and it works and I don't have to remember how it works or what I did to hack it or anything. Simple.
I recommend this extension highly, not just to users to download and install, but to other Joomla developers to emulate!
Owner's reply
Thank you, jpatti, for such assessment of yvComment! The extension was made for and is used mostly by ordinary Joomla! users, who are not techies, and so most of the reviews of yvComment (here and in the forum) are from people, who don't use words like 'architectural decisions' :-). I love, that non-technical people use yvComment!
On the other hand, programming is only my hobby now, and I make my living as a Systems Architect. This is why this review that praises my work as an architect of the "comments system" is especially dear to me.
I hope that making right decisions for this extension (just like for any extension, that is so native to Joomla!) is helping Joomla! team to make right decisions for the Joomla! core. Maybe this is the kind of synergy that is a dream of all volunteer-based projects?!
I don't normally review extensions, but I was amazed at this one. I wasn't sure at first why it wasn't showing up straight away. Read the documentation which explains *everything!* and set it up following the steps and it dropped in perfectly with no fuss. Even the styles don't need changing. The default is so simple and clean that it should match pretty much any website. This was so perfect, whereas the module I used for the 1.0 version of joomla needed a lot of css work to make it appear seamless. I am extremely happy with this extension!
My only suggestion is to have the email address as an optional instead of a required field incase guest commenters want to be notified of more comments - ie in my case they may ask a question about an article and people can answer it, but at the moment they won't know unless they come back to the site.
My only suggestion is to have the email address as an optional instead of a required field incase guest commenters want to be notified of more comments - ie in my case they may ask a question about an article and people can answer it, but at the moment they won't know unless they come back to the site.
Tons of options, I was looking for a good comment system and I found it. The developers of YVComment hit a home run with this extension.
Note: You must install the Component/Module/Plugin, they are each separate files. I want to reiterate this point to anyone who is installing this extension.
Note: You must install the Component/Module/Plugin, they are each separate files. I want to reiterate this point to anyone who is installing this extension.
I been looking for a software that will comment on my articles and this is great software it worked without a problem.
I would recommend yvComment for anyone that needs to add article comments functionality to Joomla 1.5.x website. Took me less than an hour to get a working solution. I particularly like the fact that comments are stored just like regular Joomla articles, makes the maintenance and admin interface easy and clean. Questions about extension receive quick and informative feedback from developers, and I hope that frequent updates to this extension will continue as well. Some areas for improvement: threaded comments (comment to comment), possibly with AJAX expanding/collapsing, custom/additional fields to comment forms (maybe email address for guests, geographic location, etc.)
I just downloaded this and I think its great! Works well.
I did notice one issue and that is the "add comment" and comment boxes are not showing up in IE but works well in Firefox.
I did notice one issue and that is the "add comment" and comment boxes are not showing up in IE but works well in Firefox.
Owner's reply
Thank you for the reply, by I think 'Great!' didn't ment you rated this extention as 'zero stars'? :-)
What's about 'one issue', please go to the forum, search for answers and post your reports there: we can't discuss and solve this problem here, in the JED :-)
This extension is brilliant.
I wanted my visitors to have the ability to leave comments on articles, including guests (users who are not logged in). To prevent comment spammers from abusing this, the need of some anti-spam measure was obvious, and yvComment supports at least two different Captcha plugins (separate extensions). I managed to get everything up and running the way I wanted to in less than an hour.
If you're interested in such functinality, yvComment is great. Be sure to read Yuri's instructions on his web page first, though. I believe it would have taken me a great while longer to figure everything out if I hadn't read the instructions first.
Thank you, Yuri!
I wanted my visitors to have the ability to leave comments on articles, including guests (users who are not logged in). To prevent comment spammers from abusing this, the need of some anti-spam measure was obvious, and yvComment supports at least two different Captcha plugins (separate extensions). I managed to get everything up and running the way I wanted to in less than an hour.
If you're interested in such functinality, yvComment is great. Be sure to read Yuri's instructions on his web page first, though. I believe it would have taken me a great while longer to figure everything out if I hadn't read the instructions first.
Thank you, Yuri!
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