Nice component, great set of functions (review is about free version). I would have considered the Pro version, other than the weird coding structure used. I'm not saying it is bad, but for those developers used to Joomla and standard php, this is quite a diversion when it comes to the styling.

Personally not a fan of coding that attempts to re-invent the wheel, or that uses bespoke functions that already exist in php and make the code more bloated and make modifications more difficult (maybe that was the point?).

This extension gets 5 stars if you don't care about changing the styling of it, but 3 stars and a recommendation to use a more suitable one if you do.

Very good module, very useful. Smart use of Joomla positions by the developer.

One thing..... I see the developer put a lot of effort into the instructions. Good job. But they miss one important point, and thank you to jchris below for explaining the final aspect with regard to the module title.

This module is more versatile than the description states. It can be used with various module types, as long as you remember you MUST have the exact name of the module you wish to use in the 'Module Title' of the R3D Floater module. If not your content won't display.

Thank you Mr developer.

Nice extension, good range of templates. Unfortunately it has a javascript issue with IE 7, and causes the debug box (for those with this option on) to keep popping up on every page load or each time the comment box is opened. Maybe having the comment box open all the time will solve this, but that looks messy in my opinion.

This may make it unusable for a lot of people which is a shame as otherwise it is a great extension.

I have big concerns about this component. Yes it appears to work, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad.

Sending newsletters to registered members who have not chosen to opt-in specifically for a newsletter is spamming. It is fundamentally going against the whole opt-in / opt-out process that is now the norm for creating proper and honest (non-spam) mailing lists.

Personally I do not believe this component should be in the Extensions directory for this reason. It could give a lot of Joomla sites, and maybe Joomla in general a bad name if registering for a Joomla site means the risk of receiving unwanted email.

If you use this, be very careful not to annoy your registered members. Make sure the registration form is modified to highlight that they will also be opting-in to a mailing list. Even better, help reduce the encouragement of spam and do not use this component. Take the more sensible route and use a proper user-friendly newsletter subscription module.

Only given 1 start based on the fact that the extension has the 1.5 Legacy symbol.

Installed fine, but the component just goes to a blank screen. Checked the forum of the developer and it seems this was mentioned in February, with approx 4 other people in the forum stating the same. Problem seems to be the free version has not been looked at for some months (as stated by the developer).

Not complaining, extension looks like it has real potential and I hope it gets fixed for current 1.5x versions. But the developer should probably remove the '1.5x Legacy' symbol from the JED.

The only solution looks to be to use the PRO version. I had every intention to buy it actually, but I need to see the free one working first.

I dislike giving bad reviews to free software, but in this case I would honestly say that you are probably better off not using this module.

The standard Joomla Poll module for 1.5 has been designed not using tables. This module is actually a step back as it is completely table based.

There is no point in a module that takes away such an important advancement of Joomla 1.5.

5 starts because the functionality where it matters, and compared to the other commenting extensions here, is spot on.

This extension does lack features. Unfortunately, all the feature-filled commenting extensions I've seen on JED have at least one major flaw (such as needing to open the comment form in a new page or pop up). For this extension, it would be great to see a censorship system. Once I've done what I want with the css with mine, I'll send it to the dev. I think this could also do with a different css option.

However, for pure and simple comments, that open within the same page, that allows selection of section, categories and articles, is GPL, that has a sensible and user-friendly layout, I would say this is probably the best option for many.

If you want a thousand features this is not for you. If, like me, you see functionality as being key issue no. 1, then I recommend giving this a try.

Writing this for two reasons. First and main reason is that I use this extension now as part of Joomla. Not sure what I would do without it! Hence the 5 stars.

The other reason is to add my thoughts re. one of the reviews below. For me, it would not make sense to have archived articles included. It would get very complicated. Surely that's why they are archived? Furthermore, there is a contact for the owner / developer on the homepage. You just have to look closer.

About time I posted a review. For those that expect a complete solution without any tweaking are always going to be disappointed with a system like this. It's big, has huge potential for many different types of sites, and it's open source.

Based on that, and the fact that I have made some money from it, how could it possibly be worth less than 5 stars? As someone else said, I'd give it 6 if I could.

I would like to see the forums become more community focused rather than so many expecting pro support (and getting frustrated when it doesn't happen). Other than that the forums are well thought out, and an effective way to find solutions to common problems.

Great component. This is a good demonstration of how all software should be, not just open source. In fact, calling this free doesn't do it justice as it is extremely well thought out and functional.

Anyway, thank you for making my Joomla life easier, and not charging for it. Very deserving of a donation.

Don't waste time downloading and testing this unless you are happy manually entering the content it displays. It is not a News module in the Joomla sense. It does not use your existing content or articles. I wasted 5 minutes with this, maybe you won't have to.

I have had problems getting it to work. I cam back here to see if there was a solution. What do I find? Info that it has hidden links / advertising.

As most people use sitemaps to inmprove search performance, thne hidden links / ads is the last thing you'd want.

Quite possibly this extension could cause a drop in search performace, as well as promoting sites that we may or may not wish to promote.

As a previous poster stated, this is completely not within the community spirit.