Just what is DISQUS?

[BigT]

It’s not just for providing the service without hosting it on your site. It’s also is a way to get around having to create a new login for every site. You have one Disqus account, and you can use it anywhere. Facebook has a similar system (which, of course, means it uses [what is supposed to be] your real name.)

There are other techniques where the host does not provide the actual servers, but the only of those that seems to have gone very far is Twitter. OpenID just hasn’t taken off except in open source communities, and Firefox’s Persona seems to have been too little, too late.

[CurtC]

@SirRay

Since the OP mentioned Facebook, a number of sites I frequent have switched their comment support system from Disqus (“Discuss”) to Facebook comment support. The Signal to Noise ratio does drastically improve for a while, but the crazies eventually do wander back on posting with fake facebook profiles, albeit at a much lower level.

Interesting, - in the places where I see Disqus used, the comments by-and-large are reasonable and thoughtful - similar to what you can see on the SDMB. But for those sites that use Facebook, the quality of the comments is only slightly better than what you see on YouTube. (I think we can all agree that YouTube comments set the standard for dreck, right?)

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

@SirRay

…from Disqus (“Discuss”) …

:smack:

I always pronounced it in my head dis-kwis. Discuss, d’uh.

[Kamino_Neko]

@SirRay

Since the OP mentioned Facebook, a number of sites I frequent have switched their comment support system from Disqus (“Discuss”) to Facebook comment support. The Signal to Noise ratio does drastically improve for a while, but the crazies eventually do wander back on posting with fake facebook profiles, albeit at a much lower level.

This is…contrary to my experience. IME, places that use Facebook commenting have the absolute worst comments. For some reason people seem even more willing to be racist, sexist, homophobic, and all-around stupid there than even places where you can be absolutely anonymous.

[VinylTurnip]

@IvoryTowerDenizen

:smack:

I always pronounced it in my head dis-kwis. Discuss, d’uh.

Yeah, that escaped me until this moment too. I thought it rhymed with discus.

[foolsguinea]

@Claverhouse

Idiotic Commentary is neither the responsibility of the website nor of Disqus — both of which are relaying the thoughts and fears of normal ordinary people — but is an integral function of democracy.

Note that “integral” in this case does not mean “beneficial” nor “constructive.” Just “integral.”

[Revtim]

I like it. Having a Disqus account, I can quickly comment on a site that supports it, without having to make a new account specific to that site.

I haven’t noticed the comments being any different quality than when a site uses a different comment system.

[jz78817]

@Revtim

I like it. Having a Disqus account, I can quickly comment on a site that supports it, without having to make a new account specific to that site.

I haven’t noticed the comments being any different quality than when a site uses a different comment system.

It depends on the site using Disqus. Topgear.com uses Disqus for their article comments, and they’re on par with any other car site. Local tv news station websites usually use Disqus or facebook, and those comments are a cesspool.

[Kenm]

@tomndebb

A bare bones answer to the question may be found on Wikipedia.

It’s a user tracker, which is why Ghostery and other anti-trackers block it. From the Wikipedia link:

As with other embedded web widgets, such as like buttons, the Disqus widget acts as a web bug which tracks a user’s activities, even when they are not logged in, across different sites that use the Disqus commenting system. Information tracked by Disqus, which may be disclosed to third parties, includes pseudonymous analytics data, such as a user’s IP address, their web browser version and installed add-ons, and their referring pages and exit links.

[Claverhouse]

Half the time it doesn’t load, just keeps spinning.
This is likely to be a defect in the integration or a hitch in Disqus’s servers, since everything else has loaded in good time. However it is another cautionary tale against combining different server sources for a single site.

Still, if I see it’s Disqus I don’t bother hitting the See Comments button unless I really, really want to know.

[actualliberalnotoneofthose]

@SirRay

Since the OP mentioned Facebook, a number of sites I frequent have switched their comment support system from Disqus (“Discuss”) to Facebook comment support. The Signal to Noise ratio does drastically improve for a while, but the crazies eventually do wander back on posting with fake facebook profiles, albeit at a much lower level.

If Disqus comments are bad, I am amazed by how many people are willing to share their comments from real Facebook profiles. I have seen all kinds of racist, sexist, other -ist comments from people with real name and employer listed.