WordPress Top Commentators Widget v.1.4

If you have issues with the latest update (v.1.4), keep those feedback coming; please add them in the comments section below. I am currently working on the fix as of this moment.

The latest version is up at WP.org’s plugin repository. As mentioned in the README file:

  1. Added the Award option which will display image or icon of a medal/badge once a commentator reaches a certain number of comments determined by blog owner.
  2. Modified the form to allow default values to be entered automatically when initialized (i.e. widget’s Save button is pressed).
  3. Added support for setting default Gravatars to 404, Mystery Man, Identicons, MonsterIDs or Wavatars.
  4. Repaired the query statement for filtering e-mails.

screenshot-3

Thanks to Konsti for the award/gaming suggestion. For now it only takes into account a single range. Hopefully in the future the widget can scan based on how active a commentator is, then award these users based on different levels of comments contributed.

Change number 2 is mainly for those who’ve complained that the top commentators wasn’t showing even after the widget is installed. Remember to go to the Widgets option, add the TCW in, and click the Save button to initialize its values. The widget won’t display anything if you do not press the Save button and get those default values entered into your WordPress options database.

A year ago, user iferg requested that the TCW supports other default Gravatars like Identicons, MonsterIDs and Wavatars. I finally had a chance to read up on this, and added that option into this widget.

Last, but not least, user ostin654 contributed a fix to the e-mail filtering bug, so I really appreciate that!

Related post:  On updating the Top Commentators widget & WordPress customized installation

If you would like me to keep updating this WordPress plugin, I would like to ask just one thing from you – if you have a bug and/or a fix to report, or if you have modified the codes in any way that would benefit the TCW users, please share it with us. I’ll be sure to credit you and add those modifications in the next update. This would be the best way to continue making Top Commentators Widget useful and fun to use.

Please skip the rest of my post below; these are just notes to self so that I’ll remember how to update the TCW repo next time.

For new projects (Updated for version 1.7 on 17/12/2012)

  1. Create a new folder in your computer.
  2. Download and install TortoiseSVN.
  3. Right-click on the new folder and select SVN Checkout.
  4. Set the SVN repository URL and click OK.

To edit code

Change the stuff under the Trunk folder within the new folder you created.

To update code

Right-click on the new folder or the Trunk folder itself, and select SVN Commit to check the files in. Add in the message “Version #.#” in the message section.

To tag code

  1. Create a new folder within the Tags folder, naming it with the same version number as your current HEAD/trunk.
  2. Copy all files in Trunk and paste it in the Tags folder with the version number.
  3. Right-click on the Tags folder and select SVN Commit.
  4. Add in the message “Tagging version #.#” in the message section for housekeeping purposes.
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Posted on 12 February, 2011 under Discovering WordPress and tagged with , , , , ,

22 comments

  1. Hesham says:

    Hi Lorna,

    I like the Award option, pretty cool! Thanks for the upgrade and the great work!

    There is probably a small bug I discovered after upgrade, when I change the “show on home page only” option to “No”, I can not save it!

    It change to “Yes” when I click on the save button, and this is happening with other options as well, so I thought to let you know!

    Thanks.

    1. Lorna says:

      I just noticed that, too… grrr. Give me a few hours to figure that out. Thanks for the heads up!

      1. Hesham says:

        Great, take your time!

        1. You’re doing a great job and love the upgrades but as the others have said they are not working correctly. The award was a nice touch. But I use your widget on my inner pages only and it won’t show up. So take your time and know WE LOVE IT and it’s nice to spread around the karma to our commentators.

          By the way Lorna is that a plugin you made that has the floating social buttons on the left side of your blog? I really like the effect.

          1. Sourish says:

            not upgraded to this version yet , it scares me 🙁

  2. naveed says:

    thanks for the upgrade and your work on this. Esp wavatars.

  3. Since upgrading tonight I can no longer see the Top Commenters list in my sidebar. I’ve tried deactivating, reactivating, deleting and downloading. But still no visible list. Any suggestions?

    1. Lorna says:

      I’ve released the update v.1.4.1, and you’ll have to re-do your settings, but once that’s done I hope the widget runs on your blog as expected.

  4. Prepuzio says:

    Cannot list by users name. I Can see top commentators only in home page and not in the single posts. The first commentator is random. I’ve tried to exclude it, but another random commentator is appeared.

    1. Lorna says:

      Please upgrade to v.1.4.1 and let me know if you get the same problem.

  5. papabear says:

    Love the upgrade. Hope you can fix the show on home page only problem soon ya. awesome plugin! Thanks

    1. Lorna says:

      Check out v.1.4.1 and see if that works out for you.

      1. papabear says:

        Thanks for the update. 1.4.1 works like a charm! Thanks for the effort!

  6. Lorna says:

    I hear you, thanks for feedback — keep ’em coming. FYI the next update is a major rewrite where I hope the widget API would solve most if not all the issues. Nevertheless I’m setting that as beta until everything’s stable with your sites. I’ll get the next update as fast as my back would allow (darn slipped disc wouldn’t allow me to sit up for more than 10 minutes at a time).

  7. Hi Lorna… I miss my Top Commentators plugin. When do you think it will be fixed and the updated version will be ready for download?

  8. Klaus says:

    Hi there,

    I also noticed that “Show in home page only?” doesn’t work, it reverts back to “yes” and the widget doesn’t display anywhere else than the homepage.

    Also another bug I found, it doesn’t save the value entered in “Or specify number of days / enter range of date”. With the previous version I had it set to 30, so my list of top commenters is based on a rolling 30 day period. When I enter “30” in that box and hit save, the box clears and it doesn’t save it (the changes are not shown on the site either, it still just takes current month based on “Reset list every: Month” instead of the 30 days I entered.

    Thanks!

    1. Mel says:

      I have the same problem. This month I enter 20110201 and 20110228 and when I save, those numbers disappear.

      1. Lorna says:

        @Klaus and Mel: I really hope 1.4.1 solves it for you, did my best to ensure that those values commits as they are suppose to.

  9. Lorna says:

    @Man Over Board: The plugin that shows those little icons on the left of my blog is called Cute Profiles, not by me 🙂

  10. Hesham says:

    Great, thanks for the update, it’s working perfectly now!

  11. Hello Lorna. Just upgraded to 1.4.1 and now everything seems to be working great. Thanks so much for all your hard work in fixing and upgrading this amazing plugin. Your quick response and support was sincerely appreciated.

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