Commenting is an integral and central part of our application framework. Because we have a solid commenting system in our core framework, we can easily and consistently role out commenting to each of the addon applications, while delivering a consistent experience no matter what application the user is using. While commenting itself has been available for IP.Downloads since it's inception, we wanted to improve the functionality and implement some features that we think will make commenting more useful for you, your members, and your moderators.
Unapproved comments in the ModCP
IP.Board 3.2.0 introduced a new centralized Moderator Control Panel - a one-stop-shop where your moderators can review everything requiring their attention throughout the site quickly and easily. This ModCP has many functions, but one important and oft-used function is the unapproved content centralization. By visiting the ModCP you can quickly and easily see all unapproved content that you (or your moderators) need to attend to.
IP.Downloads 2.4 showed unapproved and broken files in the ModCP, however comments pending approval was notably missing in this minor compatibility update. Through our own use of comments in the Marketplace we quickly saw just how useful it would be to have a central place you can check to review comments pending approval. Beginning with IP.Downloads 2.5, you will now be able to view, delete, edit and approve comments in IP.Downloads from a new tab in the ModCP under the "Unapproved Content" page. This should make managing new comments that require moderator approval in your IP.Downloads installation much easier.
Comments in search results
It is convenient to be able to find all content across your site within a unified search interface, and IP.Board 3.2 delivers an exceptional framework to allow this to happen across all applications, both in-house and from third party developers. While IP.Downloads itself supported the central search system, comments in IP.Downloads could not be searched for at all in previous versions. Beginning with IP.Downloads 2.5, you will now be able to search for comments in IP.Downloads. Going beyond this basic addition, however, you will also be able to see new comments in IP.Downloads when using the "View New Content" tool, and you will be able to see all of the comments you have made on IP.Downloads files under the "My Content" page. These simple enhancements can provide a lot of value to your community if you heavily use or rely on the comment functionality in IP.Downloads, allowing you to easily and quickly find comments you or someone else has left across your IP.Downloads installation.
Improved guest commenting
Minor improvements to the guest commenting functionality have been implemented in IP.Downloads 2.5, allowing for a more consistent experience for guests across all of our addon applications. Blog introduced these improvements in an earlier version, and the necessary changes were rolled into the core IP.Board package for 3.2. As such, when you allow guests to comment in IP.Downloads beginning with version 2.5, they will be asked for their display name, a captcha will be presented (when you require this via your ACP configuration), and commenting for guests will otherwise work the same as it would for a member.
More to come...
For the release of IP.Downloads, we want to focus on improving the overall experience, and providing a consistent experience across all of our addon applications. We also want to ensure that the software makes use of all of the central functionality that the IP.Board framework provides for, and makes use of it in a logical, easy to use, and reliable manner. These small improvements to the commenting system can make it much more useful if your community makes use of comments in IP.Downloads, and we hope they make your job as an administrator or moderator that much easier.
We have a lot more in store for IP.Downloads 2.5, so stay tuned for further updates. Please feel free to subscribe to our IPS Company Blog if you wish to be notified of future updates. If you have feature suggestions for IP.Downloads, please post them in the appropriate suggestions forum, otherwise we welcome your feedback on the forthcoming changes mentioned here in the comments section below!