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Frequently Asked Questions

General

Installing IntenseDebate

Settings

Features

Comments

Email and RSS Notifications

Troubleshooting

WordPress

Blogger

Tumblr

General

What is IntenseDebate?
IntenseDebate is the premier commenting system available on the Internet for blogs and websites. IntenseDebate comments enhances and encourages conversation on your blog or website. With IntenseDebate you can give your blog readers the opportunity to better engage your blog's content and each other. ID offers numerous features that makes improves the commenting experience, like our Reply By Email functionality which enables you to reply to and moderate comments via email!

IntenseDebate brings the value of insightful comments back into the light. No longer do you have to sort through an endless maze of sub-par comments and responses. IntenseDebate organizes your comments allowing your readers to express their opinions and thoughts. With IntenseDebate's reputation system and comment voting, you're able to quickly find the worthwhile comments and commenters, while cutting through all of the other nonsense. Subscribe to comments with our RSS readers support. Give your blog an entire new dimension of interaction with IntenseDebate!

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What are the benefits of Installing IntenseDebate?
Blogs and websites that have installed IntenseDebate have experienced a noticeable increase in reader engagement around their content. IntenseDebate facilitates conversation on your site with enhanced comment functionality and enriches your site's community. Put all of this together and IntenseDebate can increase the number of comments on your site and also increase your page views!

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What are the key features of IntenseDebate?
Intense Debate has a variety of innovative features to inspire your online commenting experience. Take a moment to check 'em out!
  • Reply By Email
  • Users Reputations
  • RSS Feeds
  • Widgets
  • Threaded Comments
  • Tracking and Notifications
  • Profiles
  • Comment Voting
  • Social Traffic Drive
  • And new innovations daily!

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What are the benefits from my readers’ perspective?
Your readers will be able to follow the conversation within the comments better with comment threading. Comment threading makes reading comments manageable and returns the value of insightful comments to your site. Not only will your readers be more likely to comment, but they'll be more likely to return to leave multiple comments as the debate gets going. Comment notification emails alert your readers when someone has responded to their comment and makes responding a piece of cake with our Reply By Email feature.

In addition, your readers will be able to vote on the comments made, and gain reputation points giving their comments more authority. Readers can subscribe to comments through our support of various RSS readers. Readers can follow their friends as they comment their way across the Internet. Not to mention that Intense Debate is a great tool for promoting their own blogs.

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What platforms do you support?
IntenseDebate supports a variety of platforms. We offer an automated install process for WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, and Tumblr with more along the way!

If you have a custom site installing IntenseDebate is no problem. We offer a generic snippet of JavaScript for custom installs that is available in our install process. If you have any questions, or run into any issues with your installation, please contact us.

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Installing IntenseDebate

How do I install IntenseDebate on my blog/site?
To Install Intense Debate, please visit our homepage at www.intensedebate.com and enter your blog or website url and select "Get Intense Debate." Please follow the steps through our install process. If you have any questions, or run into any issues with your installation, please contact us at support@intensedebate.com.

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How do I reinstall/update IntenseDebate?
To reinstall IntenseDebate please login into your account at www.intensedebate.com and follow these instructions. After logging into your account at www.intensedebate.com you will need to access the various IntenseDebate settings for your blog. To do this, please locate and select the tab named after your blog (located towards the top of the page). After selecting this tab, you will notice several new sub-tabs: "Overview, Moderate Comments, Old Comments, Settings, Blog Tools, Comment Layout." Select "Blog Tools." On the left side of the page under "Blog Tools" is the option to "Reinstall IntenseDebate." Please select this option and follow the on-screen instructions.

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How do I remove IntenseDebate from my blog/site?
To uninstall IntenseDebate please login into your account at www.intensedebate.com and follow these instructions. After logging into your account at www.intensedebate.com you will need to access the various IntenseDebate settings for your blog. To do this, please locate and select the tab named after your blog (located towards the top of the page). After selecting this tab, you will notice several new sub-tabs: "Overview, Moderate Comments, Old Comments, Settings, Blog Tools, Comment Layout." Select "Blog Tools." On the left side of the page under "Blog Tools" is the option to "Uninstall IntenseDebate." Please select this option and follow the on-screen instructions.

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I don't have a blog. Can I still sign up?
No worries! You can still create an account and get involved in the conversation. Creating an account gives you full access to all of our features that make enrich the conversation.

Most importantly you will receive email notifications whenever someone replies to one of your comments. You will be able to reply to the comment via email or be able to link on over to the comment. Stay involved in the conversation!

You will be able to create a universal profile that can be used across all blogs and websites that use IntenseDebate comments. You can build your reputation as you comment your way across the blogosphere. With your profile you will be able to vote comments as being worthwhile or not, upload an avatar, Gravatar, integrate your OpenID, Twitter and FriendFeed accounts, and follow other users comments.

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What happens to my existing comments when I sign up?
Nothing! Your comments will still be there. You will not lose them. All future comments on your blog will be made using Intense Debate. By default, all of your previous comments will remain as they are.

But don't worry! There is a way to import your existing comments into Intense Debate. Please see "How do I import my existing comments?"

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Settings

What settings can I customize?
You can configure your account and customize everything from your moderation settings, comment layout, look and feel of your comment section (using CSS), comment link text, and email notification settings. Please see the entries below to learn more about each individual setting.

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Can I customize the look and feel of IntenseDebate (using CSS)?
You can override the default stylings of Intense Debate by adding CSS classes to your own style sheet. You can also create a new stylesheet with specific instructions for Intense Debate, and then link to it from your Intense Debate admin panel. To link to a file, login to intensedebate.com, find the blog you want to modify in the list on the dashboard, and click Comment layout.

The classes Intense Debate uses are briefly explained on our CSS documentation page.

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How do I access my blog settings?
To access your blog settings login to your IntenseDebate account, then select the tab named after your blog followed by the Settings sub-tab.

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How do I change my display name, email and password?
You can change any of your profile information at any time by logging into IntenseDebate.com and select intEdit Profile.

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How do I add my blog to my user menu (inside intenseDebate)?
Head into your profile and look to the left side of the page. Below the fields for your name and email, you'll find a button which enables you to add a blog to your usermenu. Any blogs you add here will be visible for everyone that sees your profile in the comment system!

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Features

What is Reply By Email?
Some say that this is the feature of features. We have to agree.

Part of our goal to improve the comment conversation is to make it easier to get involved. Reply-By-Email helps minimize the number of steps between you and your debate. With IntenseDebate you can respond to and moderate your comments with ease via email, even if your on the go. Just because you're away from your computer doesn't mean the conversation stops.

IntenseDebate keeps you plugged in.

When you receive an email notification you can respond to the comment directly via email. If you are the blog admin then you can also moderate the comment via email. All you have to do is enter your response (or moderation command) and hit send. Make sure you leave the subject line and original message in tact. If you have a signature in your emails, please note that they will not be removed – we think that it’s part of the message. Either remove your signature or enter !END at the end of your response to ensure that it is removed.

If you receive an error email it is most likely because we do not recognize your email client. Don’t worry though. If you enter !END at the end of your message this will correct the issue. When you receive an error email, do not respond to the error email. Please respond to the original email using !END at the end of your response. If you receive an error email please forward your error email to IntenseDebate support and let us know which mail client you’re using so that we can correct the issue.

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Can I import my comments?
Look, we know that we're not your first and we may not be your last comment system, and we're ok with that. Our comment importers and exporters make bringing your comments with you a piece of cake, so you don't need to worry about losing a single one.

Please note: our Blogger importer and exporter are currently disabled due to some bugs. We plan on offering it again in the future. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

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What are my comment moderation options?
Your comment moderation options are located in your blog Settings page that you can access by logging in to IntenseDebate.com. Your comment moderation options are located on the left side of the page under the header Comment Posting. You can choose from:
  • All comments must be approved by an administrator
  • Commenters must signup with IntenseDebate before posting
  • Comment author must have a previously approved comment
We offer extensive moderation controls beyond these three options. You can moderate comments based on a keywords, number of links included in the comment, and by commenter email address and IP for those problematic commenters. You can also blacklist comments based on words, email addresses, and IP’s. For more information on comment moderation please keep reading…

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What is my profile used for?
Your IntenseDebate profile is your identity across the IntenseDebate universe. You profile has several features all of which are detailed in this section of the FAQ:
  • Avatar / Gravatar
  • Username
  • Comment history
  • Reputation points
  • Comment voting
  • Links to your other web properties
  • Twitter & FriendFeed integrations

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Does IntenseDebate integrate with Twitter?
Oh yeah! We’ve got two phenomenal types of integration with Twitter for IntenseDebate users. The first: when you post a comment with IntenseDebate you have the option to send a Tweet on a post-by-post basis letting your Twitter followers know you commented on a post. The idea behind it is this that your Twitter followers care about what you have to say on Twitter, most likely they care about what you have to say off of Twitter. When you send that tweet there will be a link to the post you commented on. It’s a great way to share posts.

The second integration enables you can set you IntenseDebate profile to pull your latest tweet and replace your IntenseDebate description with it.

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Comments

How do I create an account?
Creating an account is a piece of cake. Just visit our signup page, choose a username, enter your email and password and voilà, you’re the now the owner of a shiny new IntenseDebate account!

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How do I delete comments?
Intense Debate offers several ways to delete your comments. If you are commenting on a blog and make an error or have a change of heart, you can delete your comment by selecting the "Delete" button found in the lower right corner of the comment box.

If you're a blog owner and you wish to delete comments made on your blog, you can either delete comments directly from your blog by selecting the "Delete" tab found in the lower right corner of the comment box, or in your account at www.intensedebate.com.

To delete comments from your account at www.intensedebate.com, you'll need to sign into your ID account at www.intensedebate.com. This will bring you to your account overview where you will see a list of your blogs. Select the tab that shares the same name as your blog. This will take you to an overview specific to your blog. You will notice several sub-tabs including: "Overview, Moderate Comments, Old Comments, Settings, Blog Tools, Comment Layout." Please select "Old Comments." You can delete your old comments here.

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How do I moderate comments?
Moderating your comments with IntenseDebate is a piece of cake. You will receive email an email notification every time a comment is submitted to your site that requires moderation. You can respond directly to that email with your moderation command (Approve, Delete, Spam) and voila! Please see the entry on Reply By Email for more information.

The second way to moderate comments is to visit your moderation page in your account at IntenseDebate.com. Login in to your account, select the tab named after your blog followed by the Moderate Comments subtab. There you will be able to approve, deny or mark your comments as spam. Once you have selected the comments you would like to moderate, scroll to past to the bottom and select the Bulk Moderate button.

As the blog admin you are also able to delete comments made on your site when you visit the comment section and are logged into IntenseDebate.

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How do I edit comments?
You can easily edit your comments from inside the Intense Debate comment system. Just click Edit next to the Delete link in the lower right corner of the comment. Please note that you can't edit a comment that has a reply!

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How do I import my existing comments into IntenseDebate?
For WordPress: our plugin automatically imports your existing WordPress comments. Just activate the plugin and your import will get started. It will take some time to complete.

Please note: our Blogger importer and exporter are currently disabled due to some bugs. We plan on offering it again in the future. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

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Email and RSS Notifications

Do you have reply by email functionality?
Yes we do! Some say that this is the feature of features. We have to agree.

Part of our goal to improve the comment conversation is to make it easier to get involved. Reply-By-Email helps minimize the number of steps between you and your debate. With IntenseDebate you can respond to and moderate your comments with ease via email, even if you're on the go. Just because you're away from your computer doesn't mean the conversation stops.

IntenseDebate keeps you plugged in.

When you receive an email notification you can respond to the comment directly via email. If you are the blog admin then you can also moderate the comment via email. All you have to do is enter your response (or moderation command) and hit send. Make sure you leave the subject line and original message in tact. If you have a signature in your emails, please note that they will not be removed - we think that it's part of the message. Either remove your signature or enter !END at the end of your response to ensure that it is removed.

If you receive an error email it is most likely because we do not recognize your email client. Don't worry though. If you enter !END at the end of your message this will correct the issue. When you receive an error email, do not respond to the error email. Please respond to the original email using !END at the end of your response. If you receive an error email please forward your error email to IntenseDebate support and let us know which mail client you're using so that we can correct the issue.

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How can I receive email notifications?
Receiving email notifications when someone responds to one of your comments is a perk of having an IntenseDebate account. Only users with an IntenseDebate account will receive email notifications. To learn more about receiving email notifications please see “How do I customize my email notification settings

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I'm not receiving email notifications. Why?
We're sorry to hear that you're not receiving email notifications. Sometimes IntenseDebate mail gets caught up in your spam filter. Please check and make sure that that's not the case. If it's not, please visit your profile and double check that you have entered your correct email address and that there are no typos. If that isn't the issue, then please check your email settings on the right side below the page break of your profile page and make sure that you're properly set to receive email notifications.

If you're the blog admin and you're not receiving new comment and moderation emails please check your blog page. On the right side of the page you'll notice several options under the heading "Email Notifications." Please check to make sure that your settings are set for you to receive email notifications.

If your settings are set to receive email notifications and you are not receiving any emails, please email us at support@intensedebate.com and we will work you to get this all sorted out. Thanks for your patience.

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Will I be notified when someone replies to my comment?
Receiving email notifications when someone replies to your comment is one of the perks of having an IntenseDebate account. To configure your email notification settings login to IntenseDebate.com and selecting Edit Profile. You can access your email notification settings and enable to receive email notifications whenever someone replies to your comments and when someone starts following your comment stream.

Remember! when you receive an email notification you can respond to the comment directly via email. If you are the blog admin then you can also moderate the comment via email. All you have to do is enter your response (or moderation command) and hit send. Make sure you leave the subject line and original message in tact. If you have a signature in your emails, please note that they will not be removed - we think that it's part of the message. Either remove your signature or enter !END at the end of your response to ensure that it is removed. If you receive an error email it is most likely because we do not recognize your email client. Don't worry though. If you enter !END at the end of your message this will correct the issue. When you receive an error email, do not respond to the error email. Please respond to the original email using !END at the end of your response. If you receive an error email please forward your error email to IntenseDebate support and let us know which mail client you're using so that we can correct the issue.

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How do I customize my email notification settings?
Login to IntenseDebate.com and select intEdit Profile. You can access your email notification settings and enable to receive email notifications whenever someone replies to your comments and when someone starts following your comment stream.

If you are a blog admin then you have access to additional email notification settings for the comment section on your site. Select the tab named after your blog followed by the Settings subtab. On the right are your email notification options to receive an email when a new comment is posted and when a comment is awaiting moderation.

Rememeber! when you receive an email notification you can respond to the comment directly via email. If you are the blog admin then you can also moderate the comment via email. All you have to do is enter your response (or moderation command) and hit send. Make sure you leave the subject line and original message in tact. If you have a signature in your emails, please note that they will not be removed – we think that it’s part of the message. Either remove your signature or enter !END at the end of your response to ensure that it is removed. If you receive an error email it is most likely because we do not recognize your email client. Don’t worry though. If you enter !END at the end of your message this will correct the issue. When you receive an error email, do not respond to the error email. Please respond to the original email using !END at the end of your response. If you receive an error email please forward your error email to IntenseDebate support and let us know which mail client you’re using so that we can correct the issue.

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Troubleshooting

I've found a bug. How do I report it?
Please email us at support@intensedebate.com. We apologize for the inconvenience and will work with you to resolve it. Screenshots are a huge help in diagnosing the problem, so please include them in your email.

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Why is the comment importer not working for me?
On occasion users may experience a slight amount of lag time with their request to import comments if there are a number of other Intense Debate users requesting to import their comments. We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience. The good news is that we're currently updating our system to handle the growing number of comment import requests. If you are still encountering issues, please email us at support@intensedebate.com.

Please note: our Blogger importer and exporter are currently disabled due to some bugs. We plan on offering it again in the future. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

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OpenID won't work?
Please email us at support@intensedebate.com and we will help sort this out. Thanks for your patience!

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Why does IntenseDebate slow down my blog's load time?
By default, IntenseDebate is setup to be the last element of your blog to load in order to prevent any compatibility issues with any of the other elements on your blog. Because IntenseDebate is the last to load

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My comments aren't showing up. Why?
Your comments may be in your moderation queue waiting for your approval. To approve your comments please login into your account at www.intensedebate.com and follow these instructions. After logging into your account at www.intensedebate.com you will need to access the various Intense Debate settings for your blog. To do this, please locate and select the tab named after your blog (located towards the top of the page). After selecting this tab, you will notice several new sub-tabs: "Overview, Moderate Comments, Old Comments, Settings. Blog Tools, Comment Layout." Please select "Moderate Comments" to view your the comments awaiting your approval.

Also, you can customize your moderation settings in the "Settings" tab, located to the right of the "Moderate Comments" tab. Your moderation settings may be set where all comments must be approved by you (the blog adim), although this is not the default setting. Please take a moment to look over your moderation settings.

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WordPress

What is data synchronization?
Comments made in IntenseDebate are automatically backed-up to your WordPress comment system, while your existing WordPress comments are automatically imported into IntenseDebate. You always have all of your comments so uninstalling is a one-click process if you change your mind. Syncing your accounts enables auto-login so logging into WordPress automatically logs you into IntenseDebate. Profile sync also means that comments you make are synchronized to both profiles so you maintain ownership of your profile.

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What about SEO?
IntenseDebate outputs the standard WordPress comments enabling your comments to still be indexed by search engines that ignore JavaScript, while ensuring that visitors surfing with JavaScript disabled will be able to interact with comments made in IntenseDebate. Readers with JS disabled can comment in the original WP system and those comments will be imported into ID.

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How do I install IntenseDebate?
To install IntenseDebate visit IntenseDebate.com/install and download the WordPress plugin.

Then upload the file to the wp-content/plugins folder on your blog.

You need to activate the IntenseDebate plugin in order to install the comment system. Go to the Plugins tab and find IntenseDebate Comments in the list. Click Activate.

After activating IntenseDebate, please select the Settings tab followed by the IntenseDebate sub-tab to configure your plugin.

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How do I use my OpenID?
While you can use your OpenID to login and signup with IntenseDebate, using your OpenID to synchronize ID and WordPress accounts is not currently supported.

If you created your account using your OpenID you will need to access your IntenseDebate username and userkey. Your username and user key will allow you to sync your accounts. You will need to be logged into IntenseDebate in order to access your username and user key.

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How do I sync my accounts?
After installing and activating the IntenseDebate plugin you will need to update your account settings in your Plugin Settings page and either create an IntenseDebate account or login to your IntenseDbeate account. Your data synchronization and comment import will start as soon as you have successfully logged in.

Please Note
Your comments may take several hours to import. The time of your import is dependent on how many other import requests we are receiving in addition to how many comments are currently being imported.

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Blogger

I receive an error when uninstalling IntenseDebate from my Blogspot blog. What do I do?
These instructions are for removing template installs of IntenseDebate.

If you encounter an error uninstalling IntenseDebate on your Blogspot blog you will need to manually remove the IntenseDebate code from your blog template. Here's how you do it:

1. Make sure you backup your template! You can do this by going to the Layout tab in your Blogger admin panel followed by the Edit HTML sub-tab. Select the Download Full Template option and save it to your desktop.
2. Open your template file using any text editing program and save the file as "Modified Template." The purpose of this is to ensure that you have a backup of your original template in case you need to revert to it. You will be using the "Modified Template" file to remove IntenseDebate.
3. You will need to locate the IntenseDebate code. To do this please use the "Find" command (on a PC use the command ctrl f , on a mac use the command apple f). Type in IntenseDebate.
4. Remove anything inside the <!--IntenseDebate div to the end of it <!--/IntenseDebate. Search for all instances of that div and remove them.
5. Now you need to search for <!--Intense Debate-PREID. Remove all instances of <!--Intense Debate-PREID and at the end remove the -->.
6. Save the file as a .XML file.
7. Upload your modified template to your Blogspot blog and check your blog to see that everything is in order.

If you encounter any issues uninstalling IntenseDebate then please send your original template to support. Again, you can download your blog template in your blogger admin panel by selecting the Layout tab followed by the Edit HTML sub-tab. Once there please select the Download Full Template option. Attach your template and please send it on over.

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Tumblr

Why is IntenseDebate is only showing up on the index page of my Tumblr blog?
We expect a div with the id “posts” as part of the default install. Could you please add the following to your template wherever the comments should be? That will take care of it.

<div id=”posts”></div>

You’ll also need to put in a div with the class “post” in each tumblr post.

Like the following:

<div class=”post”></div>

This is how we determine how many posts are on the page (>1 we show links, <=1 we show the comment section).

Please email support if you run into any issues.

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