Subscribe to Comments 2.1
Subscribe to Comments 2.1 is a plugin that allows commenters on your blog to check a box before commenting and get e-mail notification of further comments. It is one of the most popular WordPress plugins out there for the simple reason that it helps foster a community around your blog by encouraging commenters to come back and stay engaged in the dialog.
Features
- Rudimentary security
- Users cannot enter a random e-mail into the subscription manager and modify someone else’s subscriptions
- In order to modify subscriptions, users need to use a special link, given in notification e-mails, and printed in the comments form as long as they have their comment cookie
- Recognition of subscription status
- Unsubscribed users see the “subscribe to comments” checkbox, but subscribed users see a “Manage your subscriptions” link
- The author of the post is recognized by either login or comment cookie and is assumed to be subscribed to the entry (as they will receive notifications through WordPress)
- Themeable subscription manager
- Uses visual style of WordPress interface
- Can be optionally accessed via “Manage” menu in WordPress
- E-mail verification of block requests
- Javascript “invert selection” link to check/uncheck subscriptions for mass deletion
- “Return to the page you were viewing” link that persists at the top of the page, so that users can easily return to the post they were reading once they are done modifying subscriptions
- Ability to let users change notification e-mail address
- In the subscription manager, users can request that their notification address be changed for all their subscriptions
- Special link is sent to the old address for verification
- Once clicked, their e-mail address will be changed instantly for all their comments
- Easy integration into comments form
- No modification of comments form needed for WP 1.5+ (supported themes)
- For users who want custom placement of the checkbox/link to subscription manager, this can be done with one simple function call, placed anywhere in the comment form
- Subscription without leaving a comment
- By popular demand, you can now offer visitors the option of subscribing to comments on an entry without having to leave a comment themselves
- If the reader later decides to join the conversation, their subscription continues without them having to explicitly set it
- Customization
- You can make the Subscription Manager that your users see use your theme’s header, footer and sidebar, using CSS to style it to fit your site
- Internationalization
- I’ve written Subscribe to Comments 2.1 with i18n in mind, making full use of
__()and_e()functions. The domain is “subscribe-to-comments”.
- I’ve written Subscribe to Comments 2.1 with i18n in mind, making full use of
Download
Version 2.1 Update
Version 2.1 of Subscribe to Comments has a feature that people have been begging me to implement for many months: you can view the list of people who are subscribed to posts on your blog, and you can also see a list of the most “subscribed” posts. Also in this version is a new one-file install. You just put subscribe-to-comments.php in your /plugins/ directory, activate, and you’re done. This version will work on WordPress versions from 2.0.6 through 2.3.1 (highest tested).
Versions
- 2.1.2 Fixed a few bugs that’d send bad notifications (thanks Donncha!), cleaned up some code and moved to using proper WP escaping functions
- 2.1.1 WordPress 2.2 compatibility! Also note that support for
attribute_escape()is needed, so if you get errors about that, upgrade to the latest version in your branch - 2.1 big update, fixing a few potential XSS holes, and misc error messages… see above for details
- 2.0.8 XSS security fixes, hopefully fixed “+” symbols in e-mail for good
- 2.0.7 additional “funky e-mail” fixes
- 2.0.6 support for e-mail addresses with “+” symbols, option to disable CSS “clearing”
- 2.0.4 potential security bugs, better WP 2.0 capabilities compat
Feedback/Bugs
Feel free to leave bug reports or feature requests here. Use this entry’s comments to ask support questions or offer general feedback


I didn’t have tried it yet because I’m still hesitate if it compatible with 2.5.1, so does it really no problem with 2.5.1?
Thanks
Is it possible to subscribe to comments WITHOUT actually leave a comment? That would be a great feature!
I just upgraded to WordPress 2.6. I discovered that this plugin tends to automatically insert the code into my comment form even when I did not enter the code into the comment portion of my WordPress template.
Why is it that the SUBSCRIBE TO COMMENTS (CHECKED BY DEFAULT) has been changed? I could not see that option on the latest version.
Where could I find it?
Thanks for the wonderful plugin.
/* ============================= */
/* DO NOT MODIFY BELOW THIS LINE */
/* ============================= */
Pffft, I know what I’m doing (my sidebar has be be called at the top with the header).
This is a fantastic plugin, I found it through ProBlogger - however it isn’t working when I attempt to try and see if it works. I’ve done everything said in the readme file and still no luck….. I was wondering whether or not it’s compatible with WP 2.6…
Hi,
I have WP 2.0.5, I cannot change the version for some time and seems that the last version of the plugin doesn’t work with this version of WP.
Can you recommend a version of the plugin that works fine with my WP?
Regards,
Hi Mark,
I am really grateful for this plugin…
Now I have just noticed one thing which I guess can be improved…
In plugin code, in function send_mail there is a line…
$headers .= “Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”{$charset}”n
I want to change “text/plain” it to “text/html” so that links and other formatting is preserved when comment reaches to users mailbox.
I like to know few things from you…
1. Will it create secuirty issues?
2. Is there any specific reason you kept it as text/plain.
3. Also will this small change break plugin or affect its functioning?
Waiting for an answer,
Thanks,
-Rahul
Rahul,
Text/plain is easier, more universally supported, and I had no real reason to use HTML. I’m fairly ignorant as to HTML e-mail security problems. It shouldn’t break the plugin or affect its functioning.