django-threadedcomments

threadedcomments is a Django application which allows for the simple creation of a threaded commenting system. Commenters can reply both to the original item, and reply to other comments as well.

The application is built on top of django_comments, which allows it to be easily extended by other modules.

Installation

Install the package via pip:

pip install django-threadedcomments

It's preferred to install the module in a virtual environment.

Configuration

Add the following to settings.py:

INSTALLED_APPS += (
    'threadedcomments',
    'django_comments',
    'django.contrib.sites',
)

COMMENTS_APP = 'threadedcomments'

By placing the threadedcomments app above the django.contrib.comments application, the placeholder comments/list.html template will already be replaced by a threaded view.

Make sure django_comments is configured in urls.py:

urlpatterns += patterns('',
    url(r'^articles/comments/', include('django_comments.urls')),
)

Provide a template that displays the comments for the object (e.g. article or blog entry):

{% load threadedcomments_tags %}

...

<h2>Comments for {{ object.title }}:</h2>

{% render_comment_list for object %}
{% render_comment_form for object %}

Template design

Naturally, it's desirable to write your own version of comments/list.html in your project, or use one of the comments/app/list.html or comments/app/model/list.html overrides.

Make sure to override comments/base.html as well, so the other views of django_comments are displayed using your web site design. The other templates of django_comments are very plain as well on purpose (for example comments/posted.html), since these pages depend on the custom design of the web site.

See the provided example app for a basic configuration, including a JavaScript-based reply form that moves to the comment the visitor replies to.

Template tags

The threadedcomments_tags library is a drop-in replacement for the comments library that is required for the plain comments. The tags are forwards compatible; they support the same syntax as django_comments provides, and they add a few extra parameters.

Fetching comment counts:

{% get_comment_count for [object] as [varname] %}
{% get_comment_count for [object] as [varname] root_only %}

{% get_comment_count for [app].[model] [id] as [varname] %}
{% get_comment_count for [app].[model] [id] as [varname] root_only %}

Fetching the comments list:

{% get_comment_list for [object] as [varname] %}
{% get_comment_list for [object] as [varname] flat %}
{% get_comment_list for [object] as [varname] root_only %}

Rendering the comments list:

{% render_comment_list for [object] %}
{% render_comment_list for [object] root_only %}

{% render_comment_list for [app].[model] [id] %}
{% render_comment_list for [app].[model] [id] root_only %}

Fetching the comment form:

{% get_comment_form for [object] as [varname] %}
{% get_comment_form for [object] as [varname] with [parent_id] %}
{% get_comment_form for [app].[model] [id] as [varname] %}
{% get_comment_form for [app].[model] [id] as [varname] with [parent_id] %}

Rendering the comment form:

{% render_comment_form for [object] %}
{% render_comment_form for [object] with [parent_id] %}
{% render_comment_form for [app].[model] [id] %}
{% render_comment_form for [app].[model] [id] with [parent_id] %}

Rendering the whole tree:

{% for comment in comment_list|fill_tree|annotate_tree %}
    {% ifchanged comment.parent_id %}{% else %}</li>{% endifchanged %}
    {% if not comment.open and not comment.close %}</li>{% endif %}
    {% if comment.open %}<ul>{% endif %}

    <li id="c{{ comment.id }}">
        ...
    {% for close in comment.close %}</li></ul>{% endfor %}
{% endfor %}

The fill_tree filter is required for pagination, it ensures that the parents of the first comment are included as well.

The annotate_tree filter adds the open and close properties to the comment.

Extending the module

The application is built on top of the standard django_comments framework, which supports various signals, and template overrides to customize the comments.

To customize django-threadedcomments, override the proper templates, or include the apps that provide the missing features. Front-end editing support for example, is left out on purpose. It belongs to the domain of moderation, and policies to know "who can do what". That deserves to be in a separate application, it shouldn't be in this application as it focuses on threading. The same applies to social media logins, comment subscriptions, spam protection and Ajax posting.

Note that the standard framework also supports moderation, flagging, and RSS feeds too. More documentation can be found at:

• Django's comments framework
• Customizing the comments framework
• Example of using the in-built comments app

Some of the modules worth looking at are:

• django-comments-spamfighter
• django-myrecaptcha
• django-fluent-comments

These modules can enhance the comments system even further.