A while ago, I wrote about my difficult decision between choosing from the commenting systems, Disqus and Intense Debate. Much has changed since that post, including Disqus’s support of video comments and now, Intense Debate’s support of FriendFeed. At this moment, the only benefit I see of using Disqus over Intense Debate is its support of video comments. This makes the decision a lot easier for me. Now that Intense Debate supports FriendFeed, it becomes a no-brainer:

The ability to import and export existing comments with ease propels Intense Debate as the clear winner.

Both Disqus and Intense Debate now support FriendFeed, both have great moderation options, both have a decent reputation system. The huge difference here is that my existing data is safe AND my future data is easily accessible. I realize Disqus has data portability options available, but Intense Debate’s are much simpler in my mind. I also realize, with Disqus, you can keep your existing comments on your blog and only use Disqus for new posts. (Intense Debate has the same option) While this workaround may be sufficient for some, I’m not a big fan of keeping two separate commenting systems on the same blog. Intense Debate’s solution is more elegant, seamless, and easier for the user to use and maintain.

I commend the folks over at Intense Debate and FriendFeed for making this happen, and I’m glad I was patient with Intense Debate. I’m quite confident I’ve made the right choice. Take a look at the Intense Debate comments on FriendFeed.

Related posts:

• Intense Debate or Disqus? I’m torn.
• Why I Like Intense Debate
• Intense Debate Now a Part of Automattic

I can’t decide.

I’ve used and loved Disqus in the past, but felt the data portability options were limited. I loved the data portability options of Intense Debate, but found it lacked support with FriendFeed. Recently, I went on record as to my reasons for liking Intense Debate. One of those reasons included their willingness to support Seesmic video comments. Today, Disqus has added Seesmic Video comments to their system. I’m left with the following:

So part of me wants Disqus for the Seesmic/FriendFeed support while the other part likes the data portability options (the ease of it) of Intense Debate. Now here’s another thing: This post may draw people from the Disqus AND the Intense Debate communities. Since I currently have Intense Debate installed, I doubt many Disqus users will bother commenting. That’s a whole ‘nother bag of apples.

I really miss video comments and was willing to move to Intense Debate because they expressed interest while I heard nothing from Disqus. Now, Disqus has launched support, and I’m hearing nothing from Intense Debate.

Torn.

Related posts:

• Intense Debate Is the Easy Choice
• Why I Like Intense Debate
• Intense Debate Now a Part of Automattic