NOT All My Loving - CommentLuv Deactivated
April 10th, 2008 by Stephen Cronin (1,219 views)This post was supposed to be titled All My Loving and announce the adoption of the CommentLuv plugin. In combination with my very own KeywordLuv plugin, I would have indeed been giving you all my loving. Unfortunately, I had a problem with CommentLuv and have deactivated it. For now…
The Bad - Huge Increase In Database Size
I first noticed the problem when my daily database backup was emailed to me. The size had increased by almost 50% compared yesterday’s backup. I tracked the problem down to CommentLuv 0.999.
It seems there is occasionally a problem where each and every feed is stored in the wp_options table in the database. That means the entire feed (all 10 posts), of everyone who leaves a comment, is being stored in my database! Not only that, it stores the entire feed for each comment you leave. RT from Untwisted Vortex left 8 comments, so I have 8 copies of his entire feed.
In the last few days, 58 comments invoked CommentLuv. The wp_options table grew from 0.5MB to 3.5MB. I couldn’t let that continue, so I deactivated the plugin and manually cleared out the stored feeds (they aren’t needed).
When I went to Andy Bailey’s site to report this, I found this is a known problem, which will be resolved in the next version. From his post discussing the upcoming CommentLuv upgrade:
** Currently, there are some cases of the default include of MAGPIE saving each and every feed cache to the WP database in WP_OPTIONS/OPTION_NAME which tends to make it grow quite large, also some users have reported it being set to “autoload on” which can have an effect on load times.
I wouldn’t expect this to affect many people, but if you’re worried it may be a good time to do a backup and see if its significantly larger than expected.
UPDATE: If you are affected, Andy has posted a way to clean the database.
The Good - Great New Features In Next Version
While at Andy’s site, I found that he is doing some really cool things with the next version of CommentLuv. These include:
- ‘AJAX-ifying’ the plugin, so the commentator’s feed is parsed while they are writing the comment.
- Removing the reliance on PHP and WordPress functions, so that potentially it can work on other blogging platforms such as Blogger.
- My favourite: Adding a dropdown list of your last 5 posts, so you can choose which one you want CommentLuv to add to the comment.
- And of course, resolving my problem!
Brilliant! You can try out a demo on Andy’s CommentLuv Ajax Preview post.
Final Thoughts
If you’re wondering why CommentLuv disappeared, that’s the story. I think CommentLuv is a great plugin and about to get better. I’m committed to running it on my site, but it will have to wait for the next version. In the meantime, at least you can get some KeywordLuv here.
Tags: dofollow, feeds, keywordluv, wordpress plugins
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AJAX-ifying’ the plugin, so the commentator’s feed is parsed while they are writing the plugin.
I guess you mean ‘writing the comment’
Hi Adam,
Yes, I meant when they are writing the comment. Thanks for picking this up, I’ve fixed it now…
I am sorry you couldn’t get commentluv working….
keyword Luv is awesome… i’ve used it a few times already on other sites…..
And, I am way excited about the AJAX one coming up…. because you can choose which feed you want.
Hi RJ,
Yes, being able to choose which post you want to use for CommentLuv is exceptionally cool! I’m looking forward to that as well.
Wow, that’s good to know. I have it on mine but I hadn’t upgraded to the .999 version yet. My DB hasn’t increased at all so it must be that specific version. I will have to take a closer look to it. Looking forward to trying your Keyword plugin. Does it do anything to the DB?
Hi Mark,
I had the problem with version .999 of CommentLuv. I don’t know exactly which versions it affects - but I’m pretty sure it was only certain versions. Even then, I believe it was not a problem for most people.
KeywordLuv doesn’t do anything to the DB (well apart from adding a single entry to the wp_options table to store the parameters). If a commentator adds name@keywords in the Name field, that’s what’s stored in the DB. KeywordLuv simply intercepts this when the page is being built and moves the name part outside the link.
I just deleted 27000+ rows out of the table. I’ll have to check it couple of days to make sure it doesn’t grow again. I can’t wait for the new version!
RT,
I can’t wait for the new version either… The ability to choose which post to use really adds value to the commentators…
Obviously it’s pretty understandable given the size of the DB increase that you and many others will pull it until it is updated. The idea of a dropdown is perfect as it would greatly increase the ability of the commentator to leave relevant links versus whatever was last written.
Hi Greenie,
Totally agree. As I said in the comments on the FiddyP site, I actually sometimes hold of commenting on other blogs until I finish a half written post… Terrible, I know, but sometimes I really want a more relevant post to be used.
I will also remove the plugin from my blog. Was not aware of any problems thanks…
Marc,
I didn’t mean to just remove it, because it’s not a problem for everyone. Anyway, there is a new version out now, with this problem resolved - Go get it!
Thanks.
I have also removed it from my blogs.
Keep us updated. Thanks Again
Limth,
As I said in my previous comment to Marc… get the new version
Interesting one… I didn’t thought about the impact on the database. Thanks for the note. Will see next version, hope it comes out soon.
Your keyword luv plugin is the best! I did install it on my Redneck Bar & Grill site, and I’m surprised how few have used it so far. We need to advertise this puppy for you.
Hi Tim,
Yeah, not many people know about KeywordLuv yet. The more people who hear about it, the more it will be used. Might take a while to get the word out…
Thanks for the tips. I use CommentLuv on my blog, but was unaware of any such issues. I’ll have a look and see if I need a clear-out.
Enjoy the weekend!
Hi David,
Thanks for stopping by. I notice CommentLuv made your 13 of the best WordPress plugins list, which I think is deserved. Now if only I could write a plugin that innovative!
As an aside, I did enjoy the weekend, which was my first weekend at home (Australia) for 4 years!
just to let you know that the commentluv plugin has been updated and it completely removes any issues with increasing database size, also it can handle all foreign characters and punctuation marks now
Hi Andy,
Great news! I will activate the new version in the next week or so. I’ve just moved country and I’m very behind on many things - including comments.
I don’t have time to answer comments at the moment, but I have to answer this one as I think CommentLuv is great and want to state that anyone who has disabled CommentLuv because of this issue should upgrade to the new version and reactivate!
Wow I’ll have to check my database . That seems to be a nasty little side effect I dont want. Will definately have to look into the new version.
Thanks for the headsup
UFG, The new version of CommentLuv is now out, you should definitely upgrade.
First weekend at home in 4 years?! I get ‘home’ (to Ireland) about once or twice a year, which is a bit miserable considering I’m a 40 minute flight away.
Glad you enjoyed it.
[…] If you’re using the CommentLuv plugin, you should seriously consider the effects on your site. Not only could it be slowing down your server, but your database could be growing exponentially… […]
I like the keywordluv plugin better
Keyword plugin is great . I agree with you Rome.