There have been a number of problems cropping up with the subscribe to comments script. My first thought had been that I would completely revamp it – make it use mySQL, etc. – however some problems can not be overcome unless it becomes an integral part of MT. Especially now with mt-blacklist and other comment spam blocking plugins.
I have two questions for you – feel free to email me or leave a comment with your thoughts:
1) Is there a doctor in the house? 😉 (or rather a PERL programmer?)
Basically is there someone out there that can either write this as a plugin or some other method directly into the MT code? The way it works now is that the comment subscribe script happens BEFORE MT gets the comment and can either deny it based on it's content or the commenter's IP address. (So you can probably guess what's happening) As well, with all the SPAM legislation out there, there are some serious flaws to the script which would need to be addressed in an update. If there is someone out there, I would love to help out however I can (maybe I'd actually learn a little PERL in the process?!) – but in the very least – I can tell you what the script needs to do/how it needs to work.
2) Let it die?
Without the proper update to the code, I'm considering taking the feature down off this site altogether. Basically people who subscribe to comments run the risk of being spammed. I've done my best to prevent that – but I'm beginning to throw my hands up in the air… and with the traffic (and comment spam) this site gets, it's getting out of hand.
So, any thoughts?