AJAX CommentsThere’s a new version of AJAX Comments, the asynchronous blog post discussion plugin, available as of this week. Compatible with the latest version of WordPress, as well as WordPress MU, it has been completely rewritten. Several new features were added and numerous bugs were thoroughly squashed through rigorous beta testing prior to release. Geeky documentation is also included for WP Hackers, and the license is now GPLv2:

http://wordpress.smullindesign.com/plugins/ajax-comments

I’ve learned a lot since the previous release (2006-07-08). One big lesson was that creating plugins is great fun, but supporting them [for free] is not. Inspired by Hannah Gray’s Profile Pics Plugin, and the GNU philosophy on selling free software, there’s now a minimal fee for the download. So far I’ve been very pleased with the unique visitors, the number of downloads, and the caliber of the people downloading my plugin—not to mention the international exposure.

One great example is Miguel Pérez of RUDEWORKS who took advantage of the CSS theming capability to present a very slick integration with his already awesome WordPress theme—a reminder that it is time to update my blog theme…

I want to personally say thank you to all those who support free software! Your US$1 goes towards the prompt release of new features, bug fixes, and email support. The cost is nominal and the benefit is clear. Every download is a contribution to the WordPress platform and inspiration for developers worldwide to focus their creative powers on the WordPress community.