14 DAY TRIAL // There are several companies offering a ready-built comments platform for websites, but Facebook entry, or rather re-entry, into the field was significant. However, the initial launch was less impressive than it could have been since several features, which were present during the testing phase, were removed in the final release.
Now, Facebook is working on bringing them back, or at least, a version of the original idea, for example the new Social Ranking option for sorting comments, introduced in the latest update to the Comments Box plugin.
"Chronological sort: People can now change how comments are sorted to show the most recent conversations first," Facebook explained one of the new features.
"This feature should be particularly valuable for moments when readers want to experience commentary in real-time, such as seeing the latest comments of a live sports event or reality TV show," it added.
This option is a no-brainer, for small websites or content that doesn't get a lot of comments, having the oldest comments first enables users to follow the conversation.
But with very popular posts, with many comments, this becomes impossible so the reverse-chronological sorting option is the best option.
Much more interesting though is the new Social Ranking option, which Facebook doesn't talk about.
It's unclear what exactly Facebook takes into account with this sorting option, but it's clear that it tries to surface the comments that are most relevant from the sources that are the most trust-worthy.
Initially, the Facebook comments box had voting, Reddit style, enabling users to upvote or downvote comments. Facebook dropped the feature after the testing phase, but perhaps some lessons were learned.
"Boosting comments: Moderators can now ensure that high-quality comments appear at the top of the Comments Box by using the new 'Boost Comment' option," Facebook described the new feature.
Boosting comments has been a regular request from website owners and it's easy to see why, being able to make sure that the comments you believe to be the most pertinent stay at the top for everyone to see.
"More than 300,000 sites have implemented the Comments Box, and many partners have reported significant increases in referral traffic and engagement," boasts Facebook about the adoption of the comments plugin.