| Convo: FAQ |
What is Convo?
Convo is a web site that watches blog and journal comment threads for you, and tells you when there are new replies.
The problem with blogs as a discussion medium is that it's hard to keep track of your conversations. I'm always losing track of where I've left comments on blogs. I forget to check back, and I miss replies.
Convo does the checking for you. The Firefox extension automatically detects when you post a comment to a known blog comment system, and it sends the comment thread URL to the Convo Tracker website. The site lets you view your blog threads and check for updates.
The system periodically scans for replies to your comment threads and tells you which ones have new comments.
How do I use it?
If you're a Firefox user, download and install the browser extension. It will automatically add any comment threads that you post to, and you can manually add webpages by clicking the "Add to Convo" button.
If you're not using the browser extension, you can still add web pages with the "Track a Web Page" form on the Convo Tracker website.
Which comment systems and bulletin boards does Convo understand?
Convo can detect when you post to Blogger, dasBlog, Flickr, Gawker Media, HaloScan, LiveJournal, MovableType, SnorComments2, TypePad, WordPress, and YouTube comment threads; this represents the vast majority of current blogging systems. It can also monitor for new posts, but not auto-detect when you post a comment, on Amazon, Chowhound, Digg, DailyKos, Drupal, MySpace, Reddit, and SlashDot threads.
Convo can also monitor CNET, OpenACS, phpBB, vBulletin, Yahoo, , and Yuku bulletin board threads, as well as the boards on several popular financial sites.
You can also monitor for changes to FedEx and UPS tracking pages: Just enter the package tracking number on the manual "Track a Web Page" page.
We're constantly adding support for new blogging systems and bulletin boards, because it's a fun way to procrastinate on other development tasks. We're happy to take requests for new systems to support.
What's the privacy policy?
Our Privacy Policy states that we don't share your information, we don't watch your web browsing except to monitor for posts to comment threads, and we don't store information about you without telling you (unless you turn notifications off).
The only exception is that we may need to look at your password and private information while debugging the system. We will keep any such information strictly confidential.
Does Convo notify me when my threads are updated?
Yes! If you have the extension installed and there are updates to any of the threads you're monitoring, the "View Convo" panel in the status bar will tell you how many. (For example, "View Convo (3 updates)".) Email notification will be supported in the future.
Can I add a web page without posting a comment?
Sure. If you're using the browser extension, just click "Add to Convo" in the status bar while viewing that page.
Make sure that you add the page in which the comments are visible! If you don't have a status bar with the "Add to Convo" button in a popup comment window, you can still add the thread manually by right-clicking on the page and selecting "Add to Convo" from the context menu.
If you're not using the browser extension, you can still add web pages with the "Track a Web Page" form on the Convo Tracker website.
Can I add a webpage that isn't a comment thread?
You can add any web page to Convo with the extension or the "Track a Web Page" form. If Convo doesn't recognize the web page as a comment thread, it'll tag it as a manual bookmark.
Why isn't Convo counting replies for one of my comment threads?
There are a few possible reasons:
I don't need another bookmark system or feed aggregator.
Neither do I. But existing bookmark systems like del.icio.us don't monitor for changes; and most blog and forum systems don't provide RSS feeds for individual comment threads.
Since your Convo track is available as an RSS feed, you can actually monitor it within your feed aggregator if your track isn't set to private access only.
How often does the Convo Tracker scan for new comments?
Currently, the Tracker process runs every 15 minutes. New and recently changed threads are checked hourly; threads that have no recent activity are checked less often.
After 60 days with no activity, a thread is no longer scanned, but you can reset the clock by re-adding it to Convo.
The Convo Tracker website is ugly.
Not as ugly as it used to be. We're still working on it.
When will Internet Explorer be supported?
A Convo Toolbar for IE is available, but hasn't been tested thoroughly enough to be released it into the wild. If you're interested in helping to test it, please let us know.
When will Flock be supported?
As of version 0.1.1.4, the Firefox extension is completely Flock-compatible. Hurray!
When will Opera be supported?
Opera 9 will be supported eventually, but it's not on the schedule yet.
When will Safari be supported?
That depends on how easy it is to write WebKit plugins.