The other day someone asked me for a recommendation for a highly flexible comments and/or guestbook script for their website. Our first choice has always been TalkBack. Talkback was created by  Richard Williamson (aka Old Guy), a retired IT manager. As he notes himself: “If you have been searching for a comments script to use on your website you are probably as frustrated as I was. A number of scripts exist but most are very basic and inadequate. Even the more fully featured scripts do not include satisfactory comments spam protection and often favor eye candy over functionality and ease of use. So I went to work. The result is TalkBack, simple yet powerful.”

Talkback  uses a mySQL database and is written in the PHP language. Comments can be added to any page on your website, and features several configuration options including visitor subscriptions, email notices, customizable templates and CSS styling. TalkBack is an on-going project with an active community forum, that is supported by the author. Best of all, it’s free! (Although I’m sure Richard has no problem accepting donations as a thank you).

Talkback Requirements:

• PHP 4.3 or higher on your web server
• MySQL 3.23 or higher on your web server
• For spam checking: an API key from a free WordPress account

Addon features (mods)

• Add a “comment teaser” to your website.
• Add a recent comments list.
• Use TalkBack for reviews and ratings.
• Place comments listing and entry form on separate pages.
• Add a comments RSS feed.

The main thing, we have always liked about Talkback is the ability to manage comments, without fear of spam. Control over the software is also something which is highly valuable. One of the issues for something like Google Friend Connect, for example, is a lack of control over postings. You have no access to the back-end to delete or moderate comments if (for example) you accidentally accept one erroneously. Talkback is also easy to customize, and Richard is always generous with this time in the forums in helping with questions. If you are looking for a quick (and easy) solution to  allow user interaction, Talkback is the best solution.