My Top Commentators Widget: Quick & Dirty (not anymore)

Updated 14-Nov-2012: Download Top Commentators Widget from the WordPress Plugins Directory. Refer to the README file on how to customise this widget.

Post all bug reports and support requests to the WP.org’s Top Commentators Widget Support forum.

(the original ramblings created on 08-Feb-2007 follows)

Holy Molly, I never thought I’d make one so soon, but it’s true! I’ve created my very first WordPress Widget!

Yeah, well, not exactly. I adapted this Top Commentators Widget from the actual Show Top Commentators (hereto known as STC) plugin by PFA. Here’s actually what happened:

1. Went to Giuk.Net as usual, saw MrBadak talking about his newly installed plugins, and I hopped by.
2. Excitedly surfed into Personal Financial Advice to download the STC plugin.
3. Followed the instructions to the dot, only to find out later that it won’t work if you have Sidebar Widgets activated.
4. Googled for a widgetized version of STC, only to find that the download links don’t work.
5. Desperately needed to install it, so I did the next best thing a desperate grrrl would do — build one.
6. Accidentally sacrificed a few other widgets due to carelessness, but nevermind as I always back-up.
7. Destabilized my site with countless access error messages and loads of SQL warnings.
8. Trying so hard to stay true to the original codes, only to surrender at the last minute and decided to strip down most of the original codes off, therefore FINALLY COMPLETING MY MISSION!

But wait….

Crapazoola. After more googling, I found out that the STC plugin does run on widgets, if you installed the executable PHP for Text widgets first.

My ego is effectively squashed by this new-found knowledge. It took me an embarrassing 8 hours just to get this heck of a plugin to work as a Widget, which goes to show how badly I need to polish up on my PHP.

You may happily use this full-fledged Widget by downloading here:

Download Top Commentators Widget v.1.3

Installation instructions

(WordPress 2.5 and above)

1. Unzip to get the topcommentators_widget.php file.
2. Upload the file into the wp-content/plugins folder.
3. In your WP admin console, go to Plugins and activate Top Commentators Widget.
4. In your WP admin console, go to Design | Widgets and click Add beside the Top Commentators widget.
5. Click Edit on the Top Commentators then scroll down and click Change.
6. Drag the Top Commentators to wherever you want it to be, and click the Save Changes button if you want to stick to the default values.
7. That’s it!

(WordPress 2.3.3 and lower)

1. Unzip to get the topcommentators_widget.php file.
2. Upload the file into the wp-content/plugins folder.
3. In your WP admin console, go to Plugins and activate Top Commentators Widget.
4. In your WP admin console, go to Presentation | Widgets (for WordPress 2.2 and later) or Presentation | Sidebar Widgets (for older WordPress versions), and drag the Top Commentators widget to wherever you want it to be, and click the Save Changes button.
5. Nah, that’s it! Remember to read the FAQ to see what options you can play around in the Top Commentators Widget.

Donate?

Sure, if you want to, though it’s not necessary. Just PayPal any amount to me at “webgrrrl”.”net” (remember to remove the quotes).