Spam is as pervasive as it is annoying. Since the advent of email and user-generated content, forums, and chat rooms, the problem of spam has plagued Internet forums, chat rooms, and inboxes everywhere. Even during the infancy of electronic communication, scheming dentists would spam their services to unsuspecting telegram recipients (c. 1864). Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried:

User mentions let you pull anyone into a conversation that you think can add a positive contribution. Whether it’s a friend, the author, or that one person on the Internet you like to geek out with about DC Comics, user mentions connect you to others in the community so that commenting can feel more engaging and personal.

“The newspaper industry is suffering.”  So says this bit from HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.  But, don’t just take John’s word.  Time Inc is in trouble as reported by CNN.  News Corp is falling short of expectations as reported by AdAge.  And that’s just last week!  In the fallout, Gawker, which filed for bankruptcy in June, asks “if John Oliver isn’t going to save journalism, what will”?  Which brings us here.  Journalism is full of problems, but where are the solutions?

Notifications are a core feature for how publishers on Disqus retain and re-engage with their readers. Currently, we send notifications on a variety of community actions:

As Disqus has grown over the years, our company has changed. From the way we talk about our core values to the way we plan projects to the operational policies we create, we’re just not the same company at 50 employees that we were at 15! For the last six years, I’ve worked to create company policies that feel intuitive to the way we operate - natural (but official) extensions of the things we believe and the way we want to behave. After all, building a great community means investing in that community, and company policies are just a set of (sometimes legally-required) community guidelines!

We’re back at it for another poll on finding the best websites on the Internet. For this week’s topic, we’re heading down childhood memory lane in exploring the wonderful world of comic books (Thanks to everyone who participated during the nomination round!). This encompasses subjects like superheroes, sci-fi/fantasy, and film/television.

Last week, Disqussers piled onto a bus and headed off to camp. Our intrepid campers were in for a treat: campfires and s’mores, archery and rock climbing, stargazing and bike trails...and no meetings :)

We recently released version 1.1 of the Disqus iPhone app that includes a slew of new features such as site profiles, Twitter and Google login options, and GIF search.

Earlier this month, we asked you for your nominations of the best sports websites on the Internet. Seven sites were nominated and after a week of voting with 1,941 total votes submitted by the community, we now have our winner.

The first major feature release for Disqus for iOS is now available on the App Store. This update includes new features for moderators such as inline moderation actions and for commenters including markdown support and GIF support.

Read on to find out what else is new.