=== Crowment Comments ===
Contributors: crowment
Tags: comments, comment system, discussion, community, embed
Requires at least: 6.1
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.1
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Replaces the built-in WordPress comments with the Crowment hosted comment widget. Choose a theme and language; Crowment handles the rest.

== Description ==

Crowment Comments swaps the standard WordPress comment form and comment list for the [Crowment](https://crowment.com) comment widget. Visitors post, reply, react and attach images through the widget, and the service itself is managed from the Crowment console rather than from wp-admin.

Once you connect your site with an app key, the plugin:

* Closes native WordPress comments and hides the built-in comment form and list on both classic and block themes.
* Renders the Crowment widget wherever your theme would normally show comments. No template edits needed.
* Lets you pick one theme for every visitor, or a light and dark pair that follows the visitor's system setting, with a live color preview of each theme.
* Lets you set the widget language, or leave it to follow the visitor's browser.
* Lets you decide whether the query string and the URL hash count as separate pages for comment threads.

A Crowment account is required. Create one at [crowment.com](https://crowment.com), add your site as a widget in the site console, and copy its app key into the plugin settings. Crowment offers a free plan with limited storage as well as paid plans; see [crowment.com/pricing](https://crowment.com/pricing) for current details. The plugin itself is free and contains no locked features.

= External services =

This plugin is a connector for Crowment, a hosted commenting service, and does nothing useful without it. Your site makes the following requests:

* **https://embeds.crowment.com** serves the comment widget script. It is loaded on the public side of your site only after an app key has been saved.
* **https://api.crowment.com** is where the widget reads and writes comments. Every request carries your app key and an identifier for the page being viewed (its path, plus the query string and hash when those options are enabled). Posting a comment or a reaction also sends the comment text and the page title. Signed-in visitors send their Crowment login token. As with any web request, Crowment's servers see the visitor's IP address and browser details.
* **https://static.crowment.com** provides the widget's themes and translations. Your server also fetches the list of available themes and languages from here when you open the plugin's settings page (cached for one hour).
* **https://github.githubassets.com** serves the emoji images used by the comment editor and shown inside comments.

The widget keeps a signed-in visitor's login token in the browser's localStorage under the key `crow-token`. It sets no cookies and includes no analytics or tracking.

Crowment terms of service: https://crowment.com/terms
Crowment privacy policy: https://crowment.com/privacy

== Installation ==

1. Install and activate the plugin from Plugins > Add New, or upload the zip file.
2. Go to Settings > Crowment Comments.
3. Paste the app key for your site from the [Crowment site console](https://crowment.com/site-console) (your widget → Install & Embed) and save.
4. Pick a theme (or a light and dark pair) and a language, then save again.

Comments on your posts and pages now use the Crowment widget.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Do I need a Crowment account? =

Yes. The plugin only connects your site to Crowment, where comments are stored. A free plan is available, and paid plans add more storage; see https://crowment.com/pricing. Visitors load nothing from Crowment until you save an app key.

= What happens to my existing WordPress comments? =

They stay in your database untouched. While the plugin is active they are hidden from visitors and new native comments are closed. Deactivate the plugin and they show again.

= Does it work with block themes? =

Yes. It replaces the Comments block on block themes and the comments template on classic themes.

= Does the widget track visitors? =

No. It contacts Crowment only to load and post comments, sets no cookies, and stores only a signed-in visitor's login token in localStorage. See the External services section for details.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.1 =
* New installs no longer count the URL hash, and count the query string only on plain permalinks, so #comments links and utm_* parameters don't split a post's comments. Saved settings are kept.
* The app key hint now points to the site console (your widget → Install & Embed).

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release. Replaces native comments with the Crowment widget on classic and block themes, with theme, language and page-identification settings.
