3 Killer Drupal Modules for Bloggers

Today I installed 3 killer Drupal modules for blogging: ComLuv, AdToAny, and Mollom.  Below is a summary of each and some tips for installing them that I had to find out the hard way.

ComLuv

Comment Luv started out as a Wordpress plugin but is now available as a Drupal module as well as being compatible with many other types of blogs. The main purpose of it is to allow people who are leaving comments on a blog or article to link back to their own blog and have their latest blog post and some more info show up in that comment.  Installing the module on the site allows anyone with a blog (regardless of whether they themselves have ComLuv) to aggregate their blog into the comment on your page in this way.  If the user gets an account with ComLuv, more info will be shown.  To me this becomes a nifty little way to do an instant link exchange with other bloggers by simply commenting on their ComLuv-enabled blogs.  Below is a picture of a comment I left on someone's blog with a mouseover bubble showing the Comluv info for my site.

Things to know when installing

• After dropping the ComLuv module folder into your "modules" directory, DO NOT ACTIVATE IT.  You must download the Magpie RSS reader from Sourceforge and drop the folder inside your ComLuv folder.  NOTE: they don't mention this, but the Magpie folder name includes the version.  Be sure to strip the version or ComLuv won't be able to locate the critical components.  The directory structure should look exactly like modules>commentluv>magpierss or your drupal will see a nasty error.
• In addition to installing the ComLuv module, you will have to ensure that anonymous commenters either have the option to, or are required to leave their info. The default is to not allow this, which causes there to be no fields for the user to specify their blog address (and thus there is nothing to aggregate).  To do so, go to administer>content types>blog entry, and expand the Comment Settings.  Then check either "Anonymous posters may leave their contact information" or "Anonymous posters must leave their contact information". 
• At the time of writing this, this module only works for anonymous posters.  Authenticated users (those who have registered on your site) will not be able to post ComLuv comments.
• Be sure to create an account on Comment Luv and register your site so you have the advanced features when you comment on other ComLuv enabled blogs

AdToAny

This is an awesome little module that puts a nifty little smart menu at the bottom of any content type you want (blog post, page, story, etc) for the reader to post your article to any of over 100 providers including twitter, facebook, stumbleupon, and even the likes of fark and reddit. The user just has to mouse over and take his or her pick. 

Things to know when installing

• Don't forget to enable permissions in administer>user management>permissions and add access to all user roles in order for the button to pop up. 
• The module can also be configured to display on the types of content you wish.  If you only want it to show on blog posts, for instance, be sure to go to administer>site configuration>addtoany and set it so

Mollum

This is probably the most popular CAPTCHA module used in drupal (the creator of Drupal had a large part in making this one). If set up to do so, it will first filter comments and posts for sketchy content and then only run a CAPTCHA test if it deems necessary.  It's extremely powerful and configurable.  It also has full-featured reports and and integrates with the Mollom servers to continously grow a database of sketchy behaviour and blacklistees. 

Things to know when installing

• Be sure to read all the documentation before installing the module
• Be especially sure to read this before trying to test it out.  If you test it out without the right permissions, you might get yourself blacklisted.  Nooooo!

Know any must-have Drupal modules, or have some suggestions that would beat the three I listed?  Leave a comment!  Whule you're at it, don't forget to ComLuv it.