Adding comments to your static blog with Mastodon

Carl Schwan discusses integrating comments into static blogs using Mastodon, a decentralized social network. Traditional static site generators lack comment functionality, often leading users to rely on third-party services like Disqus, which raise privacy concerns. Schwan proposes leveraging Mastodon to allow users to comment without the need for a database, thus reducing maintenance burdens. By posting a "toot" that links to the blog article, comments can be fetched via Mastodon's API. The implementation is adaptable for various static site generators, and it includes a button to load comments, minimizing server load. The code also incorporates DOMPurify for input sanitization, enhancing security. Users can respond to posts using their existing Mastodon accounts, and the blog's frontmatter can be configured to display comments seamlessly.

- Mastodon offers a privacy-friendly alternative for adding comments to static blogs.

- The integration reduces the need for third-party services and database management.

- Comments are fetched via Mastodon's API, improving performance and user experience.

- The implementation is adaptable for different static site generators.

- Security is enhanced through input sanitization using DOMPurify.