Comment sections are architecturally broken.

Traditional embeds sit where 70% of readers never scroll, load 140KB of JavaScript, and phone home on every request. Sayy fixes the architecture — not the UI.

TechCrunch · 4 min read

The AI bubble is starting to look a lot like the dot-com era

Markets have been watching the AI sector with growing unease. While fundamentals remain strong, valuations have stretched…

The most dangerous assumption is that growth will continue indefinitely without a meaningful correction.

17 Comments

4 reading

Maya K. 2m ago

"most dangerous assumption…"

This is exactly what people said about cloud in 2010. Capital intensity is now 10× higher.

👍 14Reply

Ryan S. 9m ago

The dot-com comparison falls apart at actual revenue. AWS alone runs at massive scale.

👍 9👎 4Reply

Leila T. 15m ago

Both can be true — the tech is real, the valuations are fantasy.

👍 22Reply

70%

The Footer Fallacy

Readers never scroll far enough to see traditional comment sections.

140KB

Disqus Payload

JavaScript on every pageview. Core Web Vitals degraded, SEO penalised.

2.7★

Disqus G2 Rating

Forced ads, tracking, and data lock-in. Switching feels impossible.

0KB

Sayy External

Zero external requests in Tier 1. Privacy-first is the default.

— Comparison

Switching takes five minutes.

Sayy was built to replace Disqus — not to imitate it. Here's what changes when you move.

Disqus the old way

Loads 140KB of JavaScript on every pageview
Forced ads and sponsored recommendations
Tracks readers and monetises their data
Comments sit where 70% of readers never scroll
2.7★ average rating — and painful to leave

Sayy the fix

3KB boot — the widget loads only when a reader opens it
No ads. No tracking. No data selling.
Zero external requests in Tier 1
Comments anchor to the text readers are on
60-second Disqus import, with rollback

— Architecture

Three-stage boot. Zero blocking.

The full JS bundle never blocks your page — it only loads when a reader opens the widget.

boot.js — 1 day cache

A single <script> tag. Reads data-site, fetches init. Fingerprint-free. No cookies. No tracking.

GET /embed/boot.js · max-age=86400

init endpoint — 60s cache

Returns JSON config: appearance, feature flags, versioned loader URL. Config version bumps on save.

GET /embed/init · max-age=60 · ETag

loader.js — 1yr immutable

Full widget. Version baked into URL — cached indefinitely. Only fetched on first load or config change.

GET /embed/loader.v{hash}.js · immutable

<!-- Drop-in embed. That's it. -->
<script
    src="https://app.sayy.co.uk/embed/boot.js"
    data-site="your-site-id"
    data-mode="side_panel"
    defer
></script>
<!-- 3KB boot → lazy-loads full widget -->
<!-- Zero external requests (Tier 1) -->
<!-- No cookies. No fingerprints. -->
// Programmatic control
import { Sayy } from '@sayy/embed'
const widget = Sayy.init({
    site: 'your-site-id',
    mode: 'floating',
    theme: 'auto',
})
// Listen for events
widget.on('comment:new', (e) => {
    console.log(e.author, e.body)
})
# Fetch comments for a page
GET /api/v1/sites/{site}/comments
    ?page_url=https://example.com/post
    &sort=top
    &limit=25
# Post a comment
POST /api/v1/sites/{site}/comments
    Authorization: Bearer {token}
    Content-Type: application/json
    { "body": "Great post!",
      "parent_id": null,
      "anchor": { "xpath": "...", "offset": 42 } }

— Features

Everything a commenting API needs.

From text anchoring to RBAC — built for the team, not just the reader.

Core

Context Anchoring

Comments attach to highlighted text, not just the page. Readers see exactly what's being discussed.

text_anchorXPath + offset range stored per comment. Survives minor edits via fuzzy matching.

highlight_syncHover a comment to highlight the source. Click a highlight to jump to the thread.

orphan_handlingIf source text is deleted, comment auto-demotes to page-level with a stale badge.

quote_previewAnchored text displayed inline in the comment thread for full context.

Pipeline

Three-tier spam filtering

Starts local. Escalates only when needed. You choose how far the pipeline goes.

tier_1: localRegex patterns, blocklists, rate limiting. Zero external calls. Privacy-first default.

tier_2: aiBYOK — your OpenAI or Anthropic key. Only fires for ambiguous scores (20–70).

tier_3: offNo filters at all. For platforms that handle moderation externally.

quota_fallbackAuto-falls back to Tier 1 on 429 or when monthly AI quota is exhausted.

BYOK

AI moderation — your API key

Tier 2 only fires for ambiguous scores. Supports OpenAI gpt-4o-mini and Claude claude-haiku. Full JSON reasoning logged.

gpt-4o-miniOpenAI provider

claude-haikuAnthropic provider

quota_fallbackAutomatic Tier 1 on 429

ai_reasoningLogged per decision

Import

Escape Disqus in 60 seconds

One-click Disqus XML import. Maps threads, authors, timestamps, and votes.

disqus_xmlFull export import with thread mapping and author preservation.

wxr_importWordPress eXtended RSS. Comments, metadata, and hierarchy intact.

dry_runPreview import results before committing. See conflicts upfront.

rollbackUndo any import within 24 hours. No data loss, ever.

Live

Real-time presence & updates

See who's reading. New comments stream in live. Powered by SSE — no WebSocket overhead.

presenceAnonymous reader count per page. Zero auth required.

live_commentsNew comments appear instantly via Server-Sent Events.

typing_indicatorOptional "someone is writing…" signal. Disable per-site.

reconnectAuto-reconnect with exponential backoff on flaky connections.

Access

Role-based access control

Owner, admin, moderator, commenter. Scoped per-site with granular permissions.

ownerFull access. Billing, API keys, site deletion.

adminSite settings, moderation, team management. No billing.

moderatorApprove, hide, flag comments. View reports.

audit_logEvery action timestamped. Exportable as JSON or CSV.

— Widget Modes

Four layouts. One embed tag.

Switch mode in the dashboard — no code changes. All four share the same boot.js tag.

inlineInline

Renders in page flow. ResizeObserver auto-adjusts height. Best for blogs and long-form.

data-mode="inline"

floatingFloating

56×56px persistent FAB. Expands to 380×500px panel. Non-disruptive — always accessible.

data-mode="floating"

17 comments

● 4 reading

bottom_barBottom Bar

Full-width sticky bar, collapsed with count. Expands on tap. Ideal for news and mobile.

data-mode="bottom_bar"

💬 4

side_panelSide Panel

Pill FAB with reactions + presence. Slides in as a panel. Most app-like experience.

data-mode="side_panel"

— WordPress

One plugin. Zero config.

Install from the WordPress plugin directory. Sayy replaces your default comment system in under a minute — no theme edits, no shortcodes.

Built for WordPress from day one

Sayy started as a WordPress commenting plugin. The WP integration isn't an afterthought — it's the primary install path. One plugin handles everything: embed injection, admin settings, migration, and spam tier config.

Install & activate — search "Sayy" in Plugins → Add New. One click. No API keys needed for the free tier.

Auto-replaces comments — the plugin hooks into comments_template and injects the Sayy embed. Your theme's comment section is swapped automatically.

Import existing comments — migrate your native WP comments or Disqus export with one click from the Sayy settings panel. Threads, authors, and votes preserved.

WordPress 6.0+ PHP 8.1+ Multisite compatible Classic & Block themes

— Pricing

Simple tiers. No surprises.

Bring your own AI key or use Sayy AI at $2 per 1,000 calls — you only pay for what you use.

Free

forever · 1 site

1,000 comments / month
All 4 widget modes
Local spam filter
Migration wizard
7-day analytics