Replace Disqus with staticomment

[cwage]

Overview

Migrate from Disqus to staticomment, a self-hosted comment server that stores comments as YAML files committed directly to the repo in _data/comments/.

Background

Disqus is currently hardcoded in _layouts/post.html. staticomment is a lightweight server that accepts comment form POSTs and writes them as YAML files to _data/comments/<slug>/, then commits them to the repo. Comments support threading via a reply_to field.

The Disqus export is attached to this issue for reference.

Tasks

Phase 1: Import existing Disqus comments

• Write a Disqus XML export ingestion script (scripts/import_disqus.sh, dockerized)
• Parse the Disqus export XML, mapping threads to post slugs
• Generate YAML comment files in _data/comments/<slug>/ preserving threading via reply_to
• Verify imported comment counts match the export (5,816 imported, 109 deleted + 107 spam filtered)
• Sweep for missed spam (Sweep imported Disqus comments for missed spam #31)

Phase 2: Jekyll theme changes

• Remove Disqus embed from _layouts/post.html
• Add comments.html / comment.html includes that iterate over site.data.comments[slug]
• Render threaded comments with proper nesting/indentation
• Basic styling for comment display (author, date, body)

Completed in #32.

Phase 3: New comment form

• Add an HTML comment submission form to the post layout
• Form POSTs to the hosted staticomment instance
• Support reply-to for threaded replies
• Test end-to-end: submit comment, verify YAML file created, verify it renders on next build