DiscussBot for Channel Comments

Your channel is growing, readers want to respond, and under every post there is silence. Third-party services used to fill this gap, and DiscussBot was one of them. You make the bot an admin of your channel, and comment buttons appear under new posts. 💬

The button opens a discussion page and signs the reader in through Telegram automatically.

How the bot adds discussions

It comes down to one step. You add the bot to the channel as an administrator, and it starts attaching a button to posts. The description mentions no further settings.

• Button under a post: a reader taps it and lands on a page with comments.
• Automatic login: subscribers need no new password because they sign in with Telegram.
• Reply notifications: if someone answers your comment, the bot tells you.

Why it was built

The bot has an unusual backstory. It was made to showcase a then-new Telegram feature: one-tap login to websites through an authorization link. The demo channel is still around.

The same approach powers a comment widget for ordinary websites. For a developer it is a clear demonstration of how Telegram login works. Details are in the official Bot API documentation.

Public channels only

The bot is meant for public channels. If your channel is private, it will not fit. Check this before spending time on setup.

There are only two commands: /start explains how to use the bot and /help answers common questions.

What about native comments

Since then Telegram itself introduced discussions: you can link a group to a channel and a standard comment button appears under posts. For many channels that is enough, and a third-party bot is no longer needed.

The bot is useful if you want a separate comment page with Telegram login, or if you are studying how this kind of authorization works.

1. First enable native discussions and see whether they suit you.
2. If you need another format, add the bot as an admin.
3. Publish a new post and check the button.
4. Ask a couple of friends to comment and confirm that login works.

Things to watch

Comments attract spammers. Decide in advance who moderates them and by which rules. Give admin rights only as needed and make sure the bot has nothing extra.

Remember also that the comment page sits outside the usual chat. Some readers dislike following buttons, so tell your audience that the discussion now lives there.

How to tell it works

Do not stop at one post after connecting. Test the button on a phone and on a computer, then see whether reply notifications arrive. If something looks odd, remove the bot's rights and add it again.

Who it suits

Authors of public channels who want discussion under every post. Developers studying Telegram login in practice. Anyone who needs a light comment page without a separate group.