Add Optional Haloscan Importing to Blogger Importer

[clwill]

Many blogger users use Haloscan for comments. Fortunately, Haloscan allows users to easily export their comments in XML format, so they can easily be imported. This change will allow users to optionally import those comments after they have imported their blog using the new blogger importer.

Does Haloscan still exist?

​http://www.chipbennett.net/2010/02/11/haloscan-discontinued-why-not-to-use-third-party-services/
​http://aboutecho.com/tag/haloscan/

Not sure if this is a feature that would make sense to add to the blogger importer, surely it would be a better as a separate function as it is/was a third party comments system rather than being a blogger specific feature.

Well, it's a sordid tale. Haloscan was bought by JS-Kit. Then JS-Kit was renamed Echo. Echo died a slow and painful death over the last couple of years, and just recently announced that they are shutting down the service on October 1.

It would be nice to give all these people who use blogger and this commonly used third party tool a way to easily move to WP, especially since now they are being forced to do _something_. I have, for example, one high traffic blog I need to move (to WP) by 10/1, and will need to move it's Haloscan/JS-Kit/Comments. If I get a tool working I'll offer it out to the community.

But it can be removed as an add-on, especially since it seems the blogger importer is not getting much love lately anyway.