I never really got the threading problem solved although I skimmed a couple of people's solutions I didn't see anything that was quickly adaptable to my setup so I left that question by the side for the time being. I would like there to be a fully functional forum for real conversations, but my hunch is that class documents are not going to generate huge, multithreaded discussions. I have the rest of the summer to figure out how to thread, although I need that for my own blog too, unless I go the touch-me-not route of making people email their comments to me and then publishing only the ones I view as worthy of public attention.
I bet the threading problem is the reason why many selfmade blogs do exactly that.
in any case now I can take the code that hopefully they will pay me for and port it back over to my own private project. tomorrow would be a good day for starting that I think.
I have to work on my dissertation all next week. I can compute in the afternoons, but the obsession with the pedagogy site was not satisfied with mere afternoons this week. it is really really difficult to stop this stuff once I get going. almost to the point of symptom rather than characteristic.
but I got done what I wanted to get done so now I must move the attention back where it belongs until that is done and then I can go back to coding my ass off if that is what I decide to do with my life.