As a commenter on Consumerist.com, you now have some awesome new powers. Let’s check ’em out!

The features have been implemented and functional for a few weeks now, but we just let people discover them on their own. Now it’s time for an official breakdown of how they function.

First, these features will only work if you’re reading us from our front page at Consumerist.com (sorry, RSS readers), and you must be logged in to your comments account. (Need a commenter account? Here’s how to get one). You can log in at the top of any page.

Or under the comments section on any post.

Now that we’re logged in, let’s start checking out the new tools. We’ll use the comments in “Who Should And Shouldn’t Buy A Mac” as an example. Right click on that post link and open the post in a new tab or window to follow along.

To the right of CRNK’s name are a row of three buttons. What do they mean?

Left turn arrow: reply to this comment.

Exclamation point: report an inappropriate comment to the moderator for possible punitive action.

Plus sign: “follow” this person’s comments. This is where the new fun starts. Let’s explore this feature further.

After “following” someone, whenever they make a comment, and you are logged in, there will be a little announcement on the front page of Consumerist.com. You can click the post title in the announcement and go to the post that they commented on.

You will also see when they start following other commenters.

Clicking on a commenter’s name takes you to their profile.

There you will see a list of all their comments, who they’re following, and who is following them. You can also leave them feedback.

A shortcut for going to any commenter’s profile, including your own is:

../../../..//commenter/commentername.

If you want to stop seeing someone’s comments on your web page, go to your own profile and click on the X next to their name. You are now no longer following them.

See who is following you by going to your profile page and clicking on “Followers more >>”

Lastly, by clicking “friends,” you get to see just the comments the people you follow are making!

Give the new features a whirl and let us know what you think.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.