This function hides Disqus if thread is closed and no comments were posted.

gistfile1.js

/*
 * This function hides Disqus if thread is closed and no comments were posted. 
 * It is better to place this function in HEAD.
 *
 * IMPORTANT: Please note, that this example uses internal APIs that might change in future.
 * We will not provide any prior announcement before changing or removing any internal APIs.
 */

var disqus_callback = function () {
    if (DISQUS.jsonData.thread.closed && DISQUS.jsonData.thread.total_posts === 0) {
        DISQUS.nodes.container.style.display = 'none';
    }
};

Is this still supposed to work?

Only if you are an early adopter (you can opt-in in settings).

Anton, thank you for your reply.

I enabled the early adopter option in settings, but

<script type="text/javascript"> var disqus_developer = function () { DISQUS.nodes.container.style.display = 'none'; }; </script>

has no effect on the comments display. Is there are anything else I need to do for this to work?

Oops sorry, there was a typo in this gist. It is supposed to be disqus_callback, not disqus_developer.