

Ask PG: Can we have collapsable comment threads? - kylelibra

I think collapsable comment threads (similar to reddit) would greatly benefit the discussions.  I often find myself uninterested in the top comment thread and wanting to find another main comment to read, but it is difficult to figure out where one ends and one begins.
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jacquesm
[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news-
collap...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news-
collapse/bbkfcamiocfccgmcjngdljolljhifdph?hl=en)

~~~
kylelibra
Great find! I didn't know this existed. However, I still think having this as
a default feature would benefit the community and the quality of discussions.

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dmunoz
I personally use [0] since it adds on top of collapsible comments threads the
highlighting of new comments.

To reply to a few of the posts below

AndrewDucker

> I don't want it often, but when the top comment is a tangent that then leads
> to hundreds of comments that are all about that tangent and not the link,
> then being able to minimise it would be nice

I prefer to bail out of these early. As was commented below, I potentially
miss out on good comments made in replies, but I also save a lot of time for
doings things I enjoy a lot more, like programming.

DanBC

> If a comment is bad enough to need collapsing it's likely there are going to
> be other lousy comments that need downvoting.

I collapse good comments just to get them off my screen when I'm done with
them. The extension I linked too has a [collapse whole thread] that I can
click on when reaching the last reply it will collapse everything off my
screen and automatically scroll to the right place for me.

I am very grateful for the people who do downvote low quality comments and any
children that are equally low quality. Everyone browsing how I do this
wouldn't be ideal. If I ever get the ability to downvote, I can at least
target my minor moderations to topics I particularly enjoy seeing high quality
commenting in, not every thread. That would get tiring quick. Again, I much
prefer to bail out of tangent or low quality comments quickly.

The point about excellent replies is valid, and I do wish individuals would
considering posting them more visibly (but still on topic) instead of under
troll replies, etc.

I have recently got into the habit of opening good comments by their
permalink. I can continue going through the thread looking for good content,
and them come back and go through the good comments and replies.

[0]
[http://hckrnews.com/about.html#extensions](http://hckrnews.com/about.html#extensions)

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AndrewDucker
I don't want it often, but when the top comment is a tangent that then leads
to hundreds of comments that are all about that tangent and not the link, then
being able to minimise it would be nice.

~~~
autodidakto
You're wrong. Java is a terrible operating language tech bubble 10 reason
politics doesn't work! And don't get me start about health insurance.js hype
train fanboy.

~~~
ciferkey
DId you use a generator for this?

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hershel
There are firefox(hn utility suite) and probably chrome extensions doing just
that.

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wslh
I really like the HN simplicity, and is pretty easy to augment it with
extensions.

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DanBC
One problem with collapsing a thread is that you then don't downvote anything
in the collapsed thread.

If a comment is bad enough to need collapsing it's likely there are going to
be other lousy comments that need downvoting.

Sometimes sub-optimal comments have excellent replies, and it's a shame if
those good replies don't get upvotes.

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tlb
I prefer scrolling, because I already have my fingers ready to scroll. Do you
find it hard to see when the comments indent back to the left edge when
scrolling quickly? It's something that old-school programmers have a lot of
practice doing. Perhaps a slightly increased visual cue would help?

~~~
kylelibra
I better visual cue would be good as well. In huge threads with hundreds or
even thousands of comments, it is hard for me to tell where something ends.

I don't think adding the collapsable button takes anything away, but adds a
lot of value. Even with the button you can still scroll. :)

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Maro
I'd prefer to keep it simple.

