This is a great idea.

              But I don't know if everybody is going to buy into it

                              
    Well maybe after they get used to it

I agree.

I hate threaded comments and I hate people who like threaded comments.

I also want a better quote mechanism. Make it a little like quoting on dailykos where the quoted text is in a box with a different-colored background.

I'd like threading too, though people will probably want the option to have comments flattened and displayed chronologically...

Slashdot is a great goal for a new comment system, though.

Threaded comments will give focus to ongoing rants or what ever within a post while anyone making their own comments will just get ignored. People will get left out of the conversation / community if they don't post with the thread and that means they would have to stay on the topic of the thread.

I think it causes segragation!
Just my oppinion though

Don't really see the need for threads here. Most posts don't even get 20 comments.

Sure. While we're at it, let's throw in animated avatars, animated smileys, signatures and whatever else we can think up to fuck shit up.

Threaded comments existed long before UBB and all that useless forum bloatware existed. It's very simple to implement threaded comments. It keeps things organized. The current system already privileges early posts so there's nothing to lose there. This just makes it easier to follow a debate without extraneous stuff in between.

There are ways to prevent responses to the first thread from crowding out the other threads:
1. Show only the topic lines of comments in the summary view
2. Show the threads in reverse chronological order, like nearly every forum in the universe excepting slashdot.
3. Combination of 1 & 2.

Slashdot is a terrible, terrible, terrible.. terrible design.

I'd want to see a test run of any form of threaded commenting before giving an OK, because there are SO many ways it can go wrong and just be terribad.

I would like to see a better quote system, like netrunner says though.

That would not be too hard to do, and would even solve a bunch of problems with huge threads. I mean <div class="quote"> and some javascript to compress the quote to one line that could be expanded.

P.S.

Youtube comments don't suck for their layout.
They suck because it's all inflammatory mindless dribble laced with unintelligible insults and grammar, along with poor or no use of punctuation. That, and there's a billion of them.

>> ^MarineGunrock:
P.S.
Youtube comments don't suck for their layout.
They suck because it's all inflammatory mindless dribble laced with unintelligible insults and grammar, along with poor or no use of punctuation. That, and there's a billion of them.


They suck for that, but the totally disorganized format contributes to that. Most of the posts are flames in response to flames. If it's fully threaded, you can skip a flame and all its descendants. If people read less flames they'll write less flames.

Why spend time debating on why X person does not like it, and Y person prefers it, when both and/or more comment organization options can be offered? I am assuming that putting a drop down menu with different post organization options is not that complicated. If it is, then leave it as is. If a drop down menu is not a good idea, then maybe offer the option in the user account preferences.

No system is appropriate every single time. Sometimes the conversation is long and intricate enough that threading is a better option. Other times only a few comments are made so a flat style is better.

The quotes could also be made to look like this:

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6792/gdfgfgf.png

If I have to click to expand every post within a SiftPost to read'em and then click again to close them - I won't bother reading them at all...

Not to mention the arguments it is going to create once people start posting off topic posts within a thread.

If people want to cary on their own little discussions then they can find a chat site - This is about the Vids - If I have to spend time sifting through Threads just to get a feel or general opinion on a post, I just just won't bother....