Ask HN: Why is there no collapse comment thread feature on HN?

#1

Post by koala_advert » Tue, Feb 11, 2014, 4:51 PM UTC

Is there some benefit to making users scroll through every single comment? Reddit has this feature by default. I use a GreaseMonkey script that adds the functionality to HN, and when I browse from another device, I'm reminded how tedious it is to scroll through a long comment thread just to get to the next root comment.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no collapse comment thread feature on HN?

#2

Post by BlackDeath3 » Tue, Feb 11, 2014, 5:10 PM UTC

And what the hell is with expired links?

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no collapse comment thread feature on HN?

#3

Post by neduma » Tue, Feb 11, 2014, 5:54 PM UTC

Try HackerNew Chrome plugin to collapse and related features.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no collapse comment thread feature on HN?

#4

Post by thoughtpalette » Tue, Feb 11, 2014, 6:07 PM UTC

HN is pretty much intended to be featureless.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no collapse comment thread feature on HN?

#5

Post by ScottWhigham » Tue, Feb 11, 2014, 7:16 PM UTC

I use the greasemonkey script Hacker News Threadify and it works great for FF:

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/110317

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no collapse comment thread feature on HN?

#6

Post by wikwocket » Tue, Feb 11, 2014, 7:55 PM UTC

Try http://hn.premii.com/.

Clicking a comment lets you collapse it or the entire thread it's in.

Works great on mobile too, feels like a native app.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no collapse comment thread feature on HN?

#7

Post by EpicEng » Tue, Feb 11, 2014, 8:26 PM UTC

BlackDeath3 wrote: post #2

And what the hell is with expired links?

And the fact that leaving a comment takes you back to the top of the thread... I love HN for its content, but it's certainly not a marvel of usability. The expired link issue is ridiculous.