[vthriller]

Re: finding new comments, I've seen another solution on one of the news site forums that I quite liked: messages are folding individually (i.e. only content is hidden but not the children), and when you enter the thread through the "new" link, only new messages are shown in an unfolded state.

[KajMagnus]

It'd be interesting to have a look at that news site forum (if you have a link?).

> messages are folding individually (i.e. only content is hidden but not the children)

Seems like a nice way to give a concise overview of the discussion (who replies to who, how long each thread is). I think it'd be nice to see the first rows of each message, so one knows what it is about (maybe one has forgotten).

> only new messages are shown in an unfolded state

(So that one directly sees the messages one hasn't read before, and can start reading them effortlessly, right)

> only new messages are shown

I wonder how they determine which messages are new. Maybe it's [new since one's last visit]? Or messages one hasn't read yet? Not that easy to know which messages the visitor has read, if many messages are visible on the screen at the same time :- )

[vthriller]

> It'd be interesting to have a look at that news site forum (if you have a link?).

I doubt that you will find it particularly useful (site in Russian, and I've no idea how reliably that feature works for unregistered users), but anyway: https://www.opennet.ru/forum/

> I wonder how they determine which messages are new. Maybe it's [new since one's last visit]?

It is. While not as powerful as status tracking for individual messages (can't skip some messages for future read as easily, can't mark message as unread etc.), it is enough for most users most of the time.

[KajMagnus]

A bunch of interesting things going on at that forum, Opennet.ru/forum :- )

Nice to be able to "preview" a discussion directly on the topic list page, and interesting shortcuts the forum has:

    Открыть первые 10.  — Open the first 10. (I used Google Translate)
    Открыть последние комментарии. — View recent comments.
    Раскрыть ответы 1 уровня. — Expand Level 1 Answers.
    Линейный вид. — Linear view.

Sth like the expand-level-1-answers button is something people have suggested for Talkyard too.

> It is [...] enough for most users most of the time

Ok, thanks, interesting to know