[neilv]

In later peak Usenet, there was also threading, and scoring.

Scoring rules would let individuals define rules for how thread subtrees and siblings are ordered, highlighted, and hidden. For example, comments by a particular user you like bump up the ordering priority for that comment, and also maybe some boost to the tree above it. And some keyword you think tends to happen in threads you don't like adds a negative score to that subtree, and maybe it hits a threshold causing it to be hidden (though the positive score from that user you like participating might save it, with you thinking that maybe they'd step into a flamewar and say something smart). And, separate from rules you defined, you could also manually hit a key to raise or lower a post or subtree (which could be used as an alternative to the earlier feature to say hide a subtree no matter whether more comments are made on it, like you might do for a flamewar).