Merge comments from similar posts into a single view

[8ullyMaguire]

Requirements

• [X] This is a feature request and not a bug report. Otherwise, please create a new bug report instead.
• [X] Please check to see if this request (or a similar one) already exists.
• [X] It's a single feature. Please don't request multiple features in one issue.

Is your proposal related to a problem?

Currently, on Lemmy, there is no way to merge comments from similar posts into a single view. This can lead to fragmented discussions and make it difficult for users to follow conversations happening across multiple posts on the same topic.

Describe the solution you'd like.

I propose adding a feature that allows users to select a few similar posts and merge all comments into the same view[^1]. There could be a user setting to show all comments for similar posts when you open any of them. The posts would have a selected checkmark that users could deselect to not show comments from those posts. This would make it easier for users to follow and participate in discussions happening across multiple similar posts.

Other ideas

• Vote Weight Calculation: Determine a formula or algorithm that calculates the weight of each comment vote based on the number of votes the parent post has received. For example, you could assign a higher weight to comment votes from posts with more votes and vice versa.
• Balancing Comment Scores: Apply the calculated weight to the comment votes to adjust their scores accordingly. This would ensure that comments from highly voted posts have a stronger influence on the overall comment ranking.
• Display of Weighted Scores: Display the adjusted or weighted scores alongside the comment votes to provide transparency and clarity to users about the impact of post votes on comment rankings.
• Visual Indicators: Use visual cues or icons to indicate which post a comment originated from within the merged view. This would allow users to understand the context of each comment and easily identify the post it belongs to.

Related

• How viable would a feature that combines comments from crossposted threads be? [^1]: Linking related posts #874

[rcmaehl]

Maybe merge crossposts comments?

[Schmork]

Generally, I like the idea very much! But I feel this part needs discussion:

• Vote Weight Calculation: Determine a formula or algorithm that calculates the weight of each comment vote based on the number of votes the parent post has received. For example, you could assign a higher weight to comment votes from posts with more votes and vice versa.
• Balancing Comment Scores: Apply the calculated weight to the comment votes to adjust their scores accordingly. This would ensure that comments from highly voted posts have a stronger influence on the overall comment ranking.

As proposed, this would essentially mean comments from a niche community have no chance against comments from a popular community. The relative comment scores would reflect how popular the host community of their parent post is, not the relative quality of the comments.

I drafted a proposal and deleted it. There's more factors than I am capable to incorporate currently. I would try to factor in relative community sizes, how well the post is doing in it's community, how well the comment is doing in it's post.