[Feature Request] Time-Descending Comments in Discussion Posts

[Remark: Title says "Posts" meaning "Comments", not "Discussions"] [Title edited by Peter :)]

I wonder if people think it might be better to show discussion comments with the oldest comments at the top. In many cases, people might be responding to earlier comments and it's confusing to figure this out in the current order. Also, it would be nice to be able to quote previous comments in a subsequent comment, or comment directly to an earlier comment (similar to the format of Reddit and math.stackexchange.com).

The highly-successful AoPS forum uses this format, as have several other similar math community sites.

#FeatureRequests #Brilliant

Easy Math Editor

This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.

When posting on Brilliant:

Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.
Stay on topic — we're all here to learn more about math and science, not to hear about your favorite get-rich-quick scheme or current world events.

Markdown	Appears as
`italics` or `_italics_`	italics
`bold` or `__bold__`	bold
- bulleted - list	bulleted list
1. numbered 2. list	numbered list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1 paragraph 2	paragraph 1 paragraph 2
`[example link](https://brilliant.org)`	example link
`> This is a quote`	This is a quote
# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"	# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$

Comments

If you would like a feature that automatically formats quotes from prior comments, vote this comment up. If you would not like this, vote this comment down.

Peter Taylor Staff - 8 years, 5 months ago

If you would like time descending comments, as opposed to the current time ascending comments format: Vote up. If you want the status quo, vote down.

Peter Taylor Staff - 8 years, 5 months ago

Thanks, Peter. I think I would remove (or at least feel much less strongly about) my request for quoting if "threading" is implemented as you described, since it would be clear what/who you're responding to.

Eli Ross - 8 years, 5 months ago

Eli,

Thanks for the suggestion. Our discussion model is an evolving process. At Brilliant we agree that the biggest current flaw with our discussion interface is that it is difficult to carry on conversations in. Currently we are working to enable "threaded" comments, whereby you can reply to a comment as opposed to a post. We are hoping this will allow a more coherent idea flow and allow side conversations to easily develop off of main ones. That will be up soon, probably the coming week. You have two other sensible suggestions, time descension of comments, and automated quoting. I will post each of these as a separate comment and ask people to vote on them. That will clarify for us what the communal will is.

Peter Taylor Staff - 8 years, 5 months ago

I'm with you,great idea

Arbër Avdullahu - 8 years, 5 months ago

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$