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Some technical differences I have observed:

News aggregators

(Reddit, Voat, Poal, etc.)

  • Sub-threaded comments (each comment can have a thread of its own)
  • Opening link to any comment shows original post.
  • URL to comment contains URL to original post.
  • Original poster can not delete comments, but subverse moderators and site administrators can.
  • Most news aggregator sites archive posts (lock votes and comments) after a set amount of time .
  • Comment editing usually allowed.

Microblogging

(Twitter, Gab.AI, etc.)

  • Each post (Tweet, Gab, etc.) is standalone and can not be deleted by anyone else except people who work at Twitter.
  • Tweet URL contains username of tweeter but not parent tweet and the tweet that started the conversation.
  • Editing possible on Gab (with revision history)

Forums

(phpBB, myBB, Discourse, XenForo, vBulletin, etc.)

  • Linear posts in a thread, no sub-comment-threads like news aggregator comments. Replies referred to with quoting.
  • Post editing usually allowed.

Comment sections

Many platforms here have distinctions, and have developed new features during the last few years.

On these platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook), usually the poster is able to delete comments.

Instagram

Instagram's comment system prior to December 2016 was just simple linear text posting and mentioning.

In that month, Instagram added the ability to like comments through their app (later implemented into their website).

YouTube

YouTube comments went through a lot of technical changes throughout its history (Google Plus; new mentioning system since circa 2018). More about that .

Facebook, GitHub

Similar to Instagram, but more sophisticated + editable with revision history.

Facebook had comment liking for a long time; in 2016 they added post “reactions”; in May 2017 the same also for comments.

GitHub comments also support reactions, but also markdown.

Let me know if I missed something.

Some technical differences I have observed: # **News aggregators** (Reddit, Voat, Poal, etc.) * Sub-threaded comments (each comment can have a thread of its own) * Opening link to any comment shows original post. * URL to comment contains URL to original post. * Original poster can not delete comments, but subverse moderators and site administrators can. * Most news aggregator sites archive posts (lock votes and comments) after a set amount of time [to reduce operational costs](https://poal.co/s/ShowerThoughts/153880/410c81fa-c503-44d6-97e7-0753e024ba3a#cmnts). * Comment editing usually allowed. # **Microblogging** (Twitter, Gab.AI, etc.) * Each post (Tweet, Gab, etc.) is standalone and can not be deleted by anyone else except people who work at Twitter. * Tweet URL contains username of tweeter but not parent tweet and the tweet that started the conversation. * Editing possible on Gab (with revision history) # **Forums** (phpBB, myBB, Discourse, XenForo, vBulletin, etc.) * Linear posts in a thread, no sub-comment-threads like news aggregator comments. Replies referred to with quoting. * Post editing usually allowed. # **Comment sections** Many platforms here have distinctions, and have developed new features during the last few years. On these platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook), usually the poster is able to delete comments. ### Instagram Instagram's comment system prior to December 2016 was just simple linear text posting and mentioning. In that month, Instagram added the ability to like comments through their app (later implemented into their website). ### YouTube YouTube comments went through a lot of technical changes throughout its history (Google Plus; new mentioning system since circa 2018). More about that [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvf8koqX_yE). ### Facebook, GitHub Similar to Instagram, but more sophisticated + editable with revision history. Facebook had comment liking for a long time; in 2016 they added post “reactions”; in May 2017 the same also for comments. GitHub comments also support reactions, but also markdown. ---- Let me know if I missed something.

(post is archived)

[–] • 4 pts

GitHub now belongs to M$.

You know what they do with platforms they end up buying because they can't create their own.

[–] • 3 pts

what they do with platforms they end up buying

They remove/paywall many features and collect a lot of user information?

(GitHub actually has not lost features so far, as far as I am aware. And Microsoft also has not intruded their brand into GitHub's user interface yet. There is a self-hostable alternative called Gitea.)

[–] • 3 pts

Poal has the best discussions if you ask me, but I'm probably biased.

[–] • 4 pts

Poal has unique functionality (downvote transparency) and also doesn't aggressively throttle new users, which is great for conversation.

Something that old.reddit.com has is showing up to 500 comment replies (using ?limit=500 URL parameter; 200 by default) in one page load. It's cool, but not essential and probably somewhat expensive.

Reddit and Voat also have the ?context= URL parameter for showing X number of parent comments leading up to the current comment.

The depth= URL parameter (described ) also works on their normal website.

[–] • 2 pts

Those would be some large database queries(butcheredspelling.jpeg)