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I think they grey out of dead comments is a feature. It lets you read them if you want, but is a huge visual indicator that it isn't worth reading.

• tzs 11y ago
  They could accomplish this by using some color that is readable, such as red or purple. That would give a huge visual indicator so that you'd know you are dealing with a dead comment. Remember, people who do not want to read any dead comments will have left "showdead" in its default state of "off", and so won't see these at all. The only people who see dead comments are those who explicitly said they want to see them.
  • lmitchell 11y ago
    Is that definitely the way it works? I don't think I've ever configured anything on HN and I see dead comments. I also think it's really nice - as grandparent said, it's a very clear indicator that I'm dealing with something I probably want to ignore.
    • tzs 11y ago
      What does "showdead" say in your settings (click on your username in the orange bar to get to settings)? It should be "no" if you have not changed it. You can test it on the comments on this submission: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11213213 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11213213 There are several dead comments near the bottom that are visible if showdead is "yes", and invisible if it is "no".
      • lmitchell 11y ago
        Ohh, are 'dead' comments different from ones that have just been downvoted into mostly-grayness? In that case I don't actually see them, I just see undead comments :) thanks for clarifying