I get it, too. HN is a threaded comment system, which we've been iterating on since the USENET days. Not that threaded comments are the solution for everything

I get it, too. HN is a threaded comment system, which we've been iterating on since the USENET days. Not that threaded comments are the solution for everything, but it excels at visually separating each of the distinct discussions that may arise around a given topic.