This is what I use, and honestly it (and other systems like it) is the only thing that allows some conversations to progress if someone doesn't reply for hours or a day, depending on how much I've been commenting. I've had a random reply to a comment of mine that came in a week later yield a useful conversation.

It also means I can just ignore HN for longer periods even if I really want to know if there's been movement in a discussion I've been having. Seeing if there's an email present is less distracting and time consuming than reading through my threads.

Note that's not the same person as dang (Dan Gackle), moderator of HN. I had them confused for a while.