> But, the reality is probably that PG is just super busy and does not have the time and bandwidth to build features out.

I totally get that, it's the reason I mentioned the 7-year time window though. You'd think that something like that would've been done at some point during all that time by some interns or something by now, even if it was a super low priority. I'm guessing that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy must just be really strong with PG in that case. Or possibly have some deeper reasoning like you mentioned.

> Reddit does not send notifications on comment replies either.

It doesn't send out notifications to your email or whatever, but it does still have a little inbox notification that lights up when you get new replies. Does something similar to that get unlocked here with enough karma? If that's the case, then I wouldn't know...

A little indicator up by your name would be a good idea, and presumably wouldn't be too difficult. Adding email into the mix would further complicate things, likely more than pg has time for (and honestly, I kind of like the simplicity of this site).

> You'd think that something like that would've been done at some point during all that time by some interns or something by now

Just in case you didn't know, the guy who helps manage the site is RTM. Yes, RTM.

There's no little indicator, however you can click the "threads" link up at the top to see all of your comments and their replies.

came here to say that

> Does something similar to that get unlocked here with enough karma?

not... yet...

YC definitely does not have interns

Ok, but I doubt PG still hand-codes every update to the site himself, and such small features don't seem like they would require a high ranking staff member to implement them either, which was kinda my point.

> Perhaps users constantly coming back and checking their comments for replies, increases time on site, and the possibility users will interact further and view other posts.

Joel Spolsky wrote a piece on Building Communities with Software back in 2003.[1] He reasons that allowing email notifications is "the best way to kill dead any young forum" and that such "checking back" as you describe helps a forum to achieve critical mass and survive.

[1]: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/BuildingCommunitieswi...

Maybe that's the case. But as a new user, I find it very difficult to keep track of comments. Let alone any other standard social features that you expect from a community based site. Have a look at SO and see how friendly it is in comparison. HN even throttles link posts for new users; it's quite frustrating. When I post links from certain IPs (presumably because of my country), they don't get posted at all. The same links posted using a US based IP go through.

Reddit doesn't, but it does have the "orange red" envelope indicating new activity. And there is RES (browser extension) which adds notification that's visible even if the browser isn't focused. Reddit's API allows tools like Orangered (Mac status bar icon/notifier) and Alien Blue to built, as well.

I made a Mac menubar app for orangereds, using the Reddit API: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reddit-notifier/id468366517?...

Any benefits over Orangered, which is free and open source? http://www.voidref.com/orangered/Orangered!.html

Better features in my opinion (Notification Center, modmail, modqueue, cakeday, audio alerts, etc.) but mainly the fact that Reddit Notifier has been updated in the last year!

https://github.com/voidref/orangered/commits/master

Orangered works and covers most people's requirements, so it's not like it needs to be updated. I'm sure your app is great, but I don't miss any of the stuff you mention, to be honest.