I really like the idea of top rated comments showing up on hover over. I think it keeps the focus on discussion opposed to anything else. It also might prevent the trend that was seen in reddit of having posts be upvoted while the top comment completely invalidates the post. This really isn't the place for this, but do you have any plans to bring back "tab" options in controls? I really would prefer if I could set it so each link opens in a new tab automatically (I know I can do this through scroll clicking, but I haven't been able to train myself to do that).
I just haven't been able to get it to look nice and remain useful at the same time. One problem is the variable length of the comments. I might solve that by excluding comments under a certain length. I'll probably play with it some more. But I agree that the focus should be conversation. As for tabs, yes I can get to that. I think everyone would probably be ok with external links opening in a new tab as the default.I really like the idea of top rated comments showing up on hover over. I think it keeps the focus on discussion opposed to anything else.