I reckon it’d turn to a fustercluck real quick but: This got me thinking, what about a graph (like nodes and lines) type structure?

A node would be any post, comment, or outside content (like videos, articles, tweets, etc.)

Then when you want to respond to something you create a node and “drop a line” connecting your comment/post and all of the content that inspired or is otherwise relevant to your post.

Lines between nodes could be color coded to show the intent of the link (agree, disagree, entertain, provide evidence, etc.)

Upvoting would be applied to the individual connecting lines depending on how well it meets its intended purpose. Better voting ratios would be indicated by increased thickness of the line.

This wouldn’t be a vital mechanic, but I was also thinking that the line thickness would always be degrading over time so that newer content wouldn’t get lost under a heap of other comments. But a user could choose to view by all votes as well if they choose.

I’m having a hard time conveying exactly what I imagine in text. If there is any interest in this I could make a little prototype to give a better demonstration the idea.