Currently, when viewing your feed or a tag, hovering over the comment icon will show you which user has most recently commented, but nowhere will hubski indicate the age of the post. Consequently, I'll often find an interesting submission that I wish to comment on, only to view the comments and discover the post has been dead for a month and is no longer worth typing up a comment for. Being able to see when the latest comment was would help me identify which comments are worth reading and which posts are worth commetning on at a glance.
Here's a quick mockup of what I mean: 
It seems like a little thing, but it would actually improve my experience a ton.
Thanks for everything you guys do!
This is where I disagree with you, and feel that this is a potential feature that I'm not fond of at this moment in time. It's more than possible to revive older threads, and happens on a semi-regular occasion here. If you find a post you would like to start up a discussion on, but find that it's older, I would highly recommend tagging the submitter or other people that you think would be able to add to discussion. The age of a post/comment should never impede having a meaningful discussion about a topic.only to view the comments and discover the post has been dead for a month and is no longer worth typing up a comment for.
I do agree with you that it might be useful in certain situations and certain types of posts (particularly ones which were originally centered around discussion). However, I often will see a post that I just have a reaction to that I'd like to share, but my comment is unlikely to be seen on an old post simply because few people are sharing it. I'm not saying it's completely taboo or always a bad idea, but I do think there are some situations where it's just not worth it. Even just being able to know if there's currently an active discussion going on would be helpful; it's easier to jump into an existing conversation tahn it is to start one.
I respectfully disagree on both counts. I think a comment is always worth sharing, should you have the time and desire to make it. Whether or not anyone will see it should play no role in the decision making prior to making a comment. Again, in old topics there's always the option to tag people who have already contributed if you'd like to start a new discussion and you're worried that nobody will see it. My opinion is that a date feature would only add to people not contributing to older posts, and perhaps even from reading older submissions. If people only care about having their comments read, then they might even bother to read a post if they see the last comment was made 10 minutes ago. Who knows what they could be missing out on that point.
On this, I have to respectfully disagree with you. I'm not inclined to spend time and effort on something nobody will see. To me, tagging others in a post always feels uncomfortably like standing 6 inches away from someone on public transportation and then spewing my commens in their face, but perhaps I'm just not used to it. I am convinced, however, that the date function will push discussion towards newer posts, leading to an increasing rate of abaondonment of old posts. Maybe it's that I'm just not used to the culture on hubski that's much more discussion-oriented than I'm used to and that does value old content as much as new content. I'll try to keep that in mind in the future.Whether or not anyone will see it should play no role in the decision making prior to making a comment.
Thanks for the post, allow me to clear a few things up. What you described as the comment icon showing you the most recent user to post is actually the user with the highest rated comment in that thread, not the most recent. Also, ButterflyEffect is right, we don't post the time/date because we encourage discussions to continue no matter how long they've been dormant. People can see your most recent comments in "chatter" if they follow you and perhaps they'll jump in. Plus the OP may also get involved and you can always shout-out to people that previously commented on the thread. People do it all the time. There's not statute of limitations on what is and isn't interesting. If you want to comment on an old post, comment on it. You may be surprised by how many people engage it. If you've not already signed up for the Hubski Newsletter, do. There we feature "posts from the vault," which is our way of intentionally drawing discussion back to an old post. Good is good, no matter when it was posted. P.S. Also, check your settings :)
Well, learn something new every day! I certainly feel a bit moronic now... Regarding dormant conversations, I figured this was the reason, but I never really understood it or saw it in action. I guess I just wasn't used to that culture of "revived threads can be good threads," forum etiquitte always taught me that dead threads are to stay dead and/or that reviving a thread will be unsuccessful. I suppose I'm still adjusting to hubski's more intimate, discussion-based nature. (And I'm quite liking it, I must say!) Although, I'm still weary of spending effort on something that there's a good chance won't be seen. I do read the newsletter! The vault items never seem to have much new activity though. Thanks for the response!What you described as the comment icon showing you the most recent user to post is actually the user with the highest rated comment in that thread, not the most recent.
P.S. Also, check your settings :)
When you post comments, some might sit there for minutes, hours, days or even a week before someone responds. If you are looking for quick responses, Hubski isn't yet the place for that, and perhaps it never will be. But if you are looking for a potential ongoing discussion, we have lots of those happening. I'm glad you are liking it thus far and I'm glad you posted this question. I'm guessing there are a number of people that will read it and find answers to similar questions they had. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions and/or suggestions.The vault items never seem to have much new activity though.
All it takes is for someone to take that first step and post a new comment. Honestly, you'll be surprised. I saw that b_b just posted an example for you.
mk if a new comment is on an old post, it comes back onto the feed, correct? Or has that changed?