To save you some scrolling: if you click the little [-] the thread will collapse. I've campaigned to make the default an all-collapsed page but it did not get much support.
>>jacque+(OP)
Arguably, by putting the comments on a separate page they already are collapsed by default. Going to the comments page signifies that one wants to view the comments. Why do you think a further level of collapsing would be beneficial? Would you expand things once they are upvoted, or always require an additional click to view the deeper levels?
>>nkurz+X2
I wouldn’t mind seeing sub threads collapsed by default. (Of course I could always do that myself.) It would make for a cleaner page. I could scan the top level comments for interest subtopics/responses, and it would discourage thread-jacking.