See the quick inspect-element mockup I put together for an example. I’m bad at design, but I think it gets the point across. Current implementation on left, suggested on right. Also, I’m using Kbin Enhancement Suite for the modifications to instance names, but I think they are even more useful for this demonstration.
How it could work: If the same link is submitted across multiple communities in your current view (subscribed, favorites, all, etc) within a certain time period (probably 24 hours), then have them automatically group themselves into the same box, along with a brief list of the duplicate threads and instances. Use whichever of the threads has the highest score as the one to fill the title and thumbnail for the grouped thread.
I didn’t make a mockup for this, but when clicking the thread, it could then import the comments from each of the grouped instances. Options on the sidebar could show you each of the instances whose comments are being shown on that page, along with an option to filter them out of your current feed, and options to add your votes to each instance’s thread.
EDIT: To add, as I’m seeing some confusion in the comments: I’m envisioning this as a strictly user-side bundling of threads. This would only bundle threads as they are displayed to the user in their own feed based on communities you’re subscribed to. So if the same link were to be posted to 5 different communities you subscribe to, when you view the feed, you’ll see those 5 links all bundled together. Though perhaps an option could also include seeing non-subscribed duplicates, as well.
@Eggyhead before you comment to one of 20 or 30 different communities a url has been posted to, how do you review the community guidelines to make sure stay within them?
I see how this idea is appealing but I think at the end of the day everything would be a real mess. It would be impossible for communities to have any sense of themselves as randomers would constantly be parachuting in. Eventually they would ban posting link that are already posted to communities where annoying people hang out. What you are suggesting is integrating brigading into the platform so it would be done unintentionally all the time.
The way to consolidate posts, for those who wish it, would be to display the post on feed once. Below it, list details for various communities which the user is already subscribed to:
@Chozo
Entangled threads would only show you posts from communities you’ve subscribed to, so it wouldn’t be randomers “parachuting in”, it would be community members who have presumably already encountered that community’s guidelines.