Systems and methods of online interfaces for hierarchically arranged user-generated content

1. A method for providing an online interface for displaying hierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first user over a network, first topical user-generated electronic content, the first topical user-generated electronic content being related to a topic of a web page;

displaying the first topical user-generated electronic content received from the first user on the web page;

receiving, from a second user over the network, responsive user-generated electronic content;

withholding the entirety of the responsive user-generated electronic content from display;

displaying, adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content on the web page, a user element or link that a third user can manipulate to display the withheld responsive user-generated electronic content, the withheld responsive user-generated electronic content being displayed adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content;

receiving, from the third user over the network, a first response to the responsive user-generated electronic content;

receiving, from the third user over the network, a second topical user-generated electronic content, the second topical user-generated electronic content being related to the topic of the web page; and

displaying, adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content on the web page, the second topical user-generated electronic content.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

displaying the first topical user-generated electronic content and the second topical user-generated electronic content as having the same width.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, from the second user over the network, an indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page in association with the first topical user-generated electronic content;

storing the responsive user-generated electronic content and the indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page in association with the first topical user-generated electronic content; and

upon receiving from the third user a manipulation of the user element or link, displaying the responsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user-generated content is a textual-based comment.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the user-generated content in relation to an associated content item.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the associated content item is an online article, online video, or online audio file.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the user-generated content is sorted, highlighted, or distinguished based on a score.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the score is calculated based on one or more of a demographic associated with the user, an activity level of the conversation, and a number of participants in the conversation.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the response to the responsive user-generated electronic content and the responsive user-generated electronic content are displayed on the web page in a width that matches a width of the first topical user-generated electronic content.

10. A system for providing an online interface for displaying hierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content, the system comprising:

a memory device storing instructions for providing an online interface for displaying hierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method of:

receiving, from a first user over a network, first topical user-generated electronic content, the first topical user-generated electronic content being related to a topic of a web page;

displaying the first topical user-generated electronic content received from the first user on the web page;

receiving, from a second user over the network, responsive user-generated electronic content;

withholding the entirety of the responsive user-generated electronic content from display;

displaying, adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content on the web page, a user element or link that a third user can manipulate to display the withheld responsive user-generated electronic content, the withheld responsive user-generated electronic content being displayed adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content;

receiving, from the third user over the network, a first response to the responsive user-generated electronic content;

receiving, from the third user over the network, a second topical user-generated electronic content, the second topical user-generated electronic content being related to the topic of the web page; and

displaying, adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content on the web page, the second topical user-generated electronic content.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured for:

displaying the first topical user-generated electronic content and the second topical user-generated electronic content as having the same width.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured for:

receiving, from the second user over the network, an indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page in association with the first topical user-generated electronic content;

storing the responsive user-generated electronic content and the indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page in association with the first topical user-generated electronic content; and

upon receiving from the third user a manipulation of the user element or link, displaying the responsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the user-generated content is a textual-based comment.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured for: displaying the user-generated content in relation to an associated content item.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the associated content item is an online article, online video, or online audio file.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the user-generated content is sorted, highlighted, or distinguished based on a score.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the score is calculated based on one or more of a demographic associated with the user, an activity level of the conversation, and a number of participants in the conversation.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first response to the responsive user-generated electronic content and the responsive user-generated electronic content are displayed on the web page in a width that does not match a width of the first topical user-generated electronic content.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, causes the computing system to perform a method for providing an online interface for displaying hierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content, the method including:

receiving, from a first user over a network, first topical user-generated electronic content, the first topical user-generated electronic content being related to a topic of a web page;

displaying the first topical user-generated electronic content received from the first user on the web page;

receiving, from a second user over the network, responsive user-generated electronic content;

withholding the entirety of the responsive user-generated electronic content from display;

displaying, adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content on the web page, a user element or link that a third user can manipulate to display the withheld responsive user-generated electronic content, the withheld responsive user-generated electronic content being displayed adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content;

receiving, from the third user over the network, a first response to the responsive user-generated electronic content;

receiving, from the third user over the network, a second topical user-generated electronic content, the second topical user-generated electronic content being related to the topic of the web page; and

displaying, adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content on the web page, the second topical user-generated electronic content.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19 , the method further comprising:

receiving, from the second user over the network, an indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page in association with the first topical user-generated electronic content;

storing the responsive user-generated electronic content and the indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page in association with the first topical user-generated electronic content; and

upon receiving from the third user a manipulation of the user element or link, displaying the responsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content.