Ask HN: Why no reply envelope icon in the corner?

This is asked often, and answered often. Lack of reply notifications are a feature. It drives community-driven discussion, as opposed to 2 people arguing with each other. Say what you have to say and let it be - other people will reply if they have something to say. Don't worry about getting in the last word, as it is perfectly fine for the originator of a thread to not participate in downstream comments.

Well damn, you just changed my mind. That's probably a huge part of what makes this place different from the other guys.

Unnecessary. There is a "threads" link in the header. It shows all of your recent comments, and their replies.

https://www.hnreplies.com/ can email you when you get a reply.