This will probably be addressed in the upcoming version v1.5, because of this:
- Change right gutter to show larger progress bar, and other relevant UI elements
- Move right gutter in/out links below posts
Feel free to suggest new UX solutions based on this upcoming change. Here’s one idea I like:
https://meta.discourse.org/t/reply-as-new-topic-button-next-to-reply-button/7990/9?u=erlend_sh