Expand nested comments by default

The comments on all parts of Dolphin are, by default, nested and hidden. In order to read all of the comments you have to click a trail of "replies" links to expand the full comment discussion. There's no notification anywhere for members to know that their comment was commented on, virtually ending all conversation by hiding the responses so deeply. I want the comments to be expanded at all times and never collapse.

In addition, each comment only shows the replies directly under it (i.e. if it has 2 replies, it says "2 replies" (so far so good); however if it has 2 comments which each have 20 nested comments underneath it, it still says only "2 replies" instead of "42 replies") and is misleading about the depth of the conversation in the nested comments.

I'm looking for someone to either

1. Make all comments on all areas of my site expanded instead of nested so that all comments show at all times (preferable solution); or
2. Make all comments count on the number of replies (using the example above it would say 42 replies instead of 2 replies).

Please include the following with your bid: which of the solutions above can you perform, have you done this before (on Dolphin or on another platform), how long will it take and how much will it cost. Thank you.