Oh yes, this helps a ton. I might hazard to say that this is actually quite good the way it is right now. I like it a lot.

Also, there is a way to actually change the text of the reply and comment buttons, but I don't know if you can make the distinction between entry and post...I think they think that noticing the lack of 'thread' or knowing where you are in the post is just something people can do. The size change does help. Then again, I've been using Livejournal for at least seven years, it's just easy for me. I can poke around back at my Livejournal, but I'm not sure if Dreamwidth has all the same options...