So the original purpose of binding comment scores to karma was to _supplement_ the overall karma of a user? Not to be confounded as one of the core ideas behind

So the original purpose of binding comment scores to karma was to _supplement_ the overall karma of a user? Not to be confounded as one of the core ideas behind the whole system? Regardless of the original purpose, I think that fomenting conversation should be one of the most prominent ideas behind the whole karma deal. The comments and the conversations are what make HN different (and, of course, demographics, which consequently means that the comments of this given demographic, self-targeted, is what makes HN great), and I know many concur with that statement.