If you look at how PG originally created the algorithm in Arc this behavior makes a lot of sense, especially when alongside it is the explanation that HN will c

If you look at how PG originally created the algorithm in Arc this behavior makes a lot of sense, especially when alongside it is the explanation that HN will cancel out votes that look shady. (I could be wrong, but I believe this is the case). Basically the algorithm looked like: Score = (p-1) / (t+2)^g p = points (the -1 is to negate the point of the original submitter) t = time g = gravity (or some gravitational constant) So the p value matters a lot; especially when there's a smaller t (a new story). This gives newer stories a chance to bubble up with fewer points against the ones that have 1,000 points but have been on the front page for days. It's a pretty ingenious algorithm, actually. It makes sense, given that formula, that even if all p values are weighted equally, moving p from 3 to 4 would make a big difference, and would be able to push something new to the front page. You'll see them now and then with 2-3 upvotes on the front page, because they're very new and the front page is relatively stale. Anyway, I'm ~100% sure spammers can get around the vote ring detection, but I don't think that's happening on HN in a major way.