"... The problem is that you could always reply to the topmost comment, thus making your reply highly visible. ..." Good comments rise to the top and attract f

"... The problem is that you could always reply to the topmost comment, thus making your reply highly visible. ..." Good comments rise to the top and attract further analysis. What is wrong with that? It's not a flaw. Commenting in discussion sites is a bit like surfing. The wave comes along, the first to the wave get a chance to add their opinion, facts, insight. Spectators on the beach can have the best view of the players commenting and join in by voting and adding further comment. As time moves on, the wave of interest in the story also wanes. If you join in too late, the best performance has already been voted on. So either get to the best beach early by checking the surf report ~ http://news.ycombinator.com/active http://news.ycombinator.com/active or you miss out.