Oh, you're asking about the HN ranking algorithm. I wrote about it a few years ago: http://www.righto.com/2013/11/how-hacker-news-ranking-really-works.html http

Oh, you're asking about the HN ranking algorithm. I wrote about it a few years ago: http://www.righto.com/2013/11/how-hacker-news-ranking-really-works.html http://www.righto.com/2013/11/how-hacker-news-ranking-really... The quick answer to your question is that 16 votes in a short time beats more votes over a long time. And there are also various penalties.