I can't really agree on any of the given reasons. re 1) The assumed unworthiness is reading to much into it. Plenty of people point out previous posts. These a

I can't really agree on any of the given reasons. re 1) The assumed unworthiness is reading to much into it. Plenty of people point out previous posts. These are both good to read previous comments, and also to assess the spamminess of the post/poster -- how much this is so is up to the readers themselves to decide. I'm glad if someone has done the research for me already. re 2) Does matter, see previous. re 3) HN is a public forum, not a workplace.