I've assumed that the goal was to intentionally add a degree of friction to the comment process. As readers, we're now forced to at least scan for content, rath

I've assumed that the goal was to intentionally add a degree of friction to the comment process. As readers, we're now forced to at least scan for content, rather than a number. This has actually benefited my experience in 3 ways: - I actually am able to digest the content from all of the comments, simply because I'm forced to devote a few moments more to them than before, rather than jumping to the "Top Votes" -I post less, simply because I've already seen my opinion argued in the less prominent comments. I've noticed that since comment volume is down, this must be the same for others as well. This just decreases the overall noise in the comments themselves - There's less votebait comments now that the comment number has become downplayed. Many of the "Top Voted" comments were intentionally written to garner votes, rather than to encourage group discussion and knowledge. I'm personally for this switch, and I'd even argue that removing post scores would be a step in the right direction as well, based on my opinion of the comment score removal.