I was not even thinking about the mechanics of your system, which as you've reasoned above and in the article may work beautifully.. merely the fact that HN wou

I was not even thinking about the mechanics of your system, which as you've reasoned above and in the article may work beautifully.. merely the fact that HN would start deploying such a methodology opens up a road that may have interesting ramifications down the track. Am sorry if my response sounds less precise or more philosophical than you want.. but it is well intentioned. In a democracy , one common problem is that you have to respect others that you think are voting wrongly and put up with bad content. HN as it stands now is a wide-band place.. Eternal September is always going to be a risk. Another way to address some of these concerns would be to have sub-sections ( much like a normal web-board ) where people are encouraged to discuss some common subsets / topics .. or even have a special section for newer folks.