Interesting, I guess it made sense to me because I read the FAQ which describes and mentions user flags several times: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.htm

Interesting, I guess it made sense to me because I read the FAQ which describes and mentions user flags several times: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html > How are stories ranked? > The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. Comments in threads are ranked the same way. > Other factors affecting rank include user flags, anti-abuse software, software which demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting, and moderator action.