We can't all agree on what best means. It can't be objective since we are humans. HN guidelines and moderation are doing a decent job of promoting interesting

We can't all agree on what best means. It can't be objective since we are humans. HN guidelines and moderation are doing a decent job of promoting interestingness in general. I don't think upvotes are a reliable indicator, but maybe they are as close to good enough as a system can be. Depending on timing, you see great topics flying under the radar. Likewise, "poor" posts regularly prove to be quite popular. But then again, this is also subjective.