Amusingly the proposed solution in this blog post is almost line-for-line exactly the method Reddit uses to rank comments - proof, I think, that the method isn'

Amusingly the proposed solution in this blog post is almost line-for-line exactly the method Reddit uses to rank comments - proof, I think, that the method isn't "too complicated." When you're working with a system managing orders, where there's a direct human interaction with the algorithm (like the top-level poster is), simplicity is somewhat important. When you're working with a system that's designed to look like magic to the end user, making the system more magical is often better, because it makes it less intuitive to game.