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> you can get right to the actual information by looking at the comments There's a tragedy of the commons here, where the majority is going to the comments fir
by lapcat 3y ago
> you can get right to the actual information by looking at the comments
There's a tragedy of the commons here, where the majority is going to the comments first without reading the article, expecting the other commenters to inform them about the article. Given this common practice, what makes you think you can get right to the actual information by looking at the comments? They're often less reliable than the articles themselves.
- Hugsun 3y agoI don't see how that analogy applies. There is no depletable resource being exhausted. There is a Nash equilibrium where experts and those who are interested read/know the topic of the article and write some commentary about it. The most insightful comments usually receive more upvotes from everyone (including non-readers). reading the top comments is thus generally a good timesave to risk of being misinformed tradeoff that many users have decided to be worth taking. Being less reliable can be acceptable if it reduces the time to read by 10x or more.
- lapcat 3y ago> The most insightful comments usually receive more upvotes from everyone (including non-readers). That's highly questionable.
- Hugsun 3y agoIt depends on the topic, certainly. For technical and non-controversial subjects I believe it can be relied on. If it fails, the damage is usually low.
- dartos 3y agoI think this whole thread is probably one of the things bothers the author. Just the judgy attitude of the whole thing. My comment included