There is an answer to your question [0]: "The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. Comments in threads are ranked

There is an answer to your question [0]: "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." [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html