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It seems like early comments on any article generally have a huge advantage in garnering votes. This appropriately rewards engagement, but also pushes down oth

by natch 12y ago

It seems like early comments on any article generally have a huge advantage in garnering votes. This appropriately rewards engagement, but also pushes down other worthy comments that come slightly later, often to effective near invisibility when replies to the top comment dominate the discussion. I wonder if there is any mechanism that could help counter this.

maaaats 12y ago
This has been discussed much on Stack Overflow earlier, by the name of "Fastest Gun in the West Problem". http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/9731/186983 http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/9731/186983 However, I often see new (top level) comments on the top when entering a discussion here on HN, so it seems they at least get some exposure.
hackuser 12y ago
I expect that there is a strong correlation between how soon a comment is posted and its points. Two thoughts from a relative noob (sorry if these ideas already have been discussed or tried): * On threads with many comments, few users have time to read all or even most of them. Perhaps find a way to shorten the list, improve signal-to-noise, and surface newer comments by burying older comments that haven't received votes. > This appropriately rewards engagement * It rewards engagement by people who have the time to frequently check HN, read linked stories, and comment throughout the day. My guess is that the smarter someone is, the less availability they have for such things. I would create a system that rewards engagement by busy people.
- solistice 12y ago
  > On threads with many comments, few users have time to read all or even most of them. Perhaps find a way to shorten the list, improve signal-to-noise, and surface newer comments by burying older comments that haven't received vote So essentially the same kind of system that is used for the link page? I honestly don't see why link aggregators use one system for links (based on time posted and points) and another system for comments (based solely on points). A very engaging link and a very engaging comment both share the same qualities, whether it is informativeness or adding something interesting to the discussion.
- aragot 12y ago
  Have a colour scheme for the 15 most recent comments of the thread. That way we can reload the page and see what's new.
  - natch 12y ago
    That is a cool idea. It would have to be done in a really subtle way to avoid becoming garish, but I hope it gets tried out. Not sure about encouraging reloading the page though.. maybe some kind of AJAX would be better for protecting the server from overload.
lotharbot 12y ago
A comment's location is affected both by its points and by its age. New comments tend to appear at or near the top in the first few minutes after they're posted, and then will drop down the page if they don't receive many upvotes.
- natch 12y ago
  Assuming you are saying this is how it works now, I did not know that. I'm glad to hear it; that is a smart system.

by natch 12y ago

maaaats 12y ago

This has been discussed much on Stack Overflow earlier, by the name of "Fastest Gun in the West Problem". http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/9731/186983 http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/9731/186983 However, I often see new (top level) comments on the top when entering a discussion here on HN, so it seems they at least get some exposure.

hackuser 12y ago

I expect that there is a strong correlation between how soon a comment is posted and its points. Two thoughts from a relative noob (sorry if these ideas already have been discussed or tried): * On threads with many comments, few users have time to read all or even most of them. Perhaps find a way to shorten the list, improve signal-to-noise, and surface newer comments by burying older comments that haven't received votes. > This appropriately rewards engagement * It rewards engagement by people who have the time to frequently check HN, read linked stories, and comment throughout the day. My guess is that the smarter someone is, the less availability they have for such things. I would create a system that rewards engagement by busy people.

solistice 12y ago
> On threads with many comments, few users have time to read all or even most of them. Perhaps find a way to shorten the list, improve signal-to-noise, and surface newer comments by burying older comments that haven't received vote So essentially the same kind of system that is used for the link page? I honestly don't see why link aggregators use one system for links (based on time posted and points) and another system for comments (based solely on points). A very engaging link and a very engaging comment both share the same qualities, whether it is informativeness or adding something interesting to the discussion.
aragot 12y ago
Have a colour scheme for the 15 most recent comments of the thread. That way we can reload the page and see what's new.
- natch 12y ago
  That is a cool idea. It would have to be done in a really subtle way to avoid becoming garish, but I hope it gets tried out. Not sure about encouraging reloading the page though.. maybe some kind of AJAX would be better for protecting the server from overload.

lotharbot 12y ago

A comment's location is affected both by its points and by its age. New comments tend to appear at or near the top in the first few minutes after they're posted, and then will drop down the page if they don't receive many upvotes.

natch 12y ago
Assuming you are saying this is how it works now, I did not know that. I'm glad to hear it; that is a smart system.