Re:Tell HN: Uptick in mean-spirited comments
by pornel on Sunday October 31, 2010 @01:45PM
(#1853767)
This definitely discourages posting things that won't be highly upvoted.
The problem I have with this is that absolute number of upvotes is not equal to quality of a comment.
A good comment posted under less popular news item will get eyeballs, less upvotes, and lower poster's average.
Similarly participation in long thread (even if that's constructive thread, not a flamewar) or response far down the page is unlikely to get many upvotes, regardless of quality.
The problem I have with this is that absolute number of upvotes is not equal to quality of a comment.
A good comment posted under less popular news item will get eyeballs, less upvotes, and lower poster's average.
Similarly participation in long thread (even if that's constructive thread, not a flamewar) or response far down the page is unlikely to get many upvotes, regardless of quality.