Sometimes I upvote an article not because I agree with it's content, but to see it discussed. The same goes for comments in a lesser extent.

> No one can read this article yet it is instantly upvoted to the very top of HN. Goes to show how discussion forums like this one just serve to amplify people's existing biases rather than actually educate them on anything new.

Maybe everyone that is upvoting it can read it b/c they subscribe to the news site, and maybe your comment shows your existing bias about your thoughts on other readers of this discussion forum?

it could also be people who are hoping the crowd can elucidate them on the article for the same said reason

It’s been out since this morning for subscribers.

You can flag articles that aren't supposed to be on the front page and help correct this sort of problem.

I'm pretty sure it has more to do with the HN algo where some keywords rank higher than others. "Uber" "Billion" "Self-Driving" are hot topics by themselves and this one is all of them in one.

> "the HN algo"

In terms of keyword ranking, from what I've observed the only think taking into account things such as keywords with respect to ranking is the readers voting and flagging.

I would frame it as "in discussion forums people upvote articles because they spark interesting discussions, even if the article is uninteresting or only available to few"

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