Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first?

Posted by mparlane on Monday September 10, 2012 @09:13PM
from the ask-hn dept.

When there is a top story with quite a few comments already, I tend to read them before clicking the link. Basically a way to check if an article is worth reading.

Do other people follow this same process?

( 7 comments | 5 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first? by mcgain on Monday September 10, 2012 @09:45PM (#4503330)

Absolutely. Unless the title really grabs me, I will gauge the quality of the article by a quick look through the comments.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first? by polyfractal on Tuesday September 11, 2012 @08:55AM (#4505124)

I always click the comments link first. If the first set of comments look interesting, I'll read the article, the come back to the comments and read those.

I probably read 60% of the articles after skimming the comments.

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Re:Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first? by kevinconroy on Monday September 10, 2012 @10:59PM (#4503527)

That's like asking if it's wrong to eat your pizza crust first. Some people will claim sacrilege, others may nod in agreement while they wipe pizza sauce from their face.

Either way, you can't go wrong.

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Re:Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first? by damian2000 on Monday September 10, 2012 @10:05PM (#4503397)

I often do this when its a link baity article title e.g. like "OO sucks, and this is why ..." or similar

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Re:Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first? by spdy on Monday September 10, 2012 @09:54PM (#4503356)

Sometimes i dont even read the article at all.

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Re:Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first? by mparlane on Monday September 10, 2012 @09:56PM (#4503363)

I think the best comments are the ones where someone just pastes the "important" bit.

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Re:Ask HN: Is it wrong to read the comments first? by logn on Wednesday September 12, 2012 @09:35PM (#4514314)

Just don't comment before reading the article or this place will turn into slashdot.

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