There's also a path-dependent local optimisation aspect to HN comment threads. A... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

shoo on Oct 9, 2021 | parent | context | favorite | on: Things I’ve learned in my 20 years as a software e...

There's also a path-dependent local optimisation aspect to HN comment threads. All things equal, threads that are higher up the page during the right time window get more eyeballs and more engagement, which might encourage people to hang their replies off the currently-popular thread. If we reran the "experiment" under essentially the same conditions we might find that a different bunch of responses get the most engagement.

RNCTX on Oct 9, 2021 [–]

It's still reflective of reality though!

If I know one thing from working for large corporations, it's that whatever is talked about the most will never change.

therealdrag0 on Oct 9, 2021 | [–]

Aand there’s a segue back to the current discussion. There was a thread about “people don’t actually like innovation”. :)

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact