

Ask HN: What is the importance of 'avg' score in HN? - sunilkumarc


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brudgers
Mechanically: At one time, and perhaps still, it appeared to affect decay rate
and placement of a person's new comments. For example, a person with a high
average comment score might have their initial comment placed higher up the
page and then fall more slowly than a person posting at the same time with a
lower average comment score.

As Feedback: Because it is a moving average, it is a way for a person to get a
feel for the quality of their comments and how that quality is trending.
That's really more important in the long run I suppose.

The big picture: The purpose is to modify user behavior toward actions that
improve or at least are less detrimental to HN.

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dang
What brudgers said is correct, but I'll add that we're probably going to get
rid of comment averages. We've looked at the data extensively and it hasn't
proven to have much value. We've phased out the code that used to rely on it,
and what's left (which is only for display) is probably not worth the cost.

