> "The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. Comments in comment threads are ranked the same way."
> "Other factors affecting rank include user flags, anti-abuse software, software which downweights overheated discussions, and moderator intervention."
---
> "What are we supposed to do with this submission?"
From the FAQ: (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html)
> "How are stories ranked?"
> "The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. Comments in comment threads are ranked the same way."
> "Other factors affecting rank include user flags, anti-abuse software, software which downweights overheated discussions, and moderator intervention."
---
> "What are we supposed to do with this submission?"
From the guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html):
> "Please don't complain that a submission is inappropriate. If a story is spam or off-topic, flag it."
If you've got more substantive criticism of the piece: skip the other stuff and dive right into that.