| Just think what we can do with all those imaginary points. I'd like see some kind of solution where submissions don't disappear so quicky. Maybe using tags that become sub-forums of sorts and the front page is just an aggregate. Like tags for SSL, ddos, security, centos, payment-solutions etc. Tags are not hard to implement, there could even be a limited set to choose from, that only certain users can add to, if there is any concern about new tag creation abuse. And then a submission can span multiple tags, it may get buried under one tag but rank better under other tags. |
In terms of "doing" something with the points, I quite like Stack Overflow's approach of letting users with higher reputations do more things. There is a little of this on HN (e.g. flagging), but on SO it includes things like editing posts, deleting comments, review flags, etc. But that would lead to a broader, less centralized system than YC is likely to prefer, and it's their site and decision ultimately.