[minimaxir]

> That's why our algorithms rank ideas based on the importance of the issues they solve.

What? Ranking by the number of likes/upvotes (which is the method I see when looking at the Hot view) is not "ranking ideas based on the importance of the issues they solve."

I know CMU teaches actual algorithms for this type of ranking, because I went there. :P

[chrisjleaf]

Perhaps you're underestimating the complexity of the algorithm. The linking between ideas and issues is not superficial, the ranking of an idea is based directly upon the ranking of the issues it is linked to.

Issues are a bit simpler in that they mostly are based on activity related to them. However doesn't it make sense that an issue that's popular would reflect the magnitude of it's importance?

[minimaxir]

> However doesn't it make sense that an issue that's popular would reflect the magnitude of it's importance?

Not exactly. You're confusing correlation with causation.

On sites with Reddit-like rankings, the number of votes which a submission receives is one of the primary causes for the subsequent number of comments/activity of those respective submissions. And "importance" is not necessarily causal to submission ranking (aggregators are weird).

[onedev]

Hey not sure if you're aware, but this isn't TechCrunch...heh.

[minimaxir]

Commenting is universal. :)