[brown9-2]

But isn't that the point? How valuable is it to discuss rumors?

I heard a rumor last week that Microsoft is going to buy Apple. Should we spend dozens of articles talking about it? I heard another rumor that the movie Avatar is a secret communist plot to take over the world. Is that worth 10 articles too?

Also I'm not sure if someone edited "Rumor:" out of the title but it is currently neither in the HN title or the Reuters article.

[andrew1]

I guess the interest in and plausibility of the rumor will govern how much it is discussed. If the rumor being true will affect people (say iPhone developers) then it seems natural that people would want to discuss the likelihood of the rumor and what the consequences of it will be.