Hacker News Thread Dynamics
CalmQuiet: To me it looks almost like that. I would say that the first "catchy" post (or maybe first catchy reply) tends (TENDS) to set the tone.  No, I doubt that the effect is intended, but it seems inevitable: a snowballing effect can occur only around a sufficiently potent idea that gets injected.Of course, this phenomenon can have the the effect of derailing the central idea (perhaps your initial concern?), but may we conclude, "There are no perfect discussion, only great ones?"Related thought:  I've often wondered whether a pop-up summary of the essence of the originally posted article that is linked would help focus discussion + (for new news) help visitors know whether the linked material is worth their visiting.  [ For me, often the discussion on YHN is worth 10x what the linked article was. ]