Ask HN: What if HN was biased against submissions on very popular topics?

4 points by tdoggette ↗ HN
Keep track of trending keywords, and if X% of frontpage topics are about one topic, make it tend not to rise on the front page. Perhaps a small bias for something with 3 or 4 topics already popular, and a larger one if the threads increase.

This might be able to solve the "_why problem" and the "Erlang problem" if they recur.

Thoughts?

2 comments

[ 3.8 ms ] story [ 65.9 ms ] thread
I was thinking the same thing. I have a feeling pg might be before too long as well.
If the site can detect that different submissions are on the same topic, maybe it should group them together. That makes them easier to skip for people who aren't interested in that topic, while without burying them from people who are interested.