I also didn’t know about this. There’s a problem with features like these - casual user doesn’t even realize it exists, but motivated actors can easily exploit it to correct the conversation.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html
> How are stories ranked?
> The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted. Comments in threads are ranked the same way.
> Other factors affecting rank include user flags, anti-abuse software, software which demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting, and moderator action.
And people don't usually read the FAQ to double-check that basic forum features work in the intuitive way. :)