What's the point of this? If HN is a competition I must have missed the memo. Otherwise this is - how to win at posting interesting stuff and discussing it.
Nobody said competition, but let me ask this: why make submissions on HN at all if not for other people to see?
Success is always about a combination of value and good timing.
Please tell me ... success at what?
From a media perspective, the effectiveness of a message can be measured by its coverage. A combination of content value and timing can enhance this effectiveness.
This isn't just a forum about posting interesting stuff and discussing it, it's a forum owned by a billion dollar Silicon Valley incubator. People post here hoping to be noticed by YC and the community at large, and gain "street cred" by virtue signaling themselves as intellectual, competent and innovative, and often to covertly pitch their startup ideas. People make getting noticed on HN and getting viral an integral part of their business strategy.