node/15867 - 555 views 
Starting today Windy Citizens can vote comments up and down using the new voting triangles you'll spot on all comments. Comments will "rise" and "fall" within story threads just like stories do on the front page. Try it out in this thread.
Comments
For example, you can basically create polls on the fly with this now.
Question: What do you think of being able to vote on comments?
It's great.
It's ok.
I'm not a fan.
I don't get it.
"Comments will 'rise' and 'fall' within story threads just like stories do on the front page."
Does that mean that they won't stay in the same order? Seems like it would make it hard to follow conversations.
Looks like that's just what it does mean. I'm not a fan of that part.
Meanwhile, I'm wondering if there's been some change in the algorithym for calculating popularity, too. Something seems to be causing a lot of moldy old stuff to show up on the front pages, even when the votes aren't that high. More weight to views over votes, perhaps?
I'm will to reserve judgment to see how it works. I agree it might be kind of weird to have discussions ordered that way.
I do like being able to vote up comments, though!
Other way around, actually. There was a slight hiccup this morning as I was updating some files and for an hour or so we were weighting views over votes. Now it's fixed. Front page is back to normal.
I am behind it generally, though I do not like the idea of comments moving up and down with popularity. There's something to say for a coherent ordering.
Earn upvotes by carefully composing one's thoughts? Make the case? Offer supporting facts? Employ a methodical approach? Cite credible sources?
Or simply pander with rants & raves?
This should be interesting.
Have an upvote.
I think the idea is that this will encourage people to post related links and to say interesting stuff. It's possible/likely funny stuff will get voted up, too though.
qstrian, the answer to you question is yes. Also, asking useful questions (which is why you are getting an upvote).
A shout-out from GB: http://gapersblock.com/merge/archives/2009/10/05/new-feature-at-windy-ci...
It says, "Click the up/down arrows to promote interesting comments and demote the weak ones," but only up arrows appear.
Correct. You must earn 100 clout point before you can vote comments down.
Just gave you a point there. Good question. Didn't know that.
Is it just me or can you not vote on comments that are direct replies to your own comment?
Introduce an intriguing dynamic, Chess87?
Would this discourage thoughtful replies & leave us all singing in unison like a Sunday morning church choir?
Why?
To prevent people from creating new accounts just to vote down stuff into oblivion.
This is true as well. It's been shown to be a good way to keep discussions civil on similar community sites like this.
Heh. Someone voted me down!
Okay, I can see how that would work.
I noticed that earlier today, too. I think it's a good feature. Of all the comments posted, the ones you're LEAST likely to be fit to vote on are direct responses to your own words. Makes sense.
Vs. people creating new accounts just to puff stuff up?
Couldn't you have grandfathered in those of us who lost all our clout in the last change?
That's bad, too. We have tools that address that though.
Unfortunately, no. It was a hard decision, but at the end of the day, it needed to be done so we could move ahead with a better setup that encouraged people to post great stuff.