Anonymity and pseudonymity, while similar, are not the same. The mods have been clear that one goal of HN is community, which is really only possible when people have some identity, even a pseudonymous one, to maintain continuity. So, while you’re right that having a single, pseudonymous account compromises anonymity, that anonymity isn’t a goal.
Also, without knowing the voting on comments, how can you confirm that comment ranking is based on a member’s accumulated karma? From my observations, comments are primarily ranked by their votes and when they were made. One might see that higher karma members have more comments that are higher ranked (though I’d like to have numbers to back that up), but a reasonable explanation (also unprovable without some crunching) is that (a) higher karma members contribute better comments on average, (b) are more visible and more popular, and/or (c) comment more on average. All three of these would contribute to seeing higher karma members’ comments higher ranked: there are more of them so you’re more likely to see them, and they’ll on average get more votes due to quality and/or popularity, so they’ll be higher ranked.
I’d like you to expand on what you mean by “[content-ranking algorithms] clearly optimized for engagement in some capacity.” Again, what do you see that isn’t explained by member votes, flags, and/or moderator action (as described in the FAQ)? “Algorithm” implies there’s some automated process going on. I don’t see behavior that necessitates such an algorithm.
That said, there is an algorithm that affects ranking: the overheated discussion detector. That pushes down ranking. One could argue that this is an example where they’re penalizing engagement, rather than optimizing for it.
Also, without knowing the voting on comments, how can you confirm that comment ranking is based on a member’s accumulated karma? From my observations, comments are primarily ranked by their votes and when they were made. One might see that higher karma members have more comments that are higher ranked (though I’d like to have numbers to back that up), but a reasonable explanation (also unprovable without some crunching) is that (a) higher karma members contribute better comments on average, (b) are more visible and more popular, and/or (c) comment more on average. All three of these would contribute to seeing higher karma members’ comments higher ranked: there are more of them so you’re more likely to see them, and they’ll on average get more votes due to quality and/or popularity, so they’ll be higher ranked.
I’d like you to expand on what you mean by “[content-ranking algorithms] clearly optimized for engagement in some capacity.” Again, what do you see that isn’t explained by member votes, flags, and/or moderator action (as described in the FAQ)? “Algorithm” implies there’s some automated process going on. I don’t see behavior that necessitates such an algorithm.
That said, there is an algorithm that affects ranking: the overheated discussion detector. That pushes down ranking. One could argue that this is an example where they’re penalizing engagement, rather than optimizing for it.