I think that's a good idea that could be implemented quickly, and perhaps it's good enough :-)
I also think it's easier to calibrate [an algorithm that estimates which comments people have read], than to calibrate [how much more importance to give to a vote that happens far away from the original post].
In fact, the latter is impossible? Because you have nothing to calibrate against? You don't know what the correct result is.
But here's a reasonable (?) calibration for an algorithm that estimates which comments people have read: If you upvote comment X, then you have probably read its 3 earlier siblings and its parent and grandparent. This doesn't need much calibration, and would probably (I think) work fairly well on the whole? — It's somewhat possible to validate and tweak this calibration, by observing how people actually do, when they read forum & blog comments.
I also think it's easier to calibrate [an algorithm that estimates which comments people have read], than to calibrate [how much more importance to give to a vote that happens far away from the original post].
In fact, the latter is impossible? Because you have nothing to calibrate against? You don't know what the correct result is.
But here's a reasonable (?) calibration for an algorithm that estimates which comments people have read: If you upvote comment X, then you have probably read its 3 earlier siblings and its parent and grandparent. This doesn't need much calibration, and would probably (I think) work fairly well on the whole? — It's somewhat possible to validate and tweak this calibration, by observing how people actually do, when they read forum & blog comments.