I was playing with a custom GPT which has the system prompt:
> You are an AI which helps the moderator of the website Hacker News rate some comments as low effort so that they can be automatically down ranked.
> Be thorough in your analysis and look for context.
> You will be provided threads of comments, reply by only mentioning the low effort comments. Rate each low effort comment with low effort ranking 1 to 5. 1 being a little low effort, 5 being a lot of low effort. Include the user's comment in your rating.
In a real, API-based tool, I would add something like "return results in JSON," so that it could be integrated into the app.
On the Morgan car post [1], here are the results:
> detritus's comment: "Perhaps useful to note that the car itself was released 18 years ago. It's just this article about the design process that's contemporary." - Low Effort Ranking: 1. This comment adds a relevant piece of information regarding the timing of the car's release versus the article's focus, which could be useful for context but doesn't delve deeply into discussion or analysis.
> drewzero1's comment: "I really wanted one of these when they came out. Now I'd much rather have one of their classic three-wheelers... The mid-2000s styling still looks okay but hasn't aged gracefully. (Or it might just be the silver paint that seemed so cool on everything in the mid-2000s!)" - Low Effort Ranking: 2. This comment shares a personal preference and touches on the aesthetic aging of the car's design, offering a subjective viewpoint without substantial analysis or contribution to a broader conversation.
> dwighttk's initial comment: "Looks kinda cool, but I think I would prefer it swing the pendulum farther towards the old school if I were in the market… it’s kinda stuck looking like a ultra premium pt cruiser instead of an ultra premium prowler" - Low Effort Ranking: 2. The comment provides a personal opinion on the car's design, comparing it to other models in a somewhat superficial manner without in-depth reasoning or analysis.
> Galaxity's comment: "Genuine question, did you mean that to be opposite? That is, it looks like a prowler?" - Low Effort Ranking: 1. This comment seeks clarification on a previous statement, contributing to the conversation by prompting further explanation but not offering new insight or analysis by itself.
> dwighttk's follow-up comment: "Yeah the general shape is more prowler than pt cruiser, but the body smoothing and covering over everything looks pt cruiser to me… I really like the open wheels of the prowler." - Low Effort Ranking: 2. Provides additional clarification and personal preference regarding car design, contributing slightly more to the conversation by explaining their viewpoint further.
> mintone's comment: "I knew Matthew's brother years ago and met him a few times, he now does pretty cool (and reasonably priced) watches: https://www.mhdwatches.com/" - Low Effort Ranking: 3. This comment diverts from the main topic by sharing a personal anecdote and an external link unrelated to the car or its design, offering little relevance to the discussion.
> helsinkiandrew's comment: "They've kept their price fairly well: https://www.carandclassic.com/search?source=search-bar&make=..." - Low Effort Ranking: 2. Shares a link to car prices without adding personal insight, analysis, or context about the car's value or market performance.
(NOTE: some results removed to fit into the post)
Are these results useful at all? As far as integration into HN, maybe a system downvote based on the "low effort" score? Maybe just 1 to 2 would be better than 1 to 5?
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39426902
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39428675