However, that's really a disjoint case from what we're talking about here, because once enough time has gone by to clear the hivemind caches, an "old" topic becomes "fresh" again for most readers—especially, of course, the ones who never saw the article before, but also for ones who know it as a classic, and so on.
The FAQ defines "enough time" as "a year or so"—we leave some wiggle room there because sometimes it seems to need a bit longer than a year, and sometimes a bit less is ok. This has been the rule on HN for a long time, well over a decade, and it has held up well over time - I think it strikes a great balance.
However, that's really a disjoint case from what we're talking about here, because once enough time has gone by to clear the hivemind caches, an "old" topic becomes "fresh" again for most readers—especially, of course, the ones who never saw the article before, but also for ones who know it as a classic, and so on.
The FAQ defines "enough time" as "a year or so"—we leave some wiggle room there because sometimes it seems to need a bit longer than a year, and sometimes a bit less is ok. This has been the rule on HN for a long time, well over a decade, and it has held up well over time - I think it strikes a great balance.