As long as there's an awesome system like Hacker News, there'll be people trying to hack it. HN wins to the degree that it can counteract that and MAKE SURE that the 'best' ideas organically flow to the top. And pg is all over this.

I really like the idea of 'trust' / influence making your upvotes worth more than my upvotes or someone else's if you're proven to give good stuff. Hmm..