You have to pay something like 29.99 USD for every bump up on the front page you want. The guys who have their stories at the top pay somewhere close to the thousands, if I'm not mistaken.
I'm sure everyone knows but me... or maybe it's one of those 'competitive advantage' secrets... I was just curious how the ordering on the front page works, etc.
Yeah, I figured that might be the reaction, but to use an idea of Warren Buffet's, YC News has a natural competition 'moat' in that it's backed by YC itself... why would you go to another startup news site? Unless Sequoia starts it's own news site, I think YC News is safe. I know I come here because I know the content will be reasonably related to what is going on at YC, not because I think the moderation system is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
On the other hand, if it uses the same system as Reddit or something, I could see the reluctance, since Reddit gets to fight it out with a bunch of other sites and doesn't really have a natural monopoly.
