Submitted 11/06/09 15:50:49 by Marti Sherrill from Charlotte, NC.

Q Why is the default for reader's comments "newest first"? To follow the thread of answers to prior comments you must always change to "oldest first"--otherwise you are unable to understand what the later comments are referring to.

Answered 11/07/09 22:15:22 by Rick Thames

A: Good point. I noticed the same issue the other day. I think this is about our news culture. Surely, you would want the newest comments first, right? The problem with that is that people who make comments start talking to each other. That means that "newest first" puts you at the end of the conversation. The commenter on your screen is angry or happy about something someone else said and you have no idea what that was without scrolling down. It's like starting at the end of the movie and playing it backwards. On the other hand, "oldest first" buries the most up to date comments. Will you even go that far into the comments? I'd like to hear from more of you about your preferences.