I think you are justified in feeling the way that you do. Nobody is suggesting that the <i>&quot;front runners&#x27; posts only made it there because of bandwagoning&quot;</i><p>I think you and all other applicants deserved all the community interest they got.<p>What is being highlighted by myself, and other users (who have no vested interest, unlike me and you) is that engagement did fall off sharply after the first 2-3 days. As a result of which applications submitted after the first few days didn&#x27;t receive the as much scrutiny from the community.<p>HN ranks posts by upvotes&#x2F;square of time since submission. It is possible that a mere 2-3 votes can make the difference between a post reaching the front page and receiving several times more eyeballs vs getting buried. And the sharp drop in interest in ApplyHN&#x27;s from the community can and did make such a difference for several applicants.