It's a Brand New Thing it seems.
http://typophile.com/node/76544

The Punchcut folks are experimenting with a few tweaks under the hood. Voting is one of them -- cf.: Nina's link above.

They've also installed an AntiSpam module utilizing Akismet. We're going to see how well it works.

Have to say, so far a little underwhelming. There have been more false positives than actual spam caught. And I've seen some obvious spam slipping through.

But the algorithm is supposed to improve with interactive feedback. So, we're going to give it a chance.

But if a legitimate comment seems to disappear on you, bear with us while we sort this out.

I may be out of touch... but I don't understand the voting thing.

Thanks, Nina.

so, voting this thread down would make it 'grey out and disappear?

edit - never mind they vote buttons don't seem to be there today

I don't get the "Vote" thing either. If I want to follow a thread, I will, if I don't, I ignore it. I don't think what interests me personally should have any effect on what someone else wants to read and visa versa.

After trying it out on the site for a while, Jared has decided to turn off the Voting feature: http://typophile.com/node/76544#comment-440949

oops, never mind they vote buttons don't seem to be there today

I meant; THEM vote buttons ain't there no more.

:o)

Typophile voting buttons? They were supposed to be Turkish. Some say they were German. Nobody believed they were real. Nobody ever saw them or knew anybody that ever used them, but to hear Kobayashi tell it, anybody could have used the buttons. You never knew. That was their power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, poof. they're gone