If you look at a tally of what turn out to be the most popular Readers' Comments made to most any NYT article (here's an example of such a tallying, on an article titled "Safety Nets for the Rich: <link>), you notice that the vast majority of winners appeared on the first page of comments.

It is much the way the state of Pennsylvania (and likely other states as well) until recently sold many instant- or rub-off lottery tickets long after the big prize had been won. Well, the big prize as far as purchasers of tickets goes.

Why doesn't the NYT post the time at which the comments are sent by the reader, the way Slate does, and not the time at which the paper puts them up? After the first one is put up by the Times (and the time noted), who needs proof that all the other posts follow it?