Something feels different about people’s reactions to an OP in comments IMO. It is not always a thing, but more of a broad pattern. How do you personally view this? Do you see it too? Do you have some clear picture in mind as to why this difference exists? I have a few ideas, but don’t want to taint your takes on the subject.
I’d say it varies based on the community/topic. Is the subject about the OP, or is it just sharing content?
Like, a question thread vs a news thread. In the question thread, it makes a lot of sense, you’re trying to answer/solve the question. For news, I guess the motive for posting it can make OP a bit more important than the rest of the comments, or not.
But also, I’d imagine that the mere fact that OP comments are distinguished in some way by color or labeling brings more attention to it which in turn is more likely to be interacted with.