Comment of the Week highlights a single standout reply from the past 7 days, chosen by a mix of community "helpful" marks and moderator review, and features it on the relevant article page plus the community homepage for the following week. It's picked every Monday from the prior week's activity, favors depth and usefulness over popularity alone, and does not require the comment's original article to be recent — an old article can still surface a Comment of the Week if a great answer lands on it.
At a glance
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Selection day | Every Monday |
| Lookback window | Prior 7 days of comment activity |
| Selection basis | Helpful marks + moderator judgment call |
| Placement | Featured on its article page + community homepage |
| Duration featured | One week, until next selection |
What moderators actually look for
Helpful marks (the same up-vote-like signal that feeds Garage Guru points) are one input, but raw vote count alone isn't the deciding factor — a comment with fewer marks but genuinely more depth (a detailed troubleshooting sequence, a correction to a common misconception, a first-hand account with specifics) can beat a shorter, more generically popular one. This mirrors the same philosophy behind Garage Guru points: reward usefulness, not just popularity.
Selection process
- Monday morning: the prior week's most-marked comments are pulled into a review shortlist
- Moderator review: the panel reads the shortlist for accuracy, tone, and genuine helpfulness (not just length or popularity)
- Selection: one comment is chosen and featured on its original article page and the community homepage
- Following Monday: the previous week's pick rotates out as a new one is selected
Why old articles can still win
Because selection looks at comment activity in the last 7 days, not article publish date, a genuinely great answer posted on a three-year-old maintenance guide is just as eligible as one on this week's news explainer. This keeps evergreen content alive and rewards people who take time to answer on older, still-relevant pages rather than only chasing whatever's currently trending.
| Factor | How it's weighed |
|---|---|
| Helpful marks | Strong signal, but not the sole factor |
| Depth/specificity | Favored over short, generic replies |
| Accuracy | Verified before selection; inaccurate comments are disqualified |
| Article age | Irrelevant — only comment recency (last 7 days) matters |
Being featured as Comment of the Week does not itself award Garage Guru points beyond whatever helpful marks the comment already earned — the feature is recognition, not an additional scoring mechanism.
How this fits with other recognition features
Comment of the Week is a fast, weekly-cycle spotlight, distinct from the monthly moderator-reviewed Monthly Community Awards and the slower, annual Reader Choice Awards — together the three programs cover very different time horizons of community recognition.
Frequently asked questions
Can a comment on an old article be Comment of the Week?
Does the featured comment stay pinned forever?
Do I get points for being selected?
Is selection purely based on the most upvoted comment?
Can a comment be disqualified after being shortlisted?
Sources & further reading
- Pew Research Center — Social Media and Community Engagement
- Nielsen Norman Group — Gamification and UX Research
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