I was wondering because I tend to read the comments first. The comments on HN work like a kind of machine that extracts all the relevant information and sums it up in a souccient way (well sometimes anyway). What I mean is the comments are so good on HN they often outstrip the quality of the articles.
Comments first: it can save you a lot of time and I find that having knowledgable and/or expert contributions can really augment the linked article's content.<p>One must exercise caution, however, lest the comments will prime your opinion-making circuitry and cause you to form their opinion instead of your opinion.