X adds the ability to sort replies, letting users choose most relevant, most recent, or most liked replies; it is unclear how the most relevant option works
the most relevant reply is the one telling you to leave X — RE: https://www.threads.net/... Bluesky: Brian Skinner / @thebrianskinner.bsky.social : Being Unclear is the best part of any X experience X: @x : rolling out now: sort replies on any post by most relevant, recent, or liked [image] @mysk_co : Hey @elonmusk, will 𝕏 publish the algorithm that determines which replies are most relevant? The Algorithm's repository on Github hasn't been updated since last year. Thank you! [image] @justmeredeux : This “most recent” “most relevant” garbage here is CENSORSHIP. we need to speak and get rid of this now. I don't want Twitter determining what I see and read based on their algorithm. It's a dangerous precedent. This shit belongs on Facebook. Not here. @pjm1kbw : I notice that replies on here are now being ‘filtered’ by most relevant, most liked and most recent. In other words someone (we can guess who...) is deciding what responses we should see to the posts they've already filtered using their algorithm-thing-ummy-bobs. Is that new? 🤨 [image] @takmantechnical : Worst or Best feature? I am confused as most people will short post by “Most liked replies” or “Most relevant replies” and people with less likes will get no impressions or likes. 🥱 Erin Manning Writes / @emanningwrites : This is terrible. Should default to most recent. Awful feature. Ian Simpson / @iansimpson27 : Elon takes another step to all but enforce the algorithm: just like on Facebook, comments are sorted by “Most relevant” by default, and although you can change the setting, it will keep resetting back to “Most relevant” at every opportunity, for every piece of content you view. @pairadachs : This app gets worse DAILY. Emily / @writerofscratch : Love how they included a very clear example of the kind of replies you might not want to have at the top. Karbon / @basedkarbon : Pretty funny that the example in this feature is selected to show most relevant and the most relevant reply is Elon saying “yeah” Really summarizes the current state of the app @afbfmoon : Another annoying update no one asked for and that's only going to help the annoying verified bots as we can see in this post Bryan Elwick / @elwick70 : Oh, I see we've gone all Facebook now..? And of course, once the algorithm has kicked in, it won't be “most relevant replies”, it'll just be ads and far right mongitude Musk really does want rid, doesn't he... [image] Eric Odinn / @ericodinn : WTF is this? I don't want replies sorted and curated. And who decides which ones are most relevant? Another pos AI algorithm? [image] Janet Emson / @janetemson : Another day, another annoying “improvement” from Twitter hater Musk. How does he or his algorithm get to decide what's most relevant? And most relevant to whom? [image] Forums: Hacker News : X: Rolling out now: sort replies on any post by most relevant, recent, or liked
Context & Ripple Effects
X has been steadily reshaping conversation controls, from its earlier tests of author-selected reply limits to making the identities behind likes private. Reply sorting extends that shift from deciding who can participate to deciding how participation is encountered.
The change matters because it introduces a ranking layer inside a post’s discussion while leaving the criteria for its default “most relevant” view unspecified. That makes the interface—not just posting rules—a more consequential part of reply visibility.
First-order effects
- People viewing a post can switch among relevance, recency, and like-based ordering rather than rely on one fixed reply sequence.
- Replies surfaced under “most relevant” may receive disproportionate attention, but users cannot assess why they were selected from the information provided.
Second-order effects
- Creators, brands, and frequent posters have a new incentive to optimize replies for whichever signals X’s relevance ranking appears to reward, while chronological sorting remains the fallback for users seeking an unranked sequence.
- The “most liked” option gives endorsement counts a more explicit role in reply discovery, even after X made liker identities private, limiting observers’ ability to inspect the social context behind that signal.
Third-order effects
- If ranking becomes the default way people navigate large discussions, platform control over conversational distribution will increasingly sit in sorting interfaces rather than only in moderation or reply-permission tools.
- Continued opacity around relevance criteria could make user trust depend on whether alternative views such as newest and most liked provide meaningful checks on the default ranking.
The trend: Social platforms are moving from open chronological conversations toward configurable, algorithmically ordered discussion layers.