Not sure what the algorithm is, but apparently, it doesn't like my comments.
Like in the old days when "all S/W grew until it tried to do email", in the modern world "all s/w grows until it tries to become facebook".
Everything is an algorithmically driven "reputation" contest.
The exact thing that ruined stackoverflow...
There isn't an algorithm, it's just other people. I looked at your comments. They're mostly short sentences on single lines instead of paragraphs, resembling ad copy. When you go to the effort of letting your words flow, like your post about the closure of the technical bookstore in San Diego, they get some engagement.
Try being less of a curmudgeon. A lot of your comments are just expressions of negative sentiment but lacking argument or an alternative perspective that would invite debate or discussion. Also, submitting more news stories will start more conversations.
This is it. It's really easy to overly blunt and direct online. If somebody spoke to me in the real world like OPs comments, I would be very turned off and think they're a bit of an asshole.
Why should anyone else care that you recieve no interest for the uninteresting things you say?
This very complaint is essentially merely observing that truism, and as such is itself uninteresting and would wind up ignored if it were a comment, or actively downvoted for being whiney and pathetic, complaining about something that was not any kind of mistreatment.
Some of my comments are likewise uninteresting or unpopular, but I don't consider that to be some algorithm designed to suppress me. If I say something jeuvenile or simplistic, it gets no upvotes or even gets downvotes.
But what do I care about that? Why am I here reading other people's comments and leaving my own?
If I have a thought and it gets downvoted, or upvoted, it really means very little either way because if you say anything of any significance or matter at all, then there will be both some people who agree strongly, and some people who disagree strongly, and some of those will hit their up/downvote buttons, but they rarely explain why, and no one ever has to defend their vote with any kind of objectively evaluable argument. Anyone can vote in either direction simply because they are idiots, or because I am the idiot.
So you have to want to trade ideas for their own sake, not because of any validation from popularity.
If this post were a comment I would have probably downvoted it. But in this case, you would know the reason because I explained it above. Observing a truism (uninteresting things garner no interest) is of no interest or value at all, and on top of that complaining that this is somehow some woe upon you that anyone else should care about is just kind of pathetic.
My comment here expressing this criticism is pretty callous and negative, so it will probably be downvoted itself.
AND THAT'S OK.
It's more important to simply have some sort of opinion that is sincere and as well-considered and defensible as you can manage, and express that if you think it's important to be said to add to the conversation, or if you think it's important to see what counter-arguments it might generate which might expand your own understanding and depth.
I don't really upvote here unless I think that the comment expresses some good ideas. Upvoting is akin to me saying "This is well said" or "Thanks for pointing this out".
As anigbrowl pointed out, you could do better by writing better comments. The book "On Writing Well" has helped me a lot on this. There are still things to improve. But English is not my native language, so I don't really worry much about it.
My best guess is that if your comments never rank well then it is likely a function of your peers not "up voting" as that seems to be what drives my comment placing.
Try being less of a curmudgeon. A lot of your comments are just expressions of negative sentiment but lacking argument or an alternative perspective that would invite debate or discussion. Also, submitting more news stories will start more conversations.