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Sorry for this to get all meta, but what is the meaning of saying "this" at the beginning of a comment? I've seen it elsewhere, sometimes as the entire response. I'm afraid I missed the beginnings of this convention, and it's not intuitive (at least to me).

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It's a shorthand for 'I totally agree and what was said bears repeating'. I think it originated on fark, but I'm not totally sure.

I thought we already had a way to say that: ditto.

The original post asked a question: "Why can't Google [surreptitiously?] rank search results by actual relevancy (e.g. clicks & abandons)?"

The respondent felt that the original post contained the answer to its own question. Therefore, the respondent said, "This," pointing to the answer.

Ok, I see now that the original poster was effectively saying "this is why", not necessarily using the "this" meme that I was confused about. Still, I got my answer and the post has been clarified for me. Thanks, guys.

" Therefore, the respondent said, "This," pointing to the answer."

Shouldn't it then be "that", or have the quote come after "this"?

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