I'm open to the idea that newspapers should give much more attention to their "most e-mailed lists." Before reading the article, I wouldn't have been, because I was pretty sure the most e-mailed lists were mainly composed of stories about pets, dating, and cookware. But I just checked the NY Times and it looks like I've underestimated my countrymen:
That said, I'd prefer to see papers exploring with community rankings more broadly. The most e-mailed, after all, is a bit of a bank shot -- people e-mail things they fear others won't find, things they think others won't read, things that they hope will convince friends or lovers of something significant to them. It would be interesting, by contrast, if they could rank stories for importance and entertainment, and those rankings would push stories towards the front page, or at least towards an editor with the power to do so (lest the whole thing just be hijacked by Ron Paul supporters).
