Being upvoted a lot is not just a function of being appealing to LW members, but also being posted at a time and place where many members will take notice, and I think some of these quotes were shortchanged in that regard.

I had the same observation. I found myself opening up rather a lot of permalinks in tabs so that I could vote a whole lot up and more than a few down a well.

We probably also lost a lot of value when it comes to quotes in replies. This one by logi is at 29 but probably is not scraped.