The editors like to see "conversations" emerging from the articles; when readers see x# comments next to a headline they are more likely to click & read. For example, when I'm scrolling through my LJ friends page if I see that there are already comments it tells me that other people found the post engaging enough to reply to it.
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ps: It's helpful to me if you comment & I reply on the linked website.
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Thanks for commenting :)
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