>> That just means that people will have to read the comments and decide for themselves based on the merits of the comments.
You imply that the sole benefit of the score would be to allow me to form my own opinion. Whereas I hypothosize that I already know my own opinion - the score allows me to measure the opinion of others. Those who have no opinion of their own are easily swayed, with or without a score, however for those with an opinion of their own, it is useful to know the relative popularity of that opinion.
More data is almost always better - especially for those who respect the value, and limitations, of raw data.
>"I hypothosize that I already know my own opinion"
I think part of the reason for hiding the points is to affect the process of forming opinions and better facilitate changing opinions already formed - I doubt that the use of scores to confirm one's own opinions is seen as beneficial to the community. For people who believe that scores should reflect the quality of a comment rather than the popularity of the sentiment it expresses your argument tends to support the hiding of scores.
You imply that the sole benefit of the score would be to allow me to form my own opinion. Whereas I hypothosize that I already know my own opinion - the score allows me to measure the opinion of others. Those who have no opinion of their own are easily swayed, with or without a score, however for those with an opinion of their own, it is useful to know the relative popularity of that opinion.
More data is almost always better - especially for those who respect the value, and limitations, of raw data.