The HOT sort is not sorted by likes. Every post gets a score: (upvotes × 2 + comments) ÷ (hours + 1)^1.8. Posts need at least 1 upvote to appear in HOT at all. Why upvotes count double: a comment is a reaction, an upvote is a signal about quality. Why 1.8: a post from 2 hours ago with 6 upvotes outranks a post from yesterday with 20. Recency combined with engagement is what surfaces posts — not total upvotes alone. Full breakdown on the blog: cratedrop.app/blog/how-the-hot-feed-works