I can't visit these hallowed (ahem)

walls much these days between careering around the world and having taken the internet off my home machine etc etc but even the most unobservant, irregular visitor would notice this flurrying of voting for threads. Not long ago one or two or perhaps on a good day up to five threads there abouts on the first page would have prompted a few peope to vote. Now it seems to be the order of the day & for the first time immemorial in my memory anyway the amount of threads sporting votes outnumbers (vastly) the amount that are not.
Why all this flourishing of voting, why has it suddenly caught on so? Or is just one of these quirks of fate that has no explanation. (Wait till I give meself a 5!)