Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is classic exactly, how does it differ? At a first glance it seems to prioritize age over points more than the current version.
Classic is pg's solution to the "Endless September" problem. Classic hn only counts front-page upvotes from users who have been around for awhile. I don't know what awhile is. Longer than me.
From memory it's the first year. I think I missed the cut off by a couple of weeks. I'm New Coke, but that still has more HN street cred than Coke Zero.