We like to think of the end of the year as a time to look ahead more than to look back. But one particular year-in-review list has become a tradition here on WSB – the “most-commented-on” stories of the year. The 2012 top 10 is actually the top 11, because of a tie at numbers 5/6 (depending on which way you’re counting). Here’s the countdown:

10. FIRST WEEKDAY COMMUTE WITH RAPIDRIDE AND RESTRUCTURING – 139 comments – October 1, 2012
First weekday after Metro launched the RapidRide C Line and a fleet of “restructuring” changes on other routes.

9. ICY THURSDAY, AFTERNOON UPDATES – 141 comments – January 19, 2012
Wintry weather always means lots of WSB commenters sharing information to help each other stay safe.

8. GOAPE ZIPLINE PROPOSAL SCRAPPED – 142 comments – July 11, 2012
The day after hundreds crowded into a special Fauntleroy Community Association meeting to hear for the first time from Seattle Parks about a proposal to allow a commercial zipline/ropes course attraction in Lincoln Park – and to almost unanimously decry it – Parks announced it was shelved.

7. LAFAYETTE PRINCIPAL EXPLAINS NO-COSTUMES-ON-HALLOWEEN DECISION – 143 comments – October 16, 2012
Lafayette Elementary didn’t ban Halloween and didn’t ban costumes. But the staff did decide not to allow costumes on Halloween itself (a shortened school day), and that led to much discussion, plus an explanation from the principal.

6. OCCUPY WEST SEATTLE ANNOUNCES WEST SEATTLE RALLY – 145 comments – March 12, 2012
We published Occupy West Seattle’s first announcement of a rally/protest – targeting Chase Bank in The Junction. Much discussion followed (the event itself was relatively low-key).

5. (tie) METRO CHANGES/RAPIDRIDE DEBUT, WEEKDAY #2 – 152 comments – October 2, 2012
As noted above, the service changes were a hot topic – and are still a hot topic, almost three months later.

5. (tie) RETURN OF ‘THE HUM’ – 152 comments – September 24, 2012
Not the only “Hum” story on the list, as you’ll see; this time, community collaboration and strong neighborhood group (Highland Park Action Committee) leadership, plus business cooperation, led to the mystery being solved – and the problem, so far, too.

4. BODY FOUND OFF BEACH DRIVE TURNS OUT TO BE MURDER VICTIM – 161 comments – March 12, 2012
Days after a body was recovered from the water off Beach Drive’s iconic Harbor West condos-on-pilings complex that morning. Later that week, police announced 51-year-old Greggette Guy had been killed. Her murder remains unsolved.

3. ‘THE HUM,’ FIRST IN A SERIES – 202 comments – September 5, 2012
This was the first “hum” story of the year – and paved the way for the one earlier in our countdown.

2. COMMERCIAL ZIPLINE ATTRACTION PROPOSED FOR LINCOLN PARK – 256 comments – June 28, 2012
While the city had been tossing the idea around for almost a year, and insisted it was almost ready to bring it out for public discussion anyway, we broke this story thanks to a citizen tip, and the resulting outrage was louder than the shrieks of zipliners might have been.

1. MURDER SPREE ENDS WITH KILLER’S SUICIDE IN WEST SEATTLE – 343 comments – May 30, 2012
In WSB community-collaborative tradition, the way it so often unfolds during breaking news, the comments were not opinions so much as sharing of information. For several unnerving hours, Ian Stawicki, who had just killed five people elsewhere in the city, was on the loose in West Seattle; schools locked down, police raced to check out tip after tip, and finally, they found him near 37th and Raymond, where his last victim was himself.

(If you’re interested in comparing – here’s our “ten most-commented-on” list from last year.