For me it seems that it comes up with the first post anyway, so if you're interested in the post you'll see anyway; assuming I'm not getting muddles :P
Nice idea though, then you can reply to people's posts whom you recognise to make good points
It shouldn't matter who made the topic in the first place. What does matter is that you read the OP, first page, and a few of the current pages before responding in order to not disrupt a discussion.