h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I could use my suspicions from the test server to work out what you're on about, Peta, but I won't in case I get fired.

If it was an intetgrated voting system, there'd be one vote per Researcher - but new account abuse might creep in. For an example of how *not* to go about it, try spending a week on http://www.everything2.com/ (!)...

Whoami?

You could always go for the labour intensive method- have a drop-down menu at the beginning of a conversation and have a list of options saying "I found this coversation fun" & "This made me think" & so on, and allow each researcher a number of reccomendations per time period, to try to stop the system getting swamped.

Reccomendations could be added to a queue.

The system could then check if the thread has been nominated already for anything, and if it has, chuck it from the queue, and if it hasn't, it could be passed to a staff member, and if the staff member found it interesting, or funny, or whatever go into the relevant list on say the front page, or a lists page. Or even, the top 5 on the front page, and more of the same on a dedicated page.

I think that the editors of collective (specially row) spend time picking out interesting entries and conversations and so on, & it always seems worth it to me.

The problem I can see with a drop down like that which immediately adds it to the queue is that people established on the site will use it responsibly, but newer people will probably 'upvote' everything in sight, causing a _lot_ of work for the editors. I think any system has got to have the votes cumulative in some fashion so that one person cannot affect the voting all my themselves (in a bad way).

spelugx

When I said that the system could check I meant that some programming in between the user and the editor could filter repeat nominations.

Repeat nominations are good, because it shows that multiple people like a thread, the problem is that immediately adding a thread to the queue means that it would take only a single vote and that could be from anybody. So one user could 'upvote' everything in sight, and cause a lot of work, unless there is a system that requires multiple people to have voted.

spelugx

This is starting to sound like the /. system... didn't we decide that wasn't what we wanted?

Tango

I agree that voting systems are open to abuse, but there's one way to ensure that voting is done with a positive aim, and that is simply to only allow positive voting, like Mina suggested. 'If you like this, click here'. That way, an article with a low rating might simply be because it's not been seen, as opposed to because everyone hates it.

With these voting shows you see on TV, I really prefer the approach of 'vote for your fave' rather than 'all pile in on the unpopular one. While no-one likes to be thought of as unpopular, it's at least heart-warming to know that you lost out because people prefer someone else instead of actively hating you personally.

Having said that, I still vote in Big Brother because there's usually someone you *do* actively dislike.

Jimster
[Relieved this isn't something ever likely to darken h2g2's door ]

Hi

I've started compiling a response to this about three times today and I've had to stop and go into meetings! I'm reading; I've printed it out; I'll reply as soon as possible!

Anything developed for another DNA site will be likely to be an available *option* for other sites, but it certainly wouldn't be imposed upon them. I don't think that a automated voting system would work well on h2g2 either, the current system works wonderfully well already.

My interest relates to another site in development, this isn't an h2g2 related issue *at all*, so don't start getting worried!

I'll also say again (see very first posting!) that I don't particularly like voting systems myself, so don't put me in the *Mmm, voting is the ultimate solution* camp - that's not the case *at all*!

Back soon, thanks for all your comments!

Hi Peta! Just checking up on the conversations from outside the Pompidou centre in Paris. The weather is lovely and I found somewhere that does internet £1 for 20 minutes. That is the same as Coffee Republic in Oxford.

PS. The keyboards are different and I am having trouble typing smilies correctly . When will the Hub get clickable ones?

Whoami?