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> 12,588 up votes 10,018 down votes That's a fascinating look at peoples' reactions to this. A reminder of mortality split right down the middle.
by jedsmith 16y ago
> 12,588 up votes 10,018 down votes
That's a fascinating look at peoples' reactions to this. A reminder of mortality split right down the middle.
- dralison 16y agoThat's another aspect of this I find fascinating; how this impacts people in an online world. What got me was when he said this was his way of getting out into the world and meeting people. Then there are hundreds of comments from people saying where they are in the world. That was an emotional gut punch for me though I can't really explain why.
- trin_ 16y agothe reddit admins have repeatedly stated, that these numbers are bogus. its a anti-spam measure to throw off bottting attempts.
- jedsmith 16y agoHardly. They're fudged a bit as you say, but they're quite close to reality. Enough that I'd look at the proportion instead of the exact numbers, which is the meaning I was attempting to drive home. The numbers are fudged by a very small amount in a certain direction, based on my observation. I observed this by refreshing one of my own submissions and watching it gain a vote or lose a vote, and I knew exactly how many people had voted on it because it was in a purpose-created subreddit. One of the admins that lurks Hacker News can probably set us straight on which is correct. I love that whenever I make a comment here even loosely related to Reddit, someone takes it upon themselves to assume that I've never even been to the site and condescend based on what they think they know. My comment wasn't even remotely about Reddit, but thanks for the correction.
- chaosmachine 16y agoFudged a bit? The numbers are almost completely fictional, and get more so the higher the total. http://i.imgur.com/U8B1X.jpg http://i.imgur.com/U8B1X.jpg Displayed numbers: 9498 Up, 6876 Down. Real numbers: 2666 Up, 140 Down. You cannot judge proportion by looking at the numbers Reddit shows.
- dalore 16y agoThe bigger the number the more the fudge. And they don't just keep it in proportion too. Most articles on the frontpage have a 66% upvote ratio.
- seabee 16y agoThe 66% ratio is something of a meme in Reddit meta-discussion, and has been for a year or more. (As are complaints of 'why would anyone downvote this'.)
- ck2 16y agoThere are many bots that downvote in order to promote other submissions. I'm glad they have that choice, and the ability to share their story. In perspective there are many people in this world who die "unknown" - PBS airs the pictures weekly of teenage American soldiers who died in Iraq or Afghanistan - then there are those who were killed while trying to non-violently protest their unjust government (China, Iran, etc.) - then there are those who are too young to speak yet who are dying of starvation in certain parts of the world today. Not trying to judge or weigh who is more worthy of a voice, I can only say it's good this one person got to be heard.
- btipling 16y agoThis isn't true. What evidence do you have that bots downvote on reddit? The reddit guys came by our Cloudkick office late last year and flat denied there are any bots they know of that downvote when I asked them. If you don't have any real reason to know about bots on Reddit you should probably not persist in continuing to pass on this fantasy.
- SkyMarshal 16y agoNo smoking gun, just little anecdotal things that engender suspicion. For example, years ago when reddit was new I used to post actual articles and consistently make the front page with them. But one day all my submissions suddenly started getting downvoted, many almost immediately after posting as if someone or something was constantly monitoring the new submissions page, killing any chances of developing the critical mass they used to get or of making it to the front page. The nature of my postings hadn't changed at all, but the nature of reddit's voting behavior had, and not gradually but unnaturally abruptly, hence the suspicion. Whether it was a human voting ring like was exposed at Digg a while back, or actual bots, or just some no-life basement dwellers with nothing better to do than game reddit all day, I have no idea. I eventually abandoned that account, and now only post comments and the occasional question thread to smaller subreddits. Of course one person's anecdotal experience is hardly evidence, much less proof, but suspicious nonetheless. When the reddit guys visited you and denied there were any bots, did they explain how they knew this? User agent info, statistical behavioral analysis, etc? I'd be really curious how they go about testing that hypothesis against their massive amount of data.
- rick_2047 16y agoSo over 10k people agree with me.
- burgerbrain 16y agoEasy to say when you're not the one dying painfully.
- rick_2047 16y agoEasy to say when you have the balls to express that in public which others can only express through anonymous downvotes.
- burgerbrain 16y agoI hope you die slowly and painfully.
- rick_2047 16y agoAnd I hope you do not die at all and get a chance to upload your brain to a super computer and experience the ultimate singularity.