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I found the following somewhat funny given that this article discusses pecking orders and linguistic choices: This was submitted 2 weeks ago [1], with the titl

I found the following somewhat funny given that this article discusses pecking orders and linguistic choices: This was submitted 2 weeks ago [1], with the title "Computer Scientists Create Algorithm That Measures Human Pecking Order", which is appended to the main title for the article. (reached 48 points) pg has resubmitted this 2 weeks later, using the subtitle of the article, "The way people copy each other's linguistic style reveals their pecking order." (so far 96 points) Now I'm not nitpicking about credit, I don't care. My question is to what degree is this submission getting more traction from pg's status, and to what degree is it getting more traction due to the linguistic choice of a more specific, better(?) title? I'd say pg, at least here on HN, is higher up in the pecking order than the person who submitted the article first (llambda). On the other hand, the subtitle is certainly more descriptive, since computer scientists have been making algorithms to measure human pecking orders for a while, with large companies seeking to build brand confidence by giving away their products to "influential individuals", etc. This is different than the effect described in the article. The original article contrasts their new work with previous approaches that focus on structural/network effects: who's talking to whom, etc. I guess what spiked my interest is that your power and/or reputation still affect the linguistic choice of whether to respond at all. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3385517 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3385517

mechanical_fish 15y ago
The earlier submission appears to be from Christmas Eve, when the entire world was on a weekend and most English-speaking countries were either on a major holiday or preparing for its imminent arrival. This submission was late on New Years Day in the USA, at a time when much of the world was already halfway through Monday, January 2. (I believe this was submitted at noon on Monday Sydney time, for example.) That's just one of many alternative hypotheses to explain the difference in traffic. Obviously, there's also a raft of "competitive" hypotheses: Articles on HN don't sink or swim in a vacuum, they have to compete with the other articles on the site at any given moment.
llambda 15y ago
Regardless, it's a very interesting article and the important thing is that this kind of thing receives good coverage (rather than who submitted it). Perhaps it reveals some subtle "pecking order" or perhaps it simply reveals I submitted it at a bad time. :)
zerostar07 15y ago
I clicked both links because i didn't know what "pecking order" is. I don't think i ever notice who's submitting what. Regardless, it should be easy to test your hypothesis if we have data about the submissions from karmillionaires compared to the rest of the herd.

mechanical_fish 15y ago

The earlier submission appears to be from Christmas Eve, when the entire world was on a weekend and most English-speaking countries were either on a major holiday or preparing for its imminent arrival. This submission was late on New Years Day in the USA, at a time when much of the world was already halfway through Monday, January 2. (I believe this was submitted at noon on Monday Sydney time, for example.) That's just one of many alternative hypotheses to explain the difference in traffic. Obviously, there's also a raft of "competitive" hypotheses: Articles on HN don't sink or swim in a vacuum, they have to compete with the other articles on the site at any given moment.

llambda 15y ago

Regardless, it's a very interesting article and the important thing is that this kind of thing receives good coverage (rather than who submitted it). Perhaps it reveals some subtle "pecking order" or perhaps it simply reveals I submitted it at a bad time. :)

zerostar07 15y ago

I clicked both links because i didn't know what "pecking order" is. I don't think i ever notice who's submitting what. Regardless, it should be easy to test your hypothesis if we have data about the submissions from karmillionaires compared to the rest of the herd.