4 ms·

Except the selections of what you get to look at are made by an algorithm, not people. Yes, an algorithm that mixes and matches ratings made by (a particular c

Except the selections of what you get to look at are made by an algorithm, not people. Yes, an algorithm that mixes and matches ratings made by (a particular category of) people. But at the end of the day - an algorithm. So in this very fundamental sense, it's nothing like your local bookstore at all.

bwb 3y ago
Hmm, can you explain? Every book on our website is chosen by a reader who loved it. Here is an example: https://shepherd.com/best-books/mystery-and-suspensewith-a-bit-of-legends-and-folk https://shepherd.com/best-books/mystery-and-suspensewith-a-b... The only books within our website are those that a reader loves and picked as part of their book rec list, or fav 3 reads of the year.
- racional 3y ago
  Every book on our website is chosen by a reader who loved it. Yeah, we get that. It's the aggregate ranking of such picks (taken across a large set of reviewers somehow) that I was referring to. That is, an algorithm. Which is, again, entirely different from how your local bookstore operates (for any store worth visiting, that is).
  - bwb 3y ago
    No, sorry, that is incorrect.
    - racional 3y ago
      Without explaining why. And then you walk off. But okay, I guess this this how you talk to people.
      - bwb 3y ago
        Sorry, I didn't know what to say; I had explained it previously. The only books on our website are those picked by an author. There is no "aggregate" rating system of any kind or even a rating system. The only "kinda" system we have is for our favorite 3 reads of the year, we showed which books were picked the most.
        racional 3y ago
        There is no "aggregate" rating system of any kind or even a rating system. Yes there is. Pick a genre, and you get a list of books explicitly ranked (rated, same thing) by the number of people who reviewed it (in essence, by "likes"). So not surprisingly you get authors like Stephen King, Michio Kakio, etc floating the top. The same predictable blandness you get at any large chain bookstore.
        bwb 3y ago
        No, the default sort is serendipity :). You have to actively choose “most recommend “. Can you try again to use a bookshelf?
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        racional 3y ago
        I was referring to the "Best Books of 2023" section, which (for every sublink) produces the behavior I'm describing. So okay, fine - only part of the site is based on straight-up favorite counting. But then I did some topical searches, and the result definitely appears to be algorithmic as well (judging by the large number of plainly off-topic matches). I'm not saying this is a horrible site or that there's no potential for the basic idea behind it. It definitely seems to be more appealing, and potentially more useful than most online bookstores I've seen. But whatever you're doing - it's definitely not the same as actual human curation.
        bwb 3y ago

bwb 3y ago

Hmm, can you explain? Every book on our website is chosen by a reader who loved it. Here is an example: https://shepherd.com/best-books/mystery-and-suspensewith-a-bit-of-legends-and-folk https://shepherd.com/best-books/mystery-and-suspensewith-a-b... The only books within our website are those that a reader loves and picked as part of their book rec list, or fav 3 reads of the year.

racional 3y ago
Every book on our website is chosen by a reader who loved it. Yeah, we get that. It's the aggregate ranking of such picks (taken across a large set of reviewers somehow) that I was referring to. That is, an algorithm. Which is, again, entirely different from how your local bookstore operates (for any store worth visiting, that is).
- bwb 3y ago
  No, sorry, that is incorrect.
  - racional 3y ago
    Without explaining why. And then you walk off. But okay, I guess this this how you talk to people.
    - bwb 3y ago
      Sorry, I didn't know what to say; I had explained it previously. The only books on our website are those picked by an author. There is no "aggregate" rating system of any kind or even a rating system. The only "kinda" system we have is for our favorite 3 reads of the year, we showed which books were picked the most.
      - racional 3y ago
        There is no "aggregate" rating system of any kind or even a rating system. Yes there is. Pick a genre, and you get a list of books explicitly ranked (rated, same thing) by the number of people who reviewed it (in essence, by "likes"). So not surprisingly you get authors like Stephen King, Michio Kakio, etc floating the top. The same predictable blandness you get at any large chain bookstore.
        bwb 3y ago
        No, the default sort is serendipity :). You have to actively choose “most recommend “. Can you try again to use a bookshelf?
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        racional 3y ago
        I was referring to the "Best Books of 2023" section, which (for every sublink) produces the behavior I'm describing. So okay, fine - only part of the site is based on straight-up favorite counting. But then I did some topical searches, and the result definitely appears to be algorithmic as well (judging by the large number of plainly off-topic matches). I'm not saying this is a horrible site or that there's no potential for the basic idea behind it. It definitely seems to be more appealing, and potentially more useful than most online bookstores I've seen. But whatever you're doing - it's definitely not the same as actual human curation.
        bwb 3y ago