5 ms·
The answer might be quite boring. When a new user comes to this site he will try out the functionality, click around and see how things work. One of the things
by mixmax 18y ago
The answer might be quite boring.
When a new user comes to this site he will try out the functionality, click around and see how things work. One of the things that he will probably want to know is how to submit an article. So he goes ahead and tries it, using whatever link he has handy.
I know this because I did it myself when I joined. I deleted it right away though. I've seen the same thing on other sites, so it's not that unusual.
Edit: tuned down the wording a bit, since PG's reply indicates that this might not be the sole reason.
- pg 18y agoThat doesn't explain the sudden sharp increase in these links. We're growing, but the growth rate didn't suddenly increase 10x like the rate of these links has.
- mixmax 18y agoMaybe it's because the influx of new users are more casual in their use of the site, now that it has grown to a certain size. I could imagine that users that just stumble upon the site will be more willing to engage in this semi-destructible behaviour than users that got the site recommended from you or another early user. Can you see whether the users that do this end up being good citizens? That would shed some light on whether these are malicious accounts or just new users trying things out.