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I think the techniques Reddit uses to give exposure to deserving links are nice. Here are just a few other ways you can fine-tune a "link recommendation" algor
by jawns 13y ago
I think the techniques Reddit uses to give exposure to deserving links are nice.
Here are just a few other ways you can fine-tune a "link recommendation" algorithm beyond just the standard "show highly rated links at the top" technique:
1) Devote a portion of prime real estate (e.g. homepage) to new or trending links, as Reddit does.
2) Give higher placement to submissions that come from someone whose previous submissions the user has upvoted.
3) Give higher placement to submissions that come from the same source as previous submissions the user has upvoted.
4) Give higher placement to submissions on which a person has commented whom the user has previously upvoted.
One way I think HN, Reddit, and other link-recommendation sites can put power into their users' hands is to allow each user to tweak the recommendations algorithm to suite their own preferences.
For instance, one user might want half their homepage to be filled with trending stories, rather than popular stories. Another user might find Technique 2 above to be useful but might not want to enable Technique 4.
- jedberg 13y agoYour suggestions sound great on the surface, but I suspect 2-4 would increase the echo chamber problem. Also, it's computationally difficult to compute 2-4 in real time (reddit used to do a similar calculation a long time ago, under the now defunct recommended section).
- jawns 13y agoYeah, just throwing stuff out there. One other technique that springs to mind: 5) Set a minimum number of views or clicks a link must get before "falling off." So, if a ton of links are submitted around the same time, sprinkle them back into the mix -- perhaps using a version of Technique 1 -- until they've hit the minimum, then let them die a happy death.
- markburns 13y agoWould a graph help with the computationally difficult part? They seem suited to recommendation stuff. (Assuming the echo chamber thing is not/is not an insurmountable an issue)
- latj 13y agoThe goal of HN and reddit may be different. Reddit seems to want to be everything to absolutely everyone. I dont know what the goal of HN is- is it known? If the goal is to draw in those who are most likely to make good founders and convince them to join ycombinator, then what you want is somewhere between echo chamber and reddit, but it is closer to echo chamber.
- arh68 13y agoIf my HN frontpage were that user-dependent, I'd want to see both. I'd read my HN, but I will definitely browse in Incognito mode just to see the 'real' HN. One has to wonder what draws all these people to sites like HN. I don't think they know for sure. At first, the site was great without me. There were lots of interesting links without me asking for them. As it becomes more amplified, with the front page being hotly contested & measured, mechanisms getting more complicated, etc., it seems we may get what we never wanted.
- pbhjpbhj 13y ago>"One way I think HN, Reddit, and other link-recommendation sites can put power into their users' hands is to allow each user to tweak the recommendations algorithm to suite their own preferences." // This. When scores were removed this was my reaction; if you don't want scores why does that mean I can't have them? Diverse algos for ranking would also work against gaming of the system IMO.
- slykat 13y agoI personally would not want #2-#4. One of the reason I like Hacker News is that it's system is not customized to my personal behavior. I like that front page looks the same to me when I'm logged in and when I'm not (as far as I'm aware). I prefer the wisdom (or madness) of the crowd to the bubble of myself. I also think #2-#4 would result in the diversity of topics & sources on my front page to erode.