Something I’ve thought about (in the context of other venues) is a rating system where vote-totals V are stored but not displayed. Instead what gets displayed is a ranking R, where R=f(V)… a comment utility function, of sorts. That way a single vote in isolation does not cause a state transition.
The same function can apply to user “scores.” Which may reduce the inclination to stress about one’s karma, if one is inclined to that.
To pick a simple example, suppose (R=V^.37). So 1 upvote gets R1, but a second upvote stays R1. The 3rd upvote gets R2; the 12th gets R3; the 30th gets R4. Downvoting an R2 comment might bring it to R1, or it might not. Eliezer is R68, Yvain is R45, Alicorn is R37, cousin_it and wei_dai and annasolomon are all R30, I’m R13, and so forth.
(The specific function is just intended for illustrative purposes.)
The function needn’t be symmetrical around zero… e.g., if R=(-1*ABS(V)^.37) when V<0, rankings go negative faster than they go positive.
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Along a different axis, it might be interesting to allow voters to be nymous… for example, a preferences setting along those lines, or a mechanism for storing notes along with votes if one chooses to, visible on a different channel. The idea being that you can provide more detailed feedback without cluttering the comment-channel with meta-discussions about other comments.
Something I’ve thought about (in the context of other venues) is a rating system where vote-totals V are stored but not displayed. Instead what gets displayed is a ranking R, where R=f(V)… a comment utility function, of sorts. That way a single vote in isolation does not cause a state transition.
The same function can apply to user “scores.” Which may reduce the inclination to stress about one’s karma, if one is inclined to that.
To pick a simple example, suppose (R=V^.37). So 1 upvote gets R1, but a second upvote stays R1. The 3rd upvote gets R2; the 12th gets R3; the 30th gets R4. Downvoting an R2 comment might bring it to R1, or it might not. Eliezer is R68, Yvain is R45, Alicorn is R37, cousin_it and wei_dai and annasolomon are all R30, I’m R13, and so forth.
(The specific function is just intended for illustrative purposes.)
The function needn’t be symmetrical around zero… e.g., if R=(-1*ABS(V)^.37) when V<0, rankings go negative faster than they go positive.
====
Along a different axis, it might be interesting to allow voters to be nymous… for example, a preferences setting along those lines, or a mechanism for storing notes along with votes if one chooses to, visible on a different channel. The idea being that you can provide more detailed feedback without cluttering the comment-channel with meta-discussions about other comments.