Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Most Satiric Shortcut

A modest proposal
  (+3, -2)
(+3, -2)
  [vote for,
against]

After a few days at the bakery, I realized that voting only seems to be a way of punishing newbies, and has little other utility. Let me ask: how many, after having been here for a while, ever click “best”. A show of hands. Just as I thought. I see none.

A modest proposal then. A link on the control bar for the “most satiric”. The actual formula would be the secret of the gods, or else the clever people here would most certainly cheat. The formula should take into account voting, both for and against, the number of non-originator annotations, and some function of time. Maybe like this:

SR = FB*C*Ao/(N^.5)

In words, the Satiric Rating equals the number of fishbones times the number of croissants times the number of annotations by other than the author, divided by the square root of the number of days since posting. Some may argue that this is only a measure of controversy. Well, fine. You can call it Most Controversial.

ldischler, Oct 25 2002

[link]






       I click on the 'best' once in a while. I then grumble about cotton-picking, no good popular ideas...why if I had a ... I'd make them pay!
Jinbish, Oct 25 2002
  

       I see you've made it to the "maybe there needs to be a change in the institution to properly recognize my particular genius" phase of halfbakery addiction.
bristolz, Oct 25 2002
  

       I call it enlightened self-interest. But, in fact, "best" never changes, so why look at it?
ldischler, Oct 25 2002
  

       Why, to see my two entries on it, of course.
bristolz, Oct 25 2002
  

       <bristolz> remember, pride cometh before a fall.   

       Oh, nevermind, scratch that, its already fall.   

       I look at best, now and again. Just to see if "Custard-Filled Speed Bumps " and "Use Bizarre Metaphors" are surviving.

However your "best never changes" assertion isn't true - neither of these ideas, nor three other best ideas were there when I first looked (oh, about a year and a half ago). So it does change. Just very, very slowly.

Also, I suspect your formula is most likely just to unearth ideas that are the result of trolls.
namaste, Oct 25 2002
  

       [bristolz] I’m impressed. You are the halfbaked equivalent of Linus Pauling. <I must tread carefully here.> I’m not trying to revolutionize the system. <very respectfully> Since entering the portal, I quickly gravitated to the “recent” category. I find that I am reluctant to click on just anything because, in spite of having a cable connection, the pages can be slow to load. So, I tend to look at ideas that I already know are interesting. The “most satiric” shortcut would allow me to quickly find relatively recent dust-ups, while still avoiding new ideas of little interest. It is purely functional, and not meant to denigrate or supplant the great men and women of the past, and in your case, the present. <head bowed and retreating>   

       [namaste] This could be, but of course, the gods would be watching and could make any fine-tuning to the formula to insure a relative freedom from trolls. (Wouldn't trolls get mostly fishbones? You wouldn't become "most satiric" that way.)
ldischler, Oct 25 2002
  

       You're implying that there aren't enough 'Bakers who vote these days to significantly change the 'Best' listing. Do you vote on every idea? Or at least every idea you read?   

       If voting is just "a way of punishing newbies", how do you account for the 'Best' list? You're free to vote against all the ideas on the 'Best' list - but that defeats the purpose of both voting and the 'Best' list.   

       Maybe changing the name from 'Best' to 'Cross-section of HalfBaker Mentality Through the Ages' would be appropriate and help you make sense of it all.   

       {P.S.: I voted for this idea because I like the idea of a 'Most Satiric/Most Controversial/Busiest' idea list, not because I want to do away with the 'Best' list... not that my reasoning is any business of yours.}
phoenix, Oct 25 2002
  

       Not to rub salt into old wounds or anything, but the best list has changed as a result of account deletion too. That facilitates the rise of ideas to the top, or bottom, depending on which way you are thinking.
blissmiss, Oct 25 2002
  

       [phoenix] I only meant that regulars are less likely to be crushed by the weight of fishbones, and that newbies are more likely to make mistakes in form or in content, thereby garnering them. And I’ve noticed that bakers are voting for all sorts of reasons. An appreciation for satire is in the minority. My only argument with the “best” list is that it is not a relevant shortcut for the daily work here at the bakery, while a “most satirical” would be nearly as useful as “recent”.
ldischler, Oct 25 2002
  

       [ldischler], no doubt you graduated through real life ranks as fast as you sweep through the mindset here. This is mesmerizing. And the irony of it all is that you are solvent in the highest sense in both satire and formulaic solution. I could hardly finish typing this. My elation with your "mixture" could make a pig squeal ...
hollajam, Oct 25 2002
  

       The mixture we feed pigs here is...garbage...<enlightenment>
ldischler, Oct 25 2002
  
      
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