[extropy-chat] META: ExI List Quality & Future

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of "Hal Finney"
...
> 
> Since then the karma scores have been cleared, so the evidence of what
> happened is presumably lost.  But clearly any scheme for automated
> "karma" scoring needs to protect against multiple voting.
> 
> Hal


Hal the reason that system failed is that it didn't track who was doing the
smiting/applauding.  At the time you may recall I suggested multiplying each
appraisal by the karma of the person doing the smiting/applauding.  But this
scheme wouldn't work either; anyone could still manipulate the system by
posting a lot of garbage, generating for themselves a large negative karma,
then applauding the ones they wish to smite for example.  You could also
have teams working together to applaud up each other's karma, then using
that to smite down another group's karma.  Ideally karma should be a
conserved quantity, i.e. zero sum, but I haven't figured out a good way to
make it so.

The uniformity of the karma scores led me to believe that it was one person
(or script) doing nearly all the smiting and applauding.  It could have even
been a person who never posted anything, so we would never have heard of him
or her.  

In your mind's eye, think of the ExI-chat poster most utterly devoid of
socially redeeming qualities, the ExI LVP.  If that person smites thee, does
it count?  As what?

What I am doing now with the moderation is a version of this: if I get
complaints about a poster, I estimate the karma of the complainer and the
defendant and take action or otherwise.  Karma is generated by posting smart
stuff and being the signal.  Other things, such as inventing and
implementing cool ideas, fighting cults, and writing good books are huge
karma generators too.  Flaming others is a big negative karma generator.  I
do not know how to automate this.  Suggestions welcome.

spike