back in July i started a weekly writing contest (https://stacker.news/items/1040070/r/billytheked) in ~the_stacker_muse --the project was to test and see how enthusiastic stackers are about the literary arts

another contest (https://stacker.news/items/1043076/r/billytheked) was launched in ~BooksAndArticles shortly thereafter

~Memes too has a weekly meming competition

i have participated in all of the above --and even as i have been the host of such competitions ---there is a part of zapranking-based judging that rubs me the wrong way

especially for a contest of the literary arts

zaprank is pretty cool i admit --but it is algorithmic and ---i think -- results in what has been rather aptly described as a keynsian beauty contest

that is, zap behavior is tangled up with the rewards -- which

aren't really based on zapping and making the best content. Our rewards are based on zapping and creating the content that other users zap the most (slight oversimplification).

and then there is trust --which influences rankings also

The best way to increase your own trust score is to zap content early that you think other users will also zap in the future. Zapping content that you think @k00b, @ek, and territory founders will like is especially helpful, since these users are seeded with higher trust--

OK--so i am no mathematician --and also there are a few concepts --trust --zaprank -- rewards -- here that are all somewhat ungracefully tangled together --but the fact remains that all zaps are not quite equal as they pertain to such contests

--e.g. comment i read recently led me to believe that 10 sats from a perfectly trusted user¹ is similar to a 10k sat boost

so -- bearing that all in mind -- how in your opinion should these contests be judged going forward

--or rather --what is your experience in participating in both types of contests*?*

• a la ~the_stacker_muse and ~Memes i.e. just using zaprankings

• a la the current higher stakes contest i.e. using human judges

• • The judges (@totallyhumanwriter, @siggy47, and @Scoresby) will select a grand prize winner which will receive 100k sats.

which do you prefer

i have not made up my mind --but leaning to the side of them not really being worth it if the goal is tasteful curation

https://stacker.news/items/1198672

Footnotes

1. not sure if there are any such users around or if this is just hypothetical ↩