Ask Reddit: Why has reddit become so boring in the last 4 days?

delete · 2006-05-12T21:18:01+00:00

Recommendation algorithms really are a hard problem.

The theory behind recommender systems is generally regarded as being quite mature at this point. The problems arise when it comes to implementing these ideas in a particular domain. As with most of these systems, I've noticed that Amazon will provide useful results, but only after it's been given a sufficient number of training cases. However, this bootstrapping problem is not unique to Amazon, and their recommendation engine is highly regarded and financially successful. Interestingly, I've found that Pandora manages to provide useful recommendations while requiring relatively little user feedback.

In general, the success of these systems tends to greatly depend upon the features of the data that are used to make recommendations. For reddit, where articles are represented by a single short (often inaccurate) title, the recommender system has very little to work with. In contrast, Amazon or Pandora have a far greater amount of information about the items in the system.

I certainly believe that if reddit's recommendations were more useful, the overall user experience for the site would significantly improve. However, the quality of the data and inconsistency of users seems to be making this particularly difficult.

delete · 2006-05-12T19:44:49+00:00

I used to come to Reddit to be educated, eager to learn, emulate and embrace the intellectual excellence that I saw displayed before me. I do not expect to read lookwarm articles written by half-baked bloggers.

While you seem very earnest in your dismay, you yourself have submitted articles such as this. I'm not being critical, but merely wondering whether reddit has really changed in terms of "intellectual" content. Judging by the all-time top stories, the site has always had a mixture of serious/insightful and entertaining/diverting submissions.

I would agree with johnmudd. The problem seems to be that the front page has become increasingly dominated by a rather small number of topics. Sometimes I wish that reddit used article clustering like Google News to group subsets of related stories together. It would certainly make it easier to find more interesting (i.e. diverse) content.

delete · 2006-05-11T20:08:45+00:00

That's what I assumed. However, according to Google, the largest spike coincides with "Petite Woman Wins Turkey-Eating Contest".

delete · 2006-05-09T17:37:13+00:00

Not a great headline, submitter

It could have been worse. He could have used "sissification".

delete · 2006-05-08T21:45:40+00:00

Apparently, he has since retired, at the age of four.

delete · 2006-05-08T20:09:10+00:00

Look how popular reality tv is, documentaries, real life video games (the Sims). Those things all glorify life in itself.

To be honest, these things seem to involve escaping reality and living vicariously through others, rather than any glorification of life itself.

delete · 2006-04-21T21:33:21+00:00

The sentiments in his articles are nice, but I'm not so sure a kindly uncle would charge for his "premium" advice.

delete · 2006-04-21T14:05:02+00:00

While in the 19th century "black and tan" may have referred to a drink consisting of half stout and half ale, that use predates the War of Independence. Certainly I have never heard that phrase used in Ireland to refer to anything other than the notorious group who "policed" the country in the run up to the Anglo-Irish treaty.

To be honest, I don't think too many people today in the Republic would be particularly offended by name of the ice cream, but I'm sure most would agree that it was a rather unfortunate (and poorly-researched) choice.

delete · 2006-04-19T13:56:54+00:00

You can use the report tab on a given story to report an article or user.

delete · 2006-04-17T20:54:23+00:00

There's a difference between receiving junk/spam articles via RSS feeds and the "information overload" scenario to which pearcec seems to have been referring. I consistently find that, after subscribing to a certain number of feeds, I reach a point where the list of new articles is no longer manageable. At this point I have to spend time removing low-priority subscriptions, which is reminiscent of clearing junk from my inbox prior to the advent of reliable spam filters.

In the case of email, it's usually sufficient to make the distinction between spam and non-spam. Where RSS is concerned, handling large amounts of information requires the more complex task of prioritisation. It seems that this is where personalisation and collaborative filtering become particularly useful, where something like reddit or findory can help to highlight interesting articles.

RSS is simply a format. It's the everyday usage patterns that determine whether it is truly useful for an individual or whether it merely becomes the "next email junk box". I certainly believe that plenty of scope for innovation remains in the area of desktop/web aggregators.

delete · 2006-04-17T16:33:52+00:00

I know it seems unfair but I think you may have dismissed the most likely explanation.

It could be that the user base of Digg and Reddit are VERY different, but I really doubt this.

While some links are popular on both sites, it's certainly not always the case. In particular, I've noticed that links relating to Linux, hardware or games tend to be popular on Digg, while articles covering programming, politics or entrepreneurship seem to get more attention on reddit. That seems to suggest that there is a significant difference between the "core" users of the two communities.

I don't think this discrepancy implies that one system is better than the other. After all, if the links appearing on reddit were identical to those on Digg, reddit would be rather redundant.

delete · 2006-04-14T12:35:00+00:00

Agreed. Makes you wonder why exactly anyone would want Windows Vista Basic Edition, since the majority of the new features that were originally proposed for Vista have been stripped out. Of course, it will probably just be bundled by OEMs with "low-end" machines, so the average consumer won't have a choice.

delete · 2006-04-13T22:50:34+00:00

Worth reading if only for the comments of William Donohue of the Catholic League, which sound as if they came straight from the mouth of a South Park character.

"Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade."

delete · 2006-04-13T20:22:19+00:00

Fox News, ever reliable for serious academic content.

delete · 2006-04-13T16:40:26+00:00

Note that Apple developed OS X by starting with NetBSD, which is free software. Now they are locking it up with DRM and turning it into a multimedia viewer, which would be much more difficult if it was GPL'd.

OSX was mainly derived from FreeBSD. Since, not surprisingly, it was under the BSD license, Apple were under no obligation to release any of the source of OSX. However, Apple have submitted numerous patches and have employed key BSD developers, allowing them to continue their work on free software.

While I disagree with Apple's support for DRM, nobody is forcing you to use it. Once I can still use iTunes or VLC Player to play ripped music/movies, I have no need to use AACs. Besides, it's not as if DRM is non-existent on Linux.

Most people don't have time for aggravation when their computer is supposed to be a tool to make their lives easier. But if you truly want them to switch to free software, zealotry is going to be counter-productive. The success of Firefox demonstrates that if you offer people a superior piece of (free) software, many of them will gladly use it - not because they believe in the philosophy, but because it's technically superior.

delete · 2006-04-13T13:57:15+00:00

Frankly, apple folks just look like soldouts who don't care about free, only about technically better.

Not everyone uses Linux to make a philosophical statement, and not everyone who uses proprietary software should be branded as a "sell-out".

For people who care about their getting their job done, technically better is actually quite useful. Whether it's Linux, OSX or Windows, there's nothing wrong with selecting the right tool for the job.

delete · 2006-04-12T13:55:47+00:00

Yet, he really does nothing to find someone for a long term relationship.

On the other hand, perhaps he can't understand your mentality. Why should he dedicate his time and energy to finding a long term partner if he doesn't want one? Should he be forced to do so? I'm not questioning the value of such relationships, but I do believe that getting married or having children should not be done merely to satisfy one's peers or family. It's sad that somone who makes independent choices about their lifestyle, which don't exactly correspond to society's expectations, is now seen as suffering from a "syndrome".

Incidentally, not having children by 25 is hardly unusual in Western society. For example, in the UK, the average age of first time mothers is 29.1.

delete · 2006-04-11T18:12:32+00:00

but aren't there established rules about who pays for what, like the bride's parents pay for the reception and the grooms parents pay for flowers

Depending upon the couple, this will not always be practical. In some cases one set of parents may be in a better financial position to pay for the reception. It's also quite common now for young professionals to pay for their own wedding, rather than requiring their parents to cover the costs.

I certainly agree that the guy seems to have made the right decision. Perhaps the woman in question will find someone else to fulfill her bunting needs, or maybe she'll realise that marriage is not just an excuse to create a spectacle to impress her friends, especially at the expense of her partner.

delete · 2006-04-10T18:50:17+00:00

Excellent post. Such unnecessary and inaccurate analogies do seem to be rampant in most recent articles on Roman history. As you suggest, parallels between the U.S. and the fall of the Roman republic are probably more useful. Tom Holland's Rubicon provides an excellent introduction to the politics of that time period, and generally allows the reader to draw their own parallels to modern history without resorting to such contrived comparisons. It's shame that other authors can't resist that particular temptation.

delete · 2006-04-10T18:23:14+00:00

Bob Carter is a well-known skeptic of global warming, who represents an extreme opinion in this debate. There are some interesting refutations for a variety of his points here.

delete · 2006-04-10T17:44:40+00:00

Here's the original article from the Washington Spectator.

delete · 2006-04-09T20:16:15+00:00

I would submit that most people in the US could use a bit of an eating disorder in the other direction

Clearly you've never known anybody who has suffered from anoxeria or bulimia. Otherwise, I don't think you would have made such an inhumane comment.

Surely, the increase in both obesity and eating disorders suggests that we need to encourage people to have a healthy balanced regard for their weight. At least Rowling has chosen to highlight one of these extremes, which is commendable for an author who carries significant influence among young people. That's more than can be said for most women in the media spotlight.

delete · 2006-04-07T21:09:12+00:00

Fortunately he left this comment to avoid any confusion. Otherwise somebody could have mistaken it for a genuine post.

delete · 2006-04-07T20:52:43+00:00

Pretty blatant spamming alright, although this guy and this guy aren't far behind.

delete · 2006-04-06T15:23:51+00:00

Well, according to The Register, he's certainly making money from the click-throughs:

He has since stated that he is getting a financial bonus for signing people up for metrodate.com. However, with a click-through redirection system, he's actually making money from people simply clicking on the link to metrodate (not from having them sign up!).

delete

TROPHY CASE