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RE: Updated thoughts on 'the whale experiment'
I fully agree with the experience. However, I find it unfortunate that a minnow is flagged because a whale voted for it. I know that and it is very disappointing.
Agreed. Keep in mind though - if a minnow's post gets flagged, but the payout is still above zero - then the net effect will still be a positive payout and an increase in their reputation score. It obviously sucks to get less payment, and less of a boost in reputation - but it is not really negative. Hopefully with the right information on how the platform works (see post) it shouldn't be too bad :)
I firmly believe that these misunderstandings tells us the UI is poor/inadequate. There should be better information being conveyed in a more understandable manner. That is easier said than done. The flag icon may be part of it, but I'm suggesting a deeper rethink of the UI. There is a lot going on in this system under the surface and the UI does a poor job in presenting it.
The user interface wasn't at fault in generating the chaos this 'experiment' caused.
It was abysmal planning and an ambush style execution by a couple of whales who didn't care who they stepped on until they got reamed for it. The end does NOT justify the means, skippy.
Revisionist history isn't going to work with me. You have permanently ingrained in me a mis-trust of anything you endorse from here on out. Congratulations on a thorough job.
'by a couple of whales' This is precisely part of the misunderstanding. Most of what is going on is a large number of whales (i.e. stakeholders who have every right to vote or not vote as they see fit) deciding not to vote (or vote low power) in order to leave the majority of the influence in the hands of the broader user base. The downvotes by @abit and myself are only a small part of it, though it is the part where the UI issues most come into play.
And you totally missed the point... you and @abit sprung this on us with no explanation, no warning. Just BAM, deal with it. You two were the public face of this effort from the start and I'm not going to let you wiggle out of that fact.
WHAT you did is the problem, not WHY you did it. I understand what you were trying to accomplish and for what it's worth, it looks like it's worked. BUT, the MANNER in which you handled it was HAM-FISTED, STUPID, AND TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. You threw dynamite into the middle of the pond and then act surprised when we bitch.
Like I said earlier, I will NEVER trust anything you and @abit say, do, or endorse. You trashed your credibility with me all on your own and it's not coming back.
The fact that you can't or won't take responsibility for the chaos you caused tells me that you haven't learned anything. Have you made the people you hurt whole? Have you even apologized to them? I sincerely doubt it. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to see you pull this stunt again.
[nesting]
No @abit and I didn't. A large number of major stakeholders aka whales decided to stop voting or vote with lower power, or to downvote those who continue to vote with very high power thereby grabbing an even larger portion of the pool in the process. Whatever @abit and I did or didn't do was and is only a small part of a large number of individual decisions by stakeholders to vote differently (mostly, not at all).
'us' was referring to the larger portion of the community - aka the minnows - who were not privy to those conversations. I guess minnow input isn't needed, because you as said yourself - the whales decided... Which proves my point. Thank you.
Save your ongoing explanations for why you did it. I GET THAT and have from the start. That doesn't absolve you of the trust you mangled in process.
I would agree with the UI being the problem. We are exposing people to information that is just confusing them. Keep it simple for the users. The stakeholders all know where to find the information they want and anyone else that educates themselves can find it too.
Let's not display flags openly. Lets not identify voters openly. Let's obfuscate the payouts until a final figure has been arrived at (at the end of the voting period). Upvotes, downvotes ,a popularity indicator, hide the views (the real indication of engagement is comments). Get rid of all the shit that makes people ask questions that they are not going to understand the answers to.
People don't need the information when they first arrive. Once they have been here and they have learned the ropes, they can find it the same way the stakeholders can find it.
Agreed 100%
You would almost ask the whales not to vote on you post :)