Having just waded thru the diaries, especially the WTC Collapse postings
de jour, I have a suggestion for Kos and the programers of the site. Several of the replies to the two (so far) WTC theory postings suggested "peer reviews" to assure accuracy and appropriateness. Well, the "Recommend" button does that, on Kos we are all "peers" in our own weird and diverse ways, but does it do it well enough? And the ratings by Kos members do that, but do they allow all the good stuff to be seen when the turnover is so fast?
This brought up a thought that I've had for quite a while and that I continue downstream.
One of the biggest problems I see with the diaries is their shelf life. Unless recommended by a bunch o' folks, they're gone in a flash. It would appear that the algorithm of Scoop works such that the lower the Kos user ID, the more weight the recommend carries, as I've seen short lists of recommends move a diary upwards to the Recommended Diary list and long lists of recommends sit down on the basic Diary list and then disappear.
Now, before you tin foil me, I'll admit that 1.) I may be wrong about that and 2.) if it does work that way, I think it's a great idea. I respect a "recommend" from Georgia10 or PlutoniumPage or Jerome de Paris much more than I would respect a "recommend" from, say, NewMexicoBear (me) who probably still thinks the earth is on the back of a turtle and the sun revolves around it.
Another diary problem I see is the multiple diary. Two WTC Collapse diaries on the same diary list at the same time is a pain. It seems that a lot of us are too lazy to look at the diary list before we post our own (yes, I did check the list today, but I didn't do a search so maybe I'm guilty, too. but then I admit I AM lazy).
Then there's the "BREAKING: BUSH PICKS NOSE!!!!" diaries. I don't even need to comment on them.
Thus when I post an important and life altering diary, something that I know will change the course of history, no one sees it because it's off the bottom of the diary list before I can hit the refresh button (again).
So my suggestion to Kos & Company is this (you know this was coming):
Just as diaries get "recommended up" onto the "Recommend" why don't ALL Diaries start in the Open Thread lists. That's the "peer review." A few (and perhaps only a few) recommendations get them onto the Diary list, which then opens them up to more recommends to the "Recommended" list, from which Kos, Armando, and folks then pull into a Front Page "from the diaries" posting. And you code folks can figure out the algorithm thing to make it fair and honest.
Sure, we Kossacks love to have our 15 minutes of fame with a Diary posting but with the huge number of us online every day, a lot of good stuff gets lost in the rapid hourly turnover, and a lot of crap gets posted (no, I'm not called the WCT stuff crap...well...maybe....) that's duplicate, unimportant, or wrapped in tin foil.
As much as would love to see everyone get every diary posted every time they want to, Kos has grown to such a size (and powerhouse) that I don't think that's really possible any more. Rethinking the struture and the recommendation system might, maybe, let more of us see the important stuff and let us -- the peers -- cull through it a bit more and recommend, both in the Open Threads and the basic Diaries.
In short, I think we've outgrown the ratings systems on the diaries because so many of the diaries don't get seen unless we're on 25/7 (and I gather some of you are...). Keep the ratings in place, yes, but use the rating system lower down the food chain in the Open Thread to bring the good diaries to the front page.
That's my two-cents for the day. And it beat working.
George Bush is proof that ID is false.