The people have spoken... in Site Updates

It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong. I am not a big man. Fletch Lives

All right, all right. You don't like the Pseudo-Like button. And I think many of you have valid points. The last thing I want is to "dumb down" the social interaction on this site. Forcing people to actually leave each other comments in order to interact with someone is probably a good thing.

So I'm going to yank the new button. You'll see it disappear soon.

However, the underlying mechanism will still remain in place. I'm just going to repurpose it. Instead of a "Like" feature, it's going to be a Recommend button.

Now, before you start screaming at me about how you would hate to see Prosebox devolve into a popularity contest, please hear me out on this...

First of all, let's all admit that anyone who posts anything on the internet is trying to get noticed. If you deny this simple observation, YOU ARE LYING.

OK. So I believe that quality content deserves to be noticed. I would like to see a system that actually works in this regard. I would like to have a "Spotlight" or "Trending Entries" section on the site, with content that deserves to be noticed. So what's the best way to make this happen and prevent the system from being abused?

MATH.

Enter the Recommend button. It's not a Like button. It's not a button to mark your visit like a dog on a fire hydrant. It's a button you use sparingly, when you read an entry that you think others would enjoy. You are casting your vote. It will not be shared with others that you voted it up. The person you voted for won't even know unless you tell them.

This will combine with other criteria to determine how well an entry ranks on a Spotlight list:

• Newer users will be weighted heavier (hey, new people need some love when they are getting started)
• How recently the entry was published will add weight (things will drop off over time)
• The more you vote for the same person's entries, the less weight your vote will carry
• Votes from people who are not regular readers will carry additional weight

So basically, you can't conspire with your friends to recommend all of each other's entries, because it will become utterly ineffective.

Thoughts? Heartburn?

EDIT:

Additional thoughts based on feedback:

• Privacy levels will still be honored. Voting on Friends Only entries would be pointless since the whole point of this is discovering things you might not notice otherwise, so there will be no Recommend button ever on Friends Only (and obviously Private). Members Only entries would not show up publicly (pretty much the way they do not currently on the Latest listing page).
• Yes, I'll provide an option for people to opt out for entries, or even as a default.
• The weighted new user thing will be scratched. If anything, being an established member of the community will give your votes more weight.