New Feature: Physics Weight

  • Imagine you are sipping tea or coffee while discussing various issues with a broad and diverse network of students, colleagues, and friends brought together by the common bond of physics, graduate school, and the physics GRE.

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Grant
site admin
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 7:55 pm

New Feature: Physics Weight

Post by Grant » Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:27 am

Today I launched a new feature called "Physics Weight" with the goal of helping visitors identify posts they want to read. There are almost 2,000 topics and there are over 20,000 posts so something to help prioritize reading is clearly necessary.

I added this feature with the goal of making physicsgre.com a more valuable resource. Any suggestions you have to improve it are appreciated. Also, please let me know if you notice any bugs in the new feature.

The system is based on people voting for posts. When you are logged in you can see a check mark at the bottom right of each post. Your votes, along with some other variables, are used to calculate weights for posts. The weights of posts are then used to calculate the weights of topics and users. Details can be read in the FAQs.

I am hopeful this feature will benefit visitors in a number of ways. As one example, if you read a post that is very helpful then you can see who else voted for the same post with the goal of reading their posts and/or reading the other posts they voted for.

There are many reasons to vote for certain posts, but if I could make one request it would to realize the potential benefit your voting can have on future physicsgre.com visitors.

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grae313
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm

Re: New Feature: Physics Weight

Post by grae313 » Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:44 am

And here I thought this was going to be a poll about the weight of physicists... :wink:

Good idea, Grant, although now I'm curious...

Grant
site admin
Posts: 193
Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 7:55 pm

Re: New Feature: Physics Weight

Post by Grant » Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:46 am

I thought of other names instead of Physics Weight. For example, there was Physics Clout, Physics Reputation, Physics Rank, Physics Score, etc. I thought "weight" was good because of its mathematical meaning. However, I am open to changing it to something else.

I just adjusted the algorithm and now your ability to throw weight around is a function of how long you have been a member, how many posts you have, and the time of your last post.

The ability to throw weight around doesn't depend much on whether someone joined 6 months or 9 months ago. However, there is a huge difference between someone who joined yesterday and someone who joined 3 months ago.

The ability to throw weight around doesn't depend much on whether someone has 100 posts or 200 posts. However, there is a huge difference between someone who has 1 post and someone who has 100 posts.

The ability to throw weight around doesn't matter much if your last post was a week or a month ago. However, if you haven't posted in six months your votes will be reduced until you post again. Basically the goal is for active members to have the most voting influence.

Note: Getting votes from people who can throw weight around not only increases your weight but it also increases your ability to throw weight around.

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grae313
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm

Re: New Feature: Physics Weight

Post by grae313 » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:19 am

Grant wrote:I thought of other names instead of Physics Weight. For example, there was Physics Clout, Physics Reputation, Physics Rank, Physics Score, etc. I thought "weight" was good because of its mathematical meaning. However, I am open to changing it to something else.

I just adjusted the algorithm and now your ability to throw weight around is a function of how long you have been a member, how many posts you have, and the time of your last post.

The ability to throw weight around doesn't depend much on whether someone joined 6 months or 9 months ago. However, there is a huge difference between someone who joined yesterday and someone who joined 3 months ago.

The ability to throw weight around doesn't depend much on whether someone has 100 posts or 200 posts. However, there is a huge difference between someone who has 1 post and someone who has 100 posts.

The ability to throw weight around doesn't matter much if your last post was a week or a month ago. However, if you haven't posted in six months your votes will be reduced until you post again. Basically the goal is for active members to have the most voting influence.

Note: Getting votes from people who can throw weight around not only increases your weight but it also increases your ability to throw weight around.
I like it. Thanks!



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