questions → is @they the undercover bot that determines your…

vote-for43vote-against +43 -0

Is @they the undercover bot that determines your "awesomeness"?

@they crawls everything on the site, votes on everything, comments on nothing, adds no deals and has a white triangle rep. Just look at it's history closely, it's staggering!

by wormburnr
asked 5 months ago

13 Answers answer

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vote-for9vote-against

lol it voted for this question

rprebel
5 months ago

vote-for3vote-against

I think @they is simply just a counting bot -- counts all of the deals/questions that get voted for. If the deal has more than 0 woots (including the originator) @they tallies it as its own vote

capguncowboy
5 months ago

vote-for8vote-against

@capguncowboy: Yes, but that doesn't explain why @they votes some deals and questions up and others down irregardless of their popularity. Any ideas as to why that is?

wormburnr
5 months ago

vote-for6vote-against

@wormburnr: perhaps it only counts the initial vote...

Look, we're brainstorming here and wikipedia is ignorant on the topic.

capguncowboy
5 months ago

vote-for14vote-against

"They" ... are watching.

narfcake
5 months ago

vote-for5vote-against

IT TALKS!!! Very rarely, but does breathe a word once and a while.
http://deals.woot.com/deals/comment/aad50a92-2333-4b99-be79-da35541a3d57

http://deals.woot.com/deals/comment/b994cffb-9f9e-47fc-88f3-0ee021ec4bd5

wormburnr
5 months ago

vote-for3vote-against

Perhaps @They is a trending predictor algorithm? It's trying to vote in the way it thinks the majority of votes will go to better predict future popularity?

thumperchick
5 months ago

vote-for4vote-against

@thumperchick: The algorithm must be a work in progress if your statement is true because it's clearly not voting with the majority all the time. Its history is very random... at least that is how it seems. "Trying" is the operative word.

wormburnr
5 months ago

vote-for7vote-against

@wormburnr: That might be it! Perhaps it is a random voting algorithm to establish a baseline for zero?

Either way, I need sleep. Good night.

thumperchick
5 months ago

vote-for4vote-against

@wormburnr:

irregardless is not a word, and if it was, it would not mean the same thing as regardless.

Also, @they has posted two comments.

baqui63
5 months ago

vote-for3vote-against

@baqui63: Read the thread! I have already posted the two links to his comments. And btw I'm glad you understood what I meant.

wormburnr
5 months ago

vote-for3vote-against

I'm guessing that @they upvotes deals/questions that start with an upvote and downvotes deals/questions that start with a downvote. (Not counting the first vote, if the deal/question poster has voting rights.)

It is also possible that @they does it's voting based on the deal/question's "sign" (+ or -) after some specific period of time.

I'll have to do a bit more testing to determine this but I have a very long day tomorrow starting very early, so I'll leave someone else to do the testing.

@wormburnr: Yep. Sorry about that. I guess irregardless annoys me more than I realized.

baqui63
5 months ago

vote-for3vote-against

@baqui63: Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. -Mirriam-Webster

wormburnr
5 months ago

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