Well,
HI, numerical quantifying is one way to go and that is certainly a possibility. I think, though, that the kind of tallying you are suggesting can be done onlyby
BarrowWight and he is already very busy managing the site--look at
the great new game of magnetic poetry he has added yesterday. Would he have time for doing weekly,monthly or yearly analysis like that?
But to tell you the truth, I was really more interested in personal statements, in the reasons given for nominating any particular post. Numbers demonstrate popularity, and popularity can determine style preferences, but I was interested in our ideas of what makes a great post. There are two points here.
First is the way different people have of explaining their admiration.
SpM's explanation of why he liked
Mithadan's post so much is related very much to our nature as a discussion forum. His reasons highlight the qualities of Mithadan's post in a way that simple tallies of numbers or 'hits' would not. This can lead us into consideration in particular detail of what we value or enjoy here at the Downs. We can become more aware of the strength of this forum.
His reasons also suggest something about his personality, just as
Estelyn's reasons show her values and preferences. Just compare the two! This leads to the second point, that preferences and evaluations are unique. Sometimes meaningful or valuable ideas can be missed because they don't reflect the majority opinion. Just because a majority or plurality of people have rated one post does not mean that a different person's rating of another post cannot tell us something about what we value here at the Downs. We can learn from each other's opinion.
I have to admit that I have been too busy in RL to keep up with the formidable reading over all of this forum and so did not nominate any posts last week. (I wasn't even able to keep up with the Chapter by Chapter discussion.
) However, anyone is free to post here. The thread certainly doesn't depend on me and my reasons are only one person's opinion. Other Downers will have other preferences and tastes and they surely can make those known.
Right now, given the examples here, it seems to me that humour is of substantial worth to Downers, which is an interesting phenomenon, because, for example,
davem is one of the two most highly rated posters here, but I cannot recall any of his contributions to Mirth or the RPGs. (not meaning to single out davem or to suggest any kind of question about the humorous posts or the rep system.) Maybe this week we will see 'serious' posts nominated here. Who can say.
But thanks,
HI for bringing up the question and the thread. I'll keep my eye out for good posts to refer to here. And so should other Downers!