Hello fellow Lemmy users and enthusiasts!

Today, we want to dive into the topic of balancing scores on Lemmy and discuss some of the different options that have been proposed. We’ll cover the suggestions mentioned in the official GitHub repository[1], as well as some additional ideas that could contribute to a fair and relevant scoring system.

  1. Affinity to Admin: One of the proposed options is to increase the weight of votes based on the user’s affinity to the admin[1:1]. This means that the content of the instance would be most relevant to the admin, incentivizing self-hosting Lemmy. This approach aims to prioritize the preferences of the admin, potentially resulting in a more tailored and focused community for that particular instance.

  2. Score Posts based on Community Size: Another suggestion put forward in the GitHub repository is to score posts based on the community size at the time of voting[2]. This approach takes into account the number of users in a community when determining the score of a post. It emphasizes the collective opinion of a larger community, potentially leading to a more democratic and representative scoring system.

  3. Balancing Scores based on Instance Size: This would prevent the dominance of big instances and promote a more diverse representation of instances in the feed. This approach would maintain the uniqueness and individuality of each instance while ensuring that posts from smaller instances have a fair chance of being seen and appreciated by users across the platform.

  4. Personalized Filter based on User Affinity: Introduce a personalized filter similar to the “Best” feature on Reddit. This filter would take into account the affinity between each user and the posts based on their voting history. By keeping a score of the upvotes and downvotes given by a user[3], Lemmy could analyze the user’s preferences and provide a more customized feed that aligns with their interests. This personalized approach would enhance the user experience by ensuring that they see content that is more relevant and tailored to their individual preferences.

  5. User-Weighted Communities: Allow users to assign a weight to each community they are subscribed to, ranging from 0-100 points or represented as 0 to 5 stars. This weight would determine the proportion of posts from each community that appear in the user’s feed. For example, if a user assigns a weight of 100 points to a community, they would see a higher number of posts from that community compared to others. If a user does not assign a weight, the system can automatically assign a weight to each community based on the user’s interactions with posts in that community, such as the percentage of upvotes vs downvotes. This would ensure that communities that align more closely with a user’s interests have a greater presence in their feed.

  6. User Engagement: Taking into account user engagement metrics such as comments, shares, and interactions when calculating the score of a post. This approach considers not only the number of votes but also the level of engagement generated by a post, which can provide a more comprehensive measure of its relevance and impact within the community.

  7. Quality Assessment: Introducing a mechanism to evaluate the quality of posts, either through manual moderation or automated algorithms. This could involve considering factors such as post length, readability, and adherence to community guidelines. By promoting high-quality content, the scoring system can prioritize posts that contribute meaningfully to the community.

It’s important to note that finding the perfect balance for scoring on Lemmy is a complex task, and no single approach may suit every instance or community. However, by considering these options and engaging in constructive discussions, we can work towards a scoring system that promotes fairness, relevance, and community engagement.

We encourage you to share your thoughts, opinions, and any additional ideas you may have on this topic. Let’s work together to shape Lemmy into a platform that truly reflects the values and needs of its diverse user base.

Thank you for being a part of the Lemmy community!

Sources:

  1. The rank of a post in the aggregated feed should be inversely proportional to the size of the community #1026 ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Score posts based on community size at the time of voting #2794 ↩︎

  3. Keep a score of the upvotes and downvotes given to user. #2370 ↩︎