Attack of the Clones! Stop cloning threads!
By Xeedar
@Xeedar (255)
Italy
December 8, 2006 6:17pm CST
The new mylot algorythm is working really well, now one line threads are less than the long, descriptive ones, and the responses are a little more reasoned.
But now the problem is another. Topic cloning, already practiced by some users before the new algorythm's advent, now is a sort of mass action. There are plentys of identic topics from different users, asking the same things with different words.
If you try to do a research for a term (try with evolution, god, religion; my favourite researchs), you will find hundreds of identical threads. If someone thinks a good topic, hundred of users will copy it to get reponses.
I can understand it could happen that two or more users can open similar topics without knowing of the others, but not hundreds of identical topics!
So, to stop that, what shall we do? Report?
But how to know who's the genuine creator of the thread?
13 responses
@Xeedar (255)
• Italy
9 Dec 06
to know what?
Oh, let me say what you've done.
You saw the discussion, opened it and without reading it you posted a one line response to earn something. I am right?
But probably you'll never come back to read my comment. Reading comments doesn't make you earn anything, eh?
@rakeshdas (427)
• India
9 Dec 06
dear frnd ... I think this reporting will be too hursh thing to do .... cause
Day by day new members are joining and already there are thousands of topics .... the new users cant be aware of the topic number 984 (say) ... and it is too time consuming to see the topic number 984 starting from the homepage .... So I think its too harsh thing that another reports :(
@Tanya8 (1733)
• Canada
9 Dec 06
Do you mean copying someone's opening post word for word, or just repeating the topic.
I like seeing different discussions on the same topic. There's only a finite number of things that interest me, and I'd be done with myLot pretty fast, there was only a single 1,000+ response thread on each topic.
I feel like there's not much point in responding to a thread with over a hundred responses. It's unlikely your response will ever get read, and I don't like responding unless I've read everything first, to make sure I don't make a point, someone's already made.
I'd rather start fresh with a new discussion and new people. I learn more when there's an exchange of ideas, but the big threads are too overwhelming.
@alchemistrx (2547)
• Philippines
9 Dec 06
They must use the search button first before starting a discussion so that topics, and discussions would not redundant anymore.
@alchemistrx (2547)
• Philippines
9 Dec 06
I been doing the search thing and if i have found that they are similar discussions then i search again for another topic to be discussed.And if i found nothing on that topic, i can now start a discussion using the topic that hasn't been started yet.
@mocanuga (668)
• Romania
9 Dec 06
This is a very god question indeed! "But how to know who's the genuine creator of the thread?"
I don't think that this phenomenon is such a bad thing .. because if a good topic is posted .. interested people will respond to that topic quickly. Anyone who copies a topic will not gain so much interest since everyone who was interested already responded. It won't attract that many responses as the original post.
P.S. To know the genuine creator of a post check the posting date. The oldest one is, logic, the original poster!
@Spheria (181)
• United States
10 Dec 06
Well, the date of each topic is normally recorded, so it wouldn't be hard pin pointing which one came first, and therefore, the genuine creator of the thread. This is why I think response to discussions is rewarded more than creating a topic, of course I could be wrong. And topics with more description below its question, are probably seen more as well. I think the solution would be to record the rate in which a person makes posts or starts new topics. Certainly there is a limit to human ability - one honestly thinking of a discussions or answer, and one just simply copying other's posts.
@Pmcbride (1081)
•
9 Dec 06
This is one of the main reasons why i stopped posting discussions, i don't think of any good ones on a regular basis, and any i do think of have already been posted (wether in another form or not) so i stopped posting, now i just answer other peoples posts, and i like this just as much, if i think of a good topic i will start posting again, until then i'll just keep enjoying myself this way.
@rracers89 (3246)
• United States
9 Dec 06
I report them, i try to look and see who posted the topic first by the hours or days on the right side of the post. I have seen people copy\paste in the same replies alos.
@snowflake5 (1579)
• United States
9 Dec 06
I think some people genuinely don't check if a thread on the same topic has been opened, hence the duplicates.
What I find more irritating is those who start hundreds of discussions, but never respond to other people's discussions.
@mauier113 (688)
• Philippines
9 Dec 06
well, it happens to me, too. I don't know how but I give them the benefit of my doubt that maybe were of the same thinking. I still respect other people's opinion. So what I do is just keep on responding and enjoying reading discussions.
@gorgeousdreamer (1034)
• Philippines
9 Dec 06
i thinks it's really hard to answer that question. but i think members should be responsible enough, once they've already read that topic, they should not copy it anymore. but i guess there are many people who are really trying to increase their earnings. i hope mylot will be able to find a way solve this problem...
