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Comment by random_cynic | Hacker News Reader

Really, decay function? Is there a decay function for your need to be validated? Who gives a flying f* about SO reputation points (or for the matter any scoring system on internet)? Have people become so dumb and so desperate for validation that they have to judge everything based on opinion of others and how many upvotes/downvotes or stars other people have given to something? It's like they have lost the ability to think independently and becoming part of a hive mind.

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I think you misunderstood GP. My take on their point is that when a question from 10 years ago about a C#/SQL issue has a top answer with 300 points about using a library that’s 12 years old, but a better answer with Linq from this year only has 4 points, people are probably going to either go with the 300 point legacy answer. A decaying function can implement relevancy.

I think it’s a good idea!

No, that was perfectly clear. That's why I said people should not use reputation or upvotes to judge anything in the first place including how good an answer is. They should read all the answers (including the more recent ones) and if needed do further research to find out which one is more updated or relevant at present. I do it all the time particularly for questions on things like git and even programming languages like python which have lot of better way of doing things in last 2-3 years than say 10-15 years ago.

In addition to being offensive (which, mind you, goes against HN's guidelines), you're literally agreeing that the current way scoring works is bad for finding up-to-date answers (of course "relevance" is more vague). I'd say any solution that makes it easier to automatically push better (in this specific case, updated) answers to the top is a win, especially for such a widely used system.

> you're literally agreeing that the current way scoring works is bad for finding up-to-date answers

No you're "literally" misinterpreting what I said. I said there should not be any scoring system at all and people should select an answer based on its own merit, usefulness and how recent they are as per their own judgment instead of relying on other people. In fact this should be true for anywhere on internet including this site.

SO has a rep system. I offered an idea that I think would make that system more effective. On the other hand, if you think the concept is misguided, don't give a flying f* about it, and think it should be eliminated, you're welcome to suggest that to the people who run the site.

A decay function in the ranking of answers, so that old answers drift toward the bottom over time.

It isn't a question of reputation here.

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