digg, the popularity contest.

I was reading a WP blog on creating the perfect password (I got the link from the front page of Digg) when I came across a more recent post – called “Dirty Tricks to get Dugg,” and it sort of got me thinking.

I’ve never posted a story on Digg (despite having used it for ages) and I don’t think I ever will either. And why should I? Seems like there’s a lot of people desperate to get to the front page, spamming other submissions with links to theirs and abusing the comment system. Of course, they quickly get dugg down, but it’s annoying nevertheless. It’s as if it’s become a popularity contest to some.

Some people really take offense to it if their comments (or submissions, but that’s less visible) are dugg down, and sometimes they have a point, such as when certain opinions are suppressed by the majority which disagrees. But it’s when people write comments or submit articles in order to get the diggs, and not make a contribution to the site, when Digg turns into a god damn popularity contest. They’ll try to say things in a certain way, or knowingly post dupes with a different (read: “better”) title or description, hoping for glory. And god knows we’ve all had enough of certain recurring jokes in the comment system (e.g. “In Soviet Russia, [object] [verb] you” and “But the question is – does it blend?”).

I honestly don’t care if my name is on the Digg front page or not. I’ve only made a handful of comments, most of which were probably dugg down. Now, if I would come across some fantastic story I knew others haven’t and won’t digg, then, and only then would I bother to submit one.

For every one big story, say the official release of a major game or gaming console, there’s always, always, more than one digg submission about it. In virtually every case, the system prevails and one is dugg up while others are dugg down as dupes. And that’s what’s great about the digg/bury system.

But to some, getting that digg from someone else becomes a matter of prestige, lifting their spirit, saying “Hey, the masses like what I have to say. What could possibly be better than that? I better keep this up, lest they should turn against me.”