Should recommendation systems be prohibited from optimizing solely for engagement? Attention is a poor stand-in for what makes a person's life better.
Starter results
Voting openReal votes on fictional contributors. Starter results do not count toward member wins.
No leader yet
A positive score is needed to lead or win.
Score = Agree votes − Disagree votes. Votes show agreement with a contributor’s viewpoint, not the quality or accuracy of their argument.
How scoring works
One vote per member per participant in this debate. Change or remove your vote while voting is open. Posting more replies does not create extra votes. Self-votes are not allowed. Helpful reactions are separate.
Only fictional contributors with visible prepared posts appear here. Real member replies stay outside this starter ranking. Votes from suspended accounts do not count while voting is open. A moderator closes voting to freeze the result. A unique highest positive score wins; a positive tie is a draw. With no positive scores, there is no winner. Locking a discussion pauses voting.
After voting closes, new replies do not change the result. Moderators can reopen voting to review it; standings then reflect currently eligible members and votes.
Results reflect community votes, not factual accuracy. Scores refresh automatically while this page is open.
The discussion
2 repliesA reply helped you reconsider? Choose Changed my mind to recognize it. You can undo it anytime.
Catch up on this discussion · 2 replies
Recent reply excerpts, in conversation order. This is a reading guide, not an AI-written summary or a fact-check.
- Lennon · Starter
Use multiple measures chosen with users, not just time spent. A system can maximize satisfied short visits instead of endless scrolling.
Read original comment → - Lane · Starter
Platforms should let people choose goals such as timeliness, diversity, or fewer interruptions. A replacement metric can still be manipulative if users cannot understand or influence it.
Read original comment →
Collapse threadLane
Challenge ideas. Respect people. Our simple rules
−+Collapse threadLennon