Jeremy wrote:
] I have a proposal. It consists of one idea in two parts: gold
] stars and sticky bits. Allow me to explain.

I like both ideas, with minor issues. Sticky bits are fine. As for the gold stars, I would call them "shouts" and make it based on a percentage of how much they have posted/spoke.

] It is hoped that with gold stars and sticky bits, we can
] dramatically reduce the occurrence of missed excellence within
] the MemeStreams community.

I am in full support of having a way of determining the volume or importance of a given meme.

There are memes, and then there are Memes. Said another way: All memes are created equal, but some memes are more equal than others.
...
It is hoped that with gold stars and sticky bits, we can dramatically reduce the occurrence of missed excellence within the MemeStreams community.

Jeremy wrote:
] I am quite dismayed and disappointed that MemeStreams allowed
] an entire week to pass without forcing me to read and
] recommend the essay by Philip Kennicott that appeared in the
] May 5 edition of the Washington Post. This should not have
] been allowed to happen.

Sorry dude, I'll meme you the next gold star. Point taken. PEBKAC

] Between the time of publication and the time of this writing,
] I received several messages in my MemeBox, but none pointed to
] this essay.

MemeStreams is an information economy and people use the memebox to forward various personal interests, whether they are trying to pump their reputation capital or promote their personal agenda. The clear answer is that the trust metrics need to move into the memebox. The trouble is how to design the UI for this. Options include coloring, or having a different folder for untrusted memers.

] I have a proposal. It consists of one idea in two parts: gold
] stars and sticky bits. Allow me to explain.

I like the gold stars concept. I was thinking of creating some way of indicating "best of" articles, both in terms of your best personal writings and your best recommendations. If you are controlling the list you are incented to do it well, and that may remove the need to control the scarcity of gold stars. I'm not sure how I lean on this. The scarcity idea is fairly compelling in its own light.

] Starred memes are moved to the top of the stack, are
] unmistakably highlighted, with the normal white text on a blue
] background replaced by larger, bold white text on a red
] background.

I'm not sure I like the idea of sticky bits. You don't want to have to go through and delete memes. Its annoying. I think its unlikely that you'll miss gold star memes, especially if you can ask questions like "show me all the gold stars for the past month...

How about a significance rating system. One set of radio buttons for significance (Impending, Impotant, Neutral, Trivial, and Personal).

Jeremy wrote:
] There are memes, and then there are Memes. Said another way:
] All memes are created equal, but some memes are more equal
] than others.
]
] I am quite dismayed and disappointed that MemeStreams allowed
] an entire week to pass without forcing me to read and
] recommend the essay by Philip Kennicott that appeared in the
] May 5 edition of the Washington Post. This should not have
] been allowed to happen.
]
] Between the time of publication and the time of this writing,
] I received several messages in my MemeBox, but none pointed to
] this essay. One of them was about a story in the Weekly World
] News. Another, which I ignored, appeared to be some kind of
] conspiracy theory involving the Mossad. A third item directed
] my attention to academically interesting but ultimately
] insignificant research results in the field of cryptanalysis.
]
] An analogous situation is known in computer science as a
] priority inversion. It is an undesirable condition, but steps
] can be taken to design it out of the system. At this point I
] am forced to consider whether MemeStreams has taken sufficient
] measures to minimize the occurrence of priority inversion.
]
] In part, the reputation agent is designed to solve this
] problem. By selecting and sorting available memes based on
] weighted adjacencies in the social network, the cream is
] supposed to rise to the top.
]
] For many users, memes pass through the reputation agent in
] particular much as ideas flow through the news media in
] general: here today, gone tomorrow. While this approach
] generally suffices for the run of the mill meme, it is
] woefully inadequate for that most rare, truly exemplary meme.
] A remedy must be devised.
]
] I have a proposal. It consists of one idea in two parts: gold
] stars and sticky bits. Allow me to explain.
]
] Each year, on the anniversary of your blog, you are issued a
] one year supply of gold stars to use as you see fit. A year's
] supply is on the order of eight to ten gold stars. Use them
] with care, because they must last you through the entire year.
] When you see a truly outstanding must-read-NOW meme that is
] simply not to be missed under any circumstances, even if it
] means running around a one-stoplight town at 2 a.m. with a
] PowerBook and a WiFinder, attach one of your gold stars to
] this article. Don't jump the gun, because once you attach the
] star, it cannot be revoked, it cannot be reused, and it will
] be present for all to see, for all time.
]
] The reputation agent knows about gold stars and takes notice... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ]

terratogen wrote:
] How about a significance rating system. One set of radio
] buttons for significance (Impending, Important, Neutral,
] Trivial, and Personal).

As with many options, this data can be useful, but it should added only if it can be integrated with the reputation agent. That is, the system (the agent, specifically) must behave differently on the basis of this significance attribute.

Also, entering the metadata business risks getting mired in endless incompleteness. One can never have enough options to suit every occasion. Just as with the existing topics system, an entry will often fit partially into several topics.

Finally, there must be a careful balance between sophistication for the power user and simplicity for new and casual users. My feeling was that a two-level system achieved the goal with minimal additional complexity. A N-level priority scheme could very much put the system's ease of use at risk.