Top Author Ranking (and Top Downloads too)
Tuesday, May 6, 2003 by T-Man | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Ok, as many of you have already noticed you have seen some changes in the Top Author's calculations. Let me try to explain a little bit as to what we are doing.
Let me start out with giving you an overview on the way the previous system worked. The Top Author's list was based on the total number of downloads for all the author's skins from the previous day. The total number was then divided by ten (mainly just to display a smaller number to make it fit in the box better). So if an author had 5310 downloads, we would divide 5310 by 10 to get 531. And that is the number that was displayed in the Top Author’s box.
Now I’ll explain some more of the technical aspects on how the download counts were calculated. When a person downloaded a skin we would take information from that skin and place it into a cookie. So if you were to download that skin a second time the code would check the cookie to see if you had already downloaded that skin. If you had already downloaded the skin then the download number would not increment. However, if the skin information was not found in the cookie then it was considered that you had not downloaded the skin and therefore it would increment the download count for that particular skin.
This system had some flaws in it. If a person were to delete their cookie then it would erase the information on the skins that they had previously downloaded. Or if a person has configured their browser to not allow cookies then the skin information was never saved. Therefore this allowed for people to download skins multiple times, which would unnecessarily increase the download counts for the skins.
So, as you can see, there was a vulnerability in our system and with all vulnerabilities they get abused after awhile. We have received numerous complaints from people where some skins were suspected of having abnormal download counts. After looking into this more we were able to detect that this vulnerability was being abused. And in some cases we believe bots were being used to increase download counts.
We've known about this problem for quite some time now and really haven't had the time to address this problem until now. So how do we fix this problem? How do we close the holes and prevent people from abusing the system. That's what we are trying to do right now. We are experimenting with some different ways to calculate the Top Authors in order to plug these holes in order to make the system as fair as possible. So please be patient with us while we take this time to come up with a better system.
Let me start out with giving you an overview on the way the previous system worked. The Top Author's list was based on the total number of downloads for all the author's skins from the previous day. The total number was then divided by ten (mainly just to display a smaller number to make it fit in the box better). So if an author had 5310 downloads, we would divide 5310 by 10 to get 531. And that is the number that was displayed in the Top Author’s box.
Now I’ll explain some more of the technical aspects on how the download counts were calculated. When a person downloaded a skin we would take information from that skin and place it into a cookie. So if you were to download that skin a second time the code would check the cookie to see if you had already downloaded that skin. If you had already downloaded the skin then the download number would not increment. However, if the skin information was not found in the cookie then it was considered that you had not downloaded the skin and therefore it would increment the download count for that particular skin.
This system had some flaws in it. If a person were to delete their cookie then it would erase the information on the skins that they had previously downloaded. Or if a person has configured their browser to not allow cookies then the skin information was never saved. Therefore this allowed for people to download skins multiple times, which would unnecessarily increase the download counts for the skins.
So, as you can see, there was a vulnerability in our system and with all vulnerabilities they get abused after awhile. We have received numerous complaints from people where some skins were suspected of having abnormal download counts. After looking into this more we were able to detect that this vulnerability was being abused. And in some cases we believe bots were being used to increase download counts.
We've known about this problem for quite some time now and really haven't had the time to address this problem until now. So how do we fix this problem? How do we close the holes and prevent people from abusing the system. That's what we are trying to do right now. We are experimenting with some different ways to calculate the Top Authors in order to plug these holes in order to make the system as fair as possible. So please be patient with us while we take this time to come up with a better system.
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jcg
Reply #22 Monday, May 12, 2003 3:24 PM
Reply #22 Monday, May 12, 2003 3:24 PM
Oh no, I'm more humble than you. Oh wait you were correcting me weren't you! Now I'm really hurt. 
ponz14
Reply #24 Monday, May 19, 2003 12:57 AM
Reply #24 Monday, May 19, 2003 12:57 AM
Well if u come up with a new system it would be funny if a Top user suddenly dropped 
woO
woO
T-Man
Reply #26 Friday, May 23, 2003 10:19 AM
Reply #26 Friday, May 23, 2003 10:19 AM
Ok. After playing around with download counts I think we have settled into a system we feel confortable with.
In the past. There was the Daily Downloads stat. This stat primarly counted all downloads of an item regardless of where the link came from. One main exception to this rule was if you had already downloaded the skin a second download did not increase the DL count. This is what you have heared referred to as the Raw downloads.
The Daily Downloads stat remains pretty much unchanged. However, there is now a second Download Stat. This stat only counts downloads from those who are actually logged on to the website. It does not count anonymous downloads. This stat, which we call WC Downloads, is the stat that is now used to determine the Top 10 Downloads and the Top 10 Authors. The full list of Top Downloads and Top Authors is still calculated by the Daily Downloads. The WC Downloads stat will not be displayed to the general public. It will only be visible to admins.
So barring from any future complications this is the system that we will be using to determine the Top 10 Downloads and Authors. Enjoy!
Fuzzy Logic
Reply #29 Friday, May 23, 2003 11:22 AM
Reply #29 Friday, May 23, 2003 11:22 AM
Sounds good and fair to me 
We'll probably still get hysteria from some quarters though
We'll probably still get hysteria from some quarters though
Angel_Wings
Reply #31 Friday, May 23, 2003 12:11 PM
Reply #31 Friday, May 23, 2003 12:11 PM
Thank you for finally clearing things up with some logic and reason, T-man.
When I read this...at first I thought, "-but why hide the WC log-on stats?" Then it occurred to me that the problem with that is the 'numbers game' and if someone is finagling with the system via downloads then that just encourages it by seeing it 'out there'. Then, someone would make 150 anonymous accounts and 'log-in' and download it to up it I suppose even though...man...that's a lot of time spent doing something for what benefit?
I hope it stays fair this time.
Good work!
editing done for grammar 
[Message Edited]
When I read this...at first I thought, "-but why hide the WC log-on stats?" Then it occurred to me that the problem with that is the 'numbers game' and if someone is finagling with the system via downloads then that just encourages it by seeing it 'out there'. Then, someone would make 150 anonymous accounts and 'log-in' and download it to up it I suppose even though...man...that's a lot of time spent doing something for what benefit?
I hope it stays fair this time.
Good work!
editing done for grammar 
[Message Edited]
Judge
Reply #32 Thursday, May 29, 2003 4:32 PM
Reply #32 Thursday, May 29, 2003 4:32 PM
Haw haw
Hmmm. That was in response to the whole idea of download 'bots, not to the solution you've implemented...
[Message Edited]
Hmmm. That was in response to the whole idea of download 'bots, not to the solution you've implemented...
[Message Edited]
Jafo
Reply #33 Thursday, May 29, 2003 5:16 PM
Reply #33 Thursday, May 29, 2003 5:16 PM
Judge...are you implying that 'bot' use [or something similar] was NOT being used to cheat the system? How little you know...
Apocalypse_67
Reply #34 Sunday, June 1, 2003 12:47 AM
Ok, according to this, the downloads from the users that log on WC are the ones that are been used to determine the Top Downloads lists.
My confusion is; I often check the total downloads on My Skins list before it gets reset, and the numbers never match the ones given on the Top lists.
Per example, last night My Skins total downloads was 4118 and on the Top Authors Lists appeared 5620. The same goes with the Top Downloads. My wallpaper clocked 1110 downloads, yet another wallpaper with half the count appeared on the list.
I dont link any of my designs from any other place, nor am I aware of any hot linking from another site.
So why are all this numbers so mismatched and incoherent??
Reply #34 Sunday, June 1, 2003 12:47 AM
| The Daily Downloads stat remains pretty much unchanged. However, there is now a second Download Stat. This stat only counts downloads from those who are actually logged on to the website. It does not count anonymous downloads. This stat, which we call WC Downloads, is the stat that is now used to determine the Top 10 Downloads and the Top 10 Authors. |
Ok, according to this, the downloads from the users that log on WC are the ones that are been used to determine the Top Downloads lists.
My confusion is; I often check the total downloads on My Skins list before it gets reset, and the numbers never match the ones given on the Top lists.
Per example, last night My Skins total downloads was 4118 and on the Top Authors Lists appeared 5620. The same goes with the Top Downloads. My wallpaper clocked 1110 downloads, yet another wallpaper with half the count appeared on the list.
I dont link any of my designs from any other place, nor am I aware of any hot linking from another site.
So why are all this numbers so mismatched and incoherent??
MadIce
Reply #35 Monday, June 2, 2003 1:19 AM
Reply #35 Monday, June 2, 2003 1:19 AM
Ah. We talked about the same thing with some people on IRC. We couldn't figure it out too. We know that several calculations are being betatested. This all has to do with making the system more fair. The original system was being abused by some skinners. Please give the admins time to come up with a definite system.
However, I do feel it is about time that we finally have a permanent system. That would at least prevent discussions like these. Most of these discussions are damaging the image of the site, because some people suspect intentional misconduct by the admins. I do not suggest that your question does imply that, but I would love to see those discussions ended.
However, I do feel it is about time that we finally have a permanent system. That would at least prevent discussions like these. Most of these discussions are damaging the image of the site, because some people suspect intentional misconduct by the admins. I do not suggest that your question does imply that, but I would love to see those discussions ended.
paxx
Reply #36 Monday, June 2, 2003 5:03 AM
Reply #36 Monday, June 2, 2003 5:03 AM
Apocalypse: you can't see the WC downloads (downloads from logged-in members of WC), but as T-Man said, it's those numbers that are used for the top 10 lists, not the number of total downloads. The numbers listed appear to be exact.
BoXXi
Reply #37 Monday, June 2, 2003 5:08 AM
Reply #37 Monday, June 2, 2003 5:08 AM
Apocolypse: I believe that the numbers in the top 10 list are not divided by 10 anymore....so if it says 567, then it IS 567, and not 5670. I think this is what is confusing you.
INDRID COLD
Reply #38 Thursday, July 31, 2003 8:56 PM
Reply #38 Thursday, July 31, 2003 8:56 PM
preeety sad state oe affairs to be soo big on yr rank..
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Reply #21 Monday, May 12, 2003 2:12 PM