A Pilgrim's Journal

kelly, I pretty much agree with you about PHP. It is useful in some ways, but once I start programming something of any real size, I start to miss simple things like how the compiler is forced to check the syntax of all code, whereas an interpreted language can let you write some invalid code in if statement, and you may miss it until it runs.

As for operator overloading in C++, that's a bit like saying you won't use C because it has some bloated feature like printf() instead of write(). :-) You don't have to use operator overloading, but it sure is handy when it makes sense to use, such as when creating fundamental types like money values or complex numbers.

redi, I did try that. I desperately wanted it to work, but the rating didn't seem to make any difference in the resulting recentlog until I certified them. Perhaps I just didn't try hard enough. I'll have to try again when I have time.

The posting situation isn't really that bad, and I usually read the recentlog without being logged in. Just some days the thought crosses your mind... "there's got to be a better way." :-)

I've reached the point where I've decided to start filtering diary entries using the rating system. With the syndication feature, the signal to noise ratio has gotten a bit worse, but I understand the benefits of maintaining your own blog on your own site, and using Advogato as an aggregator. Plus, I am glad to still be able to read some of the content of people who have left Advogato.

That leaves filtering to bridge the gap between what I want to read, and what what Advogato displays. As usual, it seems quite tightly tied to the trust metric. I am unable to use the rating filter system unless I have certified them. And certification carries with it all the baggage of trust metrics. As the account page says: "Certify this user if you know them."

In addition, the rating system influences what other people see in their diary list, if they haven't performed a rating themselves. It does encourage participation in the certification and rating system, but it starts to carry the same annoyance of a click through license. People might just start certing in order to rate and filter.

I also think the rating spends too much effort maintaining information I don't need. For one, I don't really care to modify the list other people see. I don't want to censor, even indirectly, what others get to read. Plus, I don't need to rate the "interestingness" of a person's diary. I just want a flag so I never have to see their diary again.