Can anyone tell me the timeline of dev changes since October 2016 re: what subverse settings impact whether submissions show on v/all? (voatdev)

submitted ago by Vindicator

I've got a troll on v/pizzagate constantly attacking the mod team claiming we rigged our moderation subverse so as to prevent downvoting by users. I'd like to understand the timeline, as this was before my time. It was apparently set to 10 CCP required to downvote when first created. The subverse is used for posts about rule changes, complaints about mods and other meta topics. Here's an example of one of his claims: https://archive.fo/fvNlj and a more recent one https://archive.fo/OcAjs.

Thanks

You are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

PeaceSeeker ago

Neither of your archive links will load for me, but the second one loaded enough for me to copy the original Voat link and read it.

/u/MrPim is correct that setting a "minimum CCP to downvote" value in the settings will remove said subverse from /v/all; so will setting the subverse to private.

Setting a minimum CCP to downvote value will also, of course, make it so you need that much CCP in that subverse to downvote anything in that subverse. In the second comment the user claims that you set it up so only mods can downvote. If only mods comment and earn upvotes in that subverse, then it is true that only they could downvote, because only they would have enough CCP in that subverse to downvote. But nothing is stopping that user from commenting in that subverse, earning upvotes, and then being able to downvote.

Does that help?

Vindicator ago

Maybe. I was wondering if the original settings for the subverse, around November 2016 (as I understood it, so as to prevent pizzagate drama from infecting the front page of Voat), had a different effect when they were made than they did at the time he started bitching about it.

Sorry the archives wouldn't load. Here are the original complaint comment links:

His claim (in the first link) is specifically that once any limit was set, the sub started not counting upvotes for users who came after the limit was set:

This sub is also rigged. See that 10 CPP down vote limit in the sidebar? As long as that limit is in place you and I will NEVER gain those points so that we can down vote because the system will not add them with that limit in place. I can up vote you 50 times and you still won't get those ten points because the system won't add those points. Only people that had those 10 points before the limit was activated can down vote. So they sit in here and down vote us knowing that we will never be able to down vote no matter how many up votes we get. Pretty sneaky huh?

I have almost 30 up votes in this one thread. My point score in the sidebar says

Minimum CCP required to downvote in this sub: 10

Your CCP for this sub: 0

So only @crensch and @Millennial_Falcon, and the people that already had those ten points before the limit got set are the people down voting us. roflmao....

PeaceSeeker ago

I took a private subverse that I own and had upvotes in and gave it a CCP to downvote requirement. I was told my CCP in the subverse is 0. This is because the subverse is private and so the upvotes I earned did not count. This implies that if a user has no CCP in a subverse and that subverse is then given a CCP to downvote requirement, that user will never be able to meet the requirement (but users who had the CCP before the requirement will be able to downvote).

This allows the feature to be used in a way that was not originally intended. I will mark this thread as BUG.

Vindicator ago

This allows the feature to be used in a way that was not originally intended. I will mark this thread as BUG.

While it may be a bug now, it appears that it may not have been a bug at the time the subverse settings were put in place (2016), if I'm reading the announcement @Cynabuns just linked to, dated 2/12/17:

Today Voat pushed an update meant to address three things: Vote manipulation, Archiving Data, and Feature Prep. I will keep this announcement as short as possible.

Vote Manipulation

I have been researching vote farming and brigading for about a month. And honestly, I’m pissed off. What I have found is simply unacceptable. These actions destroy Voat’s credibility and value and will be actively developed against. The following actions have been taken to increase vote integrity:

  • Users no longer earn CCP in Private Subverses (Common farming technique)
  • Users no longer earn CCP in Subverses with Minimum Downvote values greater than zero (Common farming technique)
  • User deleted comments have their positive CCP removed (Common farming technique)

So, prior to February 2017, a sub set to private and/or on with a minimum downvote requirement greater than zero WOULD have allowed anyone to accrue CCP.

Correct?

PeaceSeeker ago

I believe Cyn is just confirming that before February 2017 your original settings would not have caused these problems. Putt's changed would have affected all subverses.

Vindicator ago

Okay, good. So the guy's claim that we "rigged" it is baseless, since the settings were put in place before the Feb '17.

Which makes me realize that this individual (whom we've also documented as operating multiple sock puppets in order to engage in vote manipulation) is paying very close attention to Voat subverse setting capabilities. Makes me wonder if he was involved in vote farming subverses prior to the change.

SearchVoatBot ago

This comment was linked from this v/pizzagate comment by @ESOTERICshade.

Posted automatically (#22325) by the SearchVoat.co Cross-Link Bot. You can suppress these notifications by appending a forward-slash(/) to your Voat link. More information here.