Hi all,
I've spent the last few weeks building and training a network of computers to connect to
Hacker News, upvote random stories, commenting now and then, tricking the system into think they're real, whatever. I now have 200 computers on this network--a total of 200 upvotes, enough to get your link to the top of HN. Don't worry about it seeming suspicious; I have my own algorithm to beat this.
I'm thinking of starting a low-key service where you can submit a link and send Bitcoin to an address. As you send Bitcoin to the address, my network will upvote your link based on how many votes you've paid for. Which also means, you won't have to buy all 200 upvotes.
I'll also charge for how
fast you want the votes to come in (e.g. seven votes in a minute will get you on the frontpage already, but won't guarantee that it'll stay), because faster votes add suspicion to my network. But remember that either way, this will only push you to the front page. You still have to gain traction yourself. If your link is simply uninteresting, the biggest voting ring in the world couldn't save you (and indeed it won't do you much good to be on the front page anyway).
Here's my question: how much would you pay for this? I'm thinking of charging 0.125 BTC for 50 upvotes, so 0.5 BTC for the full 200. Too much? (Too little?)
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More InformationWhat would this be good for?The best use case for this is probably "Show HN" posts. People on HN are smarter than the average audience, but they'll still upvote something if it's nice, shiny, and SV-startup-like. Being on the front page of HN will put a lot of eyes on your startup/product, and you'll be able to tell if you've got a good one or not.
; I'll write more later
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