Selling service to get your link on front page of Hacker News, not kidding.

[hnthrowaway]

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 Information

What 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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[9inety7even]

You need to show proof that your service works, because I have a lot more faith in pg than in you. If it turns out that you actually can get something to the front page though, it's worth a lot more than .5BTC imho.

[hnthrowaway]

You need to show proof that your service works, because I have a lot more faith in pg than in you. If it turns out that you actually can get something to the front page though, it's worth a lot more than .5BTC imho.

Not sure how I'd prove this publicly (nor is it something I'd like "out there"). PM me and I can send a few upvotes your way.

It's got nothing to do with pg, really. Not sure how anyone would stop a voting ring. Most people get caught for doing stupid shit, like upvoting one link 50 times in a minute or using accounts that have no activity at all except upvoting that one link. My servers are constantly requesting the front page, pretending to read comments, upvoting links, and just generally acting like regular users. When I feel like commenting on HN, I query my main server, which picks a random account to use, so over time most of them seem fairly real. About half of them submit links too.

One thing I'm scared of is that the accounts are all fairly new, so that could be a way of filtering/catching them. But they're not that new, and in any case it's not like I'm using them all at once. Thirty votes is usually enough to get you on the front page without raising suspicion because as long as your link is mildly interesting, being on the frontpage has this compound effect, and you'll get other upvotes that get mixed in with mine.

Back to my question though - how much would you pay?

Edit: Also, it's almost zero risk for the buyer. The payment system works so that my servers will upvote your link automatically as you send money to an address. You can buy a few votes, watch it go up, then buy more.

[9inety7even]

Actually, I think pg has a lot to do with it, seeing as it's his algorithm that prevents things like this. If your system really works like you say it does, then I'm sure it's possible that it could get a story to the front page.

I'm not interested in the service right now, so I'm not sure how much I would be willing to pay, sorry.

[Sindelar1938]

If this works, this is worth considerably more than 0.5 btc

Not limited to btc world eithr

[IamRichard]

If this works, this is worth considerably more than 0.5 btc

Not limited to btc world eithr

I mean its not that hard to make, reddit is much harder to get upvotes on and botting on their is done reasonably well by some people.

[9inety7even]

I mean its not that hard to make, reddit is much harder to get upvotes on and botting on their is done reasonably well by some people.

That's not true, getting on the front page of HN is worth a considerable amount more than the front page of reddit. And HN has more complex algorithms for detecting things like this.

[IamRichard]

I mean its not that hard to make, reddit is much harder to get upvotes on and botting on their is done reasonably well by some people.

That's not true, getting on the front page of HN is worth a considerable amount more than the front page of reddit. And HN has more complex algorithms for detecting things like this.

Are you making an assumption or have you tested botting on both? Because I have tested many platforms and reddit is stronkkkkkk

[robogrowth]

HN has a very complex algorithm... I have a group of people I have been asking to upvote our posts on HN for awhile.  they used to be able to go to /newest and just upvote.. boom.. now their votes don't even show up anymore. 

[9inety7even]

I mean its not that hard to make, reddit is much harder to get upvotes on and botting on their is done reasonably well by some people.

That's not true, getting on the front page of HN is worth a considerable amount more than the front page of reddit. And HN has more complex algorithms for detecting things like this.

Are you making an assumption or have you tested botting on both? Because I have tested many platforms and reddit is stronkkkkkk

I've actually found exactly the opposite, throw some reddit accounts behind proxies and upvote away, it seems to be fairly easy.

[IamRichard]

I mean its not that hard to make, reddit is much harder to get upvotes on and botting on their is done reasonably well by some people.

That's not true, getting on the front page of HN is worth a considerable amount more than the front page of reddit. And HN has more complex algorithms for detecting things like this.

Are you making an assumption or have you tested botting on both? Because I have tested many platforms and reddit is stronkkkkkk

I've actually found exactly the opposite, throw some reddit accounts behind proxies and upvote away, it seems to be fairly easy.

If HN is harder than Reddit, it would be pretty tough to make a bot. They probably look at Geo-IPs and blacklist datacenters. Can test by using private proxies, VMware and see if VPNs work.

Maybe I am wrong, Ill have to look into it, thanks for the tip.

[TheNewAnon135246]

I think the best thing for OP to do is upvote one of his own stories to the frontpage. That way you can prove your system and convince people to use your service.

[heyholetsgo]

OP please send me a PM!

[heyholetsgo]

Push, is there anybody else who can do that?

[bitjoint]

Push, is there anybody else who can do that?

Sure, you can do it yourself... just build something people reaaaaally like