As I stated on @mynameisbrian's post:
I honestly don't see the point of this "experiment." We already know how non-whale voting is affected when whales don't vote. We know in theory and in actuality.
The only purpose that this "experiment" could serve is where the non-whale votes are going. However, given the amount of automation - largely due to past rewards history of users and the build-up of their followings - we have a very good approximation of where the bulk of the votes will go. And unless the "experiment" is run on a test platform that excludes/mitigates such voting, there's no way to accurately gauge active user interests.
There are several other issues with this "experiment" that will skew any results, including the fact that the "counter" voting is completely arbitrary - regarding both the weight of the votes and the accounts being voted on.
So, what we're left with is: GIGO.
The only thing we'll know for sure about this "experiment" is that many users will be upset about the arbitrary flagging. But we already knew about this as well.
If we want a "fairer" distribution of influence/rewards, the first thing that can be done - that actually had widespread support - is to adjust the n^2 rewards curve...which has been excluded in the next hard fork. Instead, the dev team has decided to plow ahead with more contentious changes. This "experiment" really serves no purpose and will only result in more of the same wrong-headed thinking, in my opinion.
I think most/all of the people who are doing the experiment are in favor of changing n^2 to a more linear function.
That's irrelevant to any of the points I made. This "experiment" will provide no valuable data. It will only irritate users - mostly the ones receiving the flags. We don't need to run a test to figure that out.
If the whales who are still upvoting stop upvoting with their full stake, then there will be no downvotes.
I disagree.
You must not have seen the trending page today.
The experiment has not been fully running for 24 hours yet.
[Edit] no downvotes as a result of the experiment.
There are posts on the trending page with whale votes from today.
Yes, I know / agree. It will probably take at least 24 hours to get to the point that enough whales either stop voting, or are countered.
On a related note - I'm going to conduct my own experiment.
Will there be zero communication between you, your scientists and the experimentees prior to said experiment? If so, it just may be the perfect shitstorm. Hahaha ;)
cue @mynameisbrian to collect this thought for new comic idea
There will be no details. I might let everyone know when it concludes. And just so everyone is aware - my reasons for doing this are subjective and my criteria is completely arbitrary.
Lol! Sounds promising.
Satire rules!