There is a constant issue here at deviantART.

We've given it a name: FairExposure. It is based on the idea that every deviant and deviation should have a fair chance at getting seen and noticed. We actually apply this concept to other aspects of deviantART as well, such as employees, departments, etc. Everyone, everything, deserves FairExposure.

Ranking deviations on deviantART based on raw popularity works, just as popularity works in the rest of the world. However, as some of you may know, there are many problems with popularity as it pertains to 'fairness'. One major issue is that it inherently favors the already popular: That which is popular is more likely to be seen, and thus gain even more popularity.

I have recently launched a new popularity metric on deviantART. It is something I've been working on for some time, and it is the first algorithmic rank metric solution to the problem of FairExposure on dA. This new rank metric does not actually address the problems associated with popularity as I mentioned above. It instead addresses the problem that the previous rank metric (raw favorites count) had other problems.

Raw favorites as a rank metric has had one problem that I felt was really unfair: different styles and types of art appeal to different users on deviantART and those users use the favorites systems in different ways. Thus, comparing the number of favorites on one type of a deviation to another was like comparing apples to oranges, as the saying goes. If anyone does question this assertion, I did quite detailed analysis of the system to prove my assumptions. These analysis actually have given me much more insight into the problem of FairExposure on deviantART and lead me to thoughts about the next set of improvements.

The new popularity metric that was launched yesterday attempts to address this problem of different styles and types of deviations. I'm the first to admit that this new metric is not entirely fair, however I do believe that it is more fair than the raw favorites system that was in place. The new system is still based on favorites, and actually does preserve the monotonic ordering of deviations by favorites within any single category that does not have subcategories.

Addressing the issues of FairExposure by a more fair popularity metric is just one way to move toward the goal of FairExposure on deviantART. There are many ways to approach this. For example, a better search engine, more user friendly browse interface, thumbnails in notes, and a collaborative filtering suggestion system are all forward progress in the pursuit of FairExposure.


Cheers!

-Andrew