Read My Lips - the blog

Hmmm, now most people would agree with your logic. I however am psychotic and have to dis-agree.

Let me explain: For this example, I'll use your 1359 unique links.

Me: I copy your source code and put the entire 1359 links on my blog. It wouldn't matter if they were in a single post, or 1359 separate posts.

You: In the ecosystem, you would have only added a single unique link from my blog to yours (technically you would have added nothing because you are on my blogroll). While each of the 1359 links are unique. The ecosystem now only counts inbound unique url's - Of which I have only one. ;)

Net result: You are still A Large Mammal :-D

The first time I posted this it wound up a few posts down. You might want to delete that one Tiger. ;)

Posted by: Psycho Dad at November 4, 2003 06:56 PM

HEY--No fair! Why couldn't ya have done those to MY site...? ;-)

You have a point, though...

--TwoDragons

Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at November 4, 2003 07:06 PM

Okay, now you're just trying to scare me. Rampant power does that.
But it's strangely attractive, too... hmmm. Is this how Dr. Evil got his start?

Posted by: LeeAnn at November 4, 2003 08:34 PM

Psycho Dad, huh? Each link counts in the Ecosystem as an inbound link, and moves you up the Ecosystem. Unique links just shows how many different sites have linked you. Fr'instance;
total inbound links: 81
unique links: 66

"81" is where I would be in the Ecosystem, not "66". If Glenn Reynolds has 1,200 bloggers linking to him 2,100 times on their front pages, his ranking is determined by the number "2,100", and Tiger would get an additional 1,359 "points" in the Ecosystem if you put his post onto your blog.

Unless I'm wrong, of course. :)

Posted by: Tuning Spork at November 4, 2003 08:40 PM

One would think it would make you move up, but neither Roxette Bunny's, nor Tiger's 39 pings to my site caused me to go up in the Blogsphere. In fact, I DROPPED 3 places.

Still haven't figured out how that works.

Posted by: John at November 4, 2003 08:43 PM

Well, John, sometimes the Ecosystem takes awhile to catch all the new links. Also links drop off the front page of blogs and are no longer counted. I actually remember a time when a post that had several links to my blog disappeared one morning and I actually dropped down a whole species. I checked your stats and my 39 links are not yet showing. There are too many of RB's for me to determine if her 39 are there yet either.

By the way, for the record, I am not knocking Roxette Bunny's post, as I have been the recipient of such type of linky love in the past myself. I suggest that such posts, if done in moderation, are a fine display of admiration and/or affection of one blogger for another.

Posted by: Tiger at November 4, 2003 09:47 PM

The Bear changed the way the ecosystem counts links....any link to a blog in excess of one doesn't count as a "unique link". Every link to an individual post does count as a unique link, therefore someone posting the above would add that many links to Tiger's ratings.....

Posted by: Susie at November 4, 2003 11:53 PM

Actually, to expand on Susie's comment: "every link to an individual post" THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN LINKED by that particular blogger will count.

So, if you have 1359 entries and I go and link them all, then yes, you would have 1359 unique links. But if I just link your site 1359 times, NO, you will NOT go up because TTLB is tired of people abusing his system.

Posted by: serenity at November 5, 2003 12:08 AM

Tiger is right, of course, that the Ecosystem survives based on goodwill. But blatant overlinkage isn't really that much of a threat, because to be blunt, if somebody tries it, I'll ban them from the Ecosystem. (I've only had to do this once, and believe it or not, the blog was banned because they were overlinking to *me*, and had no contact info with which I could ask them to stop).

Inevitably, someone will probably start up temporary weblogs which exist for the sole purpose of link-generation. (I have my suspicions that I know some that already exist, but it's impossible to prove, of course). But if that starts to happen on a grand scale, I (and the other similar list-providers) will just have to come up with more restrictive validation for weblogs. It's a pain, but I can already think of a few methods to stop massive abuse of that kind...

-NZB

Posted by: N.Z. Bear at November 8, 2003 01:53 PM

This is all very interesting, but the question I have is why The Ecosystem is such a big deal in the first place (and I ask that while freely admitting that I often check my own pitiful ranking therein). I mean, with some estimates counting a million or more active blogs, why is a listing with 5,000 considered to be so important?

It's a rhetorical question. I'd love to stay and listen to your thoughts, but I need to go check my ranking.

Posted by: Eric at November 8, 2003 09:31 PM

Comrade Tiger, very interesting post. Pliz tell us, how long haff you been working with Trotskyite subversives at so-called League of Liberals?

Do not deny it, Comrade.

This is their party line precisely. The NKVD has caught up with you.

Posted by: The Commissar at November 30, 2003 10:35 PM