Karma Level

[libertate]

I just clicked on a Good/Bad link, then clicked on it again. It said "Your existing rating for the poster have been updated".

There is a data field for each user from each user?! If so, how does it grow with each additional user, or does it get create only if there is a vote?

[TC]

why is the sky blue? why do a zebra's stripes go vertically? why does jumbo shrimp not mean what it says?

we cannot reveal all of our secrets. and

[libertate]

why is the sky blue?

Sunlight is made up of all the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The gas molecules in the atmosphere interact with the sunlight before the light reaches our eyes.

The gas molecules in the atmosphere scatter the higher-energy (high frequency) blue portion of the sunlight more than they scatter the lower-energy red portion of the sunlight (this is called Raleigh scattering, named for the physicist Lord John Rayleigh). The Sun appears reddish-yellow and the sky surrounding the Sun is colored by the scattered blue waves.

why do a zebra's stripes go vertically?

Zebras are vertically striped in front, horizontally on the back legs, and diagonally on the rump and hind flanks. The vertical stripes aid the zebra to hide from predators in tall vertical grass and lightly forested areas.

why does jumbo shrimp not mean what it says?

Although this is more in the shrimp psychology arena, most shrimps when they say something and do not mean it, are trying to convince you that they are grander then life.

Now then... Can I get my DB answer?

[dhn]

Now, that deserved a good rating.

We mortals don't really know the answer as the Karma system is not yet in CVS.
IIRC, the ratings a stored per user who rated, users who receives the rating of course and the topic_id. So I'd say the calculation occurs when you click on the link. No cron job.

[TC]

@liberate - now that was funny. especially the way you took that last part.

well done! you got a 'good' from me for that intelligent answer.

as for the zebra, wouldn't it depend upon how you view the legs? 8)

[Adam Atlas]

Liberate, read the rules of database normalization and everything will make sense.

[dhn]

Liberate, read the rules of database normalization and everything will make sense.

Oh, I had to write a whole exam about this. Pretty interesting actually, and once one adjusts to it and sees the effects, one automatically does his tables this way (while mysql is still a PITA thanks to missing foreign keys).

[psoTFX]

Actually while normalisation is certainly something you should do your best to practice ... in the real world performance comes first. And sometimes performance benefits come from denormalising the DB.

[beeurd]

Can the user choose to not be rated, or can it be disabled on a per-user basis?

[beeurd]

Ooh, and how about punishing someone for bad behavior by manually setting their Karma to "-5"... Can that be done?

*likes Karma feature*