Omar Abid

Those days, there was a lot of chatter about Mrbabyman abuse to the digg system.
Yet, it’s not only  Mrbabyman that has this odd behaviour, like digging 82 article in 3 minutes, but all the rest ‘except few’ (exceptions always occurs!) also are heavy diggers and heavy diggers means they digg, but don’t read or or even look at the title.

This happen with me also! The more you digg, the more hits and fans you get. But what I’m sure of, that those guys are using a robot to automate the job.
I have been digging heavly for a while (about 800 digg/day) and I stopped because my mind gone crazy and my hand cannot resist it, so what about people having 2 or 3 years with digg: Breif, it’s a tiny Jave Script robot, I googled but didn’t find one, and as I’m very lazy I just read the Digg API, and Microsoft Robotics haha!

Now it’s obvious to tell that to Digg moderators, because they already knows (read the faq, the digging, burying and promoting section). Kevin also know that they are selling submission and making money by hitting the front page. However made popular and submission that reach the main page are always reviewed by the Digg staff, so only quality things reach the main page.

Mrbabyman is not alone, here’s some of other Digg Power users like MakiMaki and Muhammed Saleem.

Mrbabyman Statics:
Joined: 27 December 2005
Article Dugg: 106,267 (avg : 120/day)
Comment made: 2,052 (avg : 2.2/day)

Msaleem statics:
Joined: 12 September 2005
Article Dugg: 96,178 (avg : 88/day)
Comments made: 1,891 (avg : 1.7/day)

Maki Maki statics:
Joined: 29 March 2007
Article Dugg: 46,668 (avg : 90/day)
Comments made: 320 (avg : 0.6/day)

Can this be real, a man digg 100 article a day, write comments, submit… every day the same job, the same things… just for the good of other people, to give them fresh information and news.
Insanity! I don’t mean Digg is giving bad, fake, useless information but not for free, no one works for free and if some one do, it’s in his spare time, thus he won’t give digg more than 1 hour a day. However Digg power users are doing it like a real job and (they are doing it well :: I say the truth ).  Another proof it’s a job, try and you’ll find those guys every where, on Twitter, Reddit, Stumble Upon, Sphinn… They are always on the top. They also care about their popularity, or why did Mrbabyman response to the public questions (when this article got hot about his fast reading) , if i was on same stiuation, I’ll shut down my screen and to the hell…. Ahhh I’m building a bad reputition before I start !!!

No, digg won’t ban them (and if it did ban some one, that’s because the public revealed its cheating history with digg), Digg is keeping its currrent system because it’s addictive and make it grows faster, Digg also likes money!

Ideas to make a better Digg?
There’s always a way to solve any problem, if you want to stop Digging abuse, you can for example

• Put a Digging limit (1 digg in 30 seconds, 30 digg in a day…)
• Oblige the user to visit the site, thus you can’t digg an article without opening the article source. (Sometimes I get more than 100 digg and less than 20 hits!!!)
• Digg in new page! This will slow the digg process. For example to digg an article you need to open a new page and then digg, open another one and so…
• Change Digg algorithms, good users are good commenters and not good diggingers.
• Many other ways

Disclaimer ::
My English is bad, so don’t tell me “English isn’t your mother language”.
I think (I’m sure) they are using robots, but I still just think, I don’t accuse them, they may don’t use, or it don’t exists
I think digg wants to addict people to it, I just think, but I don’t accuse
If someone think that I’m accusing him or hiting his reputition, simply leave a comment
The statics are from digg, the average are approximations 
Here’s my digg profile