this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023
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I wondered the same. There are "Hot" and "Active" categories on the front page but I'm not sure how they work. Perhaps commenting pushes a post further up the "Active" feed?
This is my impression too. I see day-old posts with new comments on refresh, so I'm assuming you're right. Maybe algorithm isn't the right word, but you get what I mean.
It is in fact an algorithm because it's choosing what posts to put in front of you based on multiple criteria (time since it was posted, votes/number of comments/time since last comment). They are relatively transparent and well documented criteria, though.
However, it's not a personalized feed based on your interests and unsolicited data collection, which is what people sometimes mean when they say "the algorithm."
It's not just a personalized feed, it's also that the algorithms of commercial social media are created to keep you engaged for as long as possible, so you see more ads.
Turns out that people are more engaged with outrage than puppies, so the feed can easily become a super negative thing full of false information, which affects the person viewing and eventually the whole of society. E.g. I am certain that the fact that youtube's algorithm so easily takes you into the conspiracy territory has caused a lot of people to end up on the fringes of society, causing shit like storming of the Capitol.
https://join-lemmy.org/docs/contributors/07-ranking-algo.html
That's very interesting, thank you!