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Originally Posted by Caveman Joe  You know, I'm really unconvinced that StumbleXchange is a good idea. The whole point of StumbleUpon is that it's built on recommendations from real human beings - people stumble good stuff, stuff that they like, and an algorithm sends the same page to other people who it thinks might like it. When you introduce a lot of people stumbling random pages simply in order to get stumbles themselves, you're bound to have an adverse effect on the system as a whole, and on your own reputation within that system.
Check the reviews of StumbleXchange: StumbleUpon » stumbleXchange :: Exchange Stumbles to P...
As one reviewer summed up in just three words: "Feeding on itself." |
Good point.
But keep in mind, StumbleXchange started because of threads like this one -- where people were exchanging stumbles. The WebMaster of StumbleXChange makes it clear that users shouldn't stumble sites they don't like, and there is even an option where users can vote to have a particular site banned. The Webmaster also says he is working to keep spammy sites out.
Apparently, a stumble-exchange thread (like this one) on another forum got so big that the users could no longer keep track of which sites they'd looked at and which they hadn't (until they went back to refresh their memory) -- that's why StumbleXchange was created. It was supposed to be tracking software to make sure people were reciprocating time spent reviewing (with the option of stumbling at their discretion).
I think the site could potentially be used in accordance with StumbleUpon's TOS (and apparently, SU says they are okay with the site for now), but the natural human tenendecy would be to abuse it. So I agree with you -- I'm not entirely convinced it's a good idea.
There is a fine line between inviting someone to review your site and exchanging stumbles blindly, and an argument could be made that StumbleXchange has crossed that line. If the content within SU becomes too spammy, people will stop using SU. And I've got to think that SU will start fighting back, which could hurt anyone who has used the site.