Top Scoring and Merging

So I’ve noticed that when old images with tonnes of up votes get updated (usually meaning an up-scaled version is posted), they immediately jump into the 3-Day Top Scoring list. Is this intentional? I always thought the point of that list was to showcase new images that have gained votes more rapidly than any other. Allowing images that are about a year old to jump into that list seems to kinda go against that, and seems a bit unfair to any new uploads that have only had 3 actual days on this site.
 
In the image I linked, BigMax noted that there was a way to merge images backward so that they would retain their original post date. Why isn’t this used more often when dealing with image merges (especially when the “new” version of the image is just an up-scaled version of the old one)?
 
I hope this isn’t too silly of a thing to ask about, but we began discussing it in an image’s comment section, and that seemed like kinda an inappropriate venue. (Especially considering how no mods were subscribed to the thread, AFAIK.) So I decided to bring it to the forums.

“BigMax noted that there was a way to merge images backward”
 
This is actually extremely hacky and leads to database issues. Issues that can lead to the fun-fun multiple hour downtimes we have every few weeks.
 
In this particular case I’ve had strong words with the uploader/merger about it, and it should realistically by an uncommon occurrence.

@The Smiling Pony  
>”This is actually extremely hacky and leads to database issues.”  
Oh, jeeze. Well then thats not worth it.
 
>”…it should realistically be an uncommon occurrence.”  
So does that mean there’s a way around having to do the above hacks? (Or are we stuck with this behavior because the fix would cause more trouble than it’s worth?)

@Exedrus  
We can merge images backwards with our dupe tools, but changing the files themselves is another thing and tends to be a lot of FUN! for everyone.

@liamwhite1  
Ah, I see!  
Good to hear it doesn’t need hacks.  
Thanks TSP and LiamWhite1 for clarifying!

>Looks at current 3 Day Top Scoring  
>5 of the top 10 are at least 20 days old.  
Mistakes were made? XD

Yeah, it’s still happening. Is it because there is no other way to do this? Because the constant bumps of old images is annoying and could also give people ideas like posting lower res simply to be able to be bumped later and get more faves.

@LupusGrey  
Lower res always goes into higher res during dupe handling, provided it’s not just an upscale.

@liamwhite1  

 
Yeah, we are aware of that. But that wasn’t the question nor is it the issue we are talking about. Why are they not merged backwards? Is it because it cannot be done and in that case, why not?

@LupusGrey  
Because due to our current setup, replacing the underlying image files to contain the higher resolution images is tricky and often breaks in unexpected ways.
 
Merging backwards using our dupe tools is very much possible and we do it all the time, for identical or lower resolution duplicates. It does not change the file on either image.

Well that is unfortunate. But thanks for the answer, now we know.
 
Maybe it would be better to hold off with the resolution updates until a better solution is found. But of course that is coming from someone who believes that the fuss it causes with top rated list and bumping is not worth a higher resolution picture of an old image. Others might think the other way around.

@LupusGrey  
I think the top scoring list is overrated anyways, and have a related images feature in the works that enables more relevant casual browsing.

@LupusGrey  
It’s honestly not that big of a deal, they’ll be up for only 3 days then people will forget about it completely.
 
I hardly even look at the top scoring. Better to just browse what’s new in a tag.

I do look at new images in certain tags and I have a good watch list, but they get bumped there as well. Maybe that’s why I’m so annoyed by this because it affects all the browsing options I use.
 
Of course it’s worse for the top scoring list because they stay there for three days. But if a new system fixes it, then great.

Maybe add a field to each image counting the times it has been merged or the original upload date and incorporate the information into the algorithm for finding top scorers.

@Background Pony #1A04  
Personally, I’d rather they just add a field that keeps track of the date of the earliest upload. But that’s mostly because I’d want that sort of info if I ever wanted to do some data mining on this site, which is far from a priority for the devs.

@liamwhite1  
I swore this was a thing in the beginning?

@Background Pony #4CF2  
It was. But it soon had to be removed because it was too stressful on the database (okay, who decided that MongoDB was a search engine *glares angrily at clover*), and didn’t produce exactly great results. My ElasticSearch-based solution works reasonably well but has several edge cases that it doesn’t handle too well:
 
-> when an image has too many tags or faves it causes Elastic to raise a search processing error  
-> it doesn’t always produce very good results for extremely unique images

@liamwhite1  
I knew I wasn’t crazy.  
And yeah, now I remember it being random as hell…
 
I’d enjoy seeing it again and made better. Will it follow filter/spoiler rules?

@Background Pony #4CF2  
Yes.

@liamwhite1  
Cool.

@LupusGrey
 
As a massive re-uploader (I cause a lot of the fluctuation in the 3-day scoring, unfortunately), the entire point of mining for old images is because they’ve been dealt an unfair hand. They haven’t been appreciated at their full res glory, and for an art website, that’s pretty critical. Blocking this system would be extraordinarily unfair to said art.

@And Brother I Hurt People  
I’d kinda disagree with what you’re saying. I’m not saying that higher-res versions shouldn’t be uploaded, but, from what I’ve seen, most lower-res versions do justice to the concept/content of the images. Letting a higher res version get thrown on the front page, while also allowing them to adsorb all the upvotes from the old image is kinda like letting an image get twice as much visibility (and that’s ignoring how it might jump into the Top-Scoring Box).
 
It’s also worth noting that most images that are released publicly as low-res versions, tend to be done by fairly talented artists (since the higher res versions are usually rewards for their subscribers). This mean that these images tend to already garner a tonne of up-votes/faves. They’re not by under-discovered artists by any stretch of the imagination, so do they really need more exposure?

@Exedrus  
I think you’re talking about Patreon or something generally.
 
I have no problems with higher res reposts most of the time, I get annoyed if it’s a certain subject matter, or done over and over again, but in the end, it’s harmless.

@Exedrus  
That’s only for artists who are heavily into Patreon and such.
 
You also gotta take into account versions uploaded from tumblr/FA that have dumb size limits, and quite a few reuploads might be needed if they have a DA/dropbox to put their stuff in.