I must have been living under a rock because I hadn't heard of "Warnock's dilemma" :) A quick google search later and I discovered not only the nature of the dilemma- what does it mean when no-one responds to your post, but also that the "Warnock" in question is a Perl hacker! I think this is the post from where the phenomenom was named.

--
Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is. -Margaret Mitchell

I think this is the post from where the phenomenom was named.

That link no longer works. The post can now be found at http://nntp.x.perl.org/group/perl.bootstrap/1127.

Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }

Has the root node been frontpaged?

Once a node reaches the Monastery Gates, the score gets greatly increased. This also has the same effect on the replies to the root node. The distribution of 'High rep' becomes skewed by dint of its mere presence on the front page - just because it's high rep does not necessarily imply good work.

For those who don't know, frontpaging is something that any friar or above can do, if they think that a node is of sufficient quality or interest. Also note: you cannot frontpage your own nodes.

Worth noting here is that the power to approve as well as frontpage your own nodes has only been removed recently.

Makeshifts last the longest.