Sheep
The "most popular" link in the image challenge ensures that entries which got early votes continue to stay at the top because many people just look at that page. The lack of such on QOTW is a fairer system.
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Thu 6 Nov 2008, 9:06, 3 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

It's kind of like
Waterstones' top 10 books... they stay in the top 10 for ages, because some people only notice new books if they are in the top 10... and so the cycle continues.

I really miss the /all page on QOTW, I just don't have time to wade through all of the entries so I find myself waiting for the 'Best' page on Thursdays instead.

I guess there are three ways to do it:

1) Keep it the way it is on /board, with a running popular page (I tend not to add votes to items already on this page unless I really, really like them, I don't know how others do it)

2) Scrap /popular altogether. This is a stupid idea, it means wading through hundreds of posts, many of which are mediocre.

3) Use some complex weighting algorithm so that votes obtained via the 'popular' page count for less than votes obtained through the standard /board. This way truly great posts gathering hundreds of votes stay on the popular board, truly great new posts quickly make their way onto the popular board. Everyone is happy (except the coders who would have to implement this idea).
( chart cat has an itch, Fri 14 Nov 2008, 6:52, Reply)

I'm with 1 above for QOTW
I only tend to click the pics I really like on the Popular page on the Image Comp. I'd like to think this is how most people work - noone just clicks all of them do they?

However, because I don't frequent /board much or trawl through the other pages to find good entries, I'm just endorsing what other people find cool.

I already use Friends Activity on QOTW which highlights the posts my Friends like - I'll click something if I find it funny/emotive but it's already been 'recommended' by someone, as it were.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only one that mainly clicks popular/recommended posts in either forum - the system is there to be used - but it'd be useful to have a Popular page in QOTW.

What a fucking long-winded way of putting it :)
( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Sat 15 Nov 2008, 7:32, Reply)

Has this already been tried out?
I think some time ago 'popular' was removed from the image challenge, but then put back as an option so you saw latest by default but could see the popular ones.

Or maybe I'm getting muddled with QOTW
( thistle, Wed 26 Nov 2008, 20:08, Reply)