Why doesn't PrusaPrinters have a "Popular" sort for models?  

RE: Why doesn't PrusaPrinters have a "Popular" sort for models?

Sorry for asking but how do you define popular if it isn't most viewed, most liked or most downloaded ?

RE: Why doesn't PrusaPrinters have a "Popular" sort for models?

By the number of likes or downloads?  This would be a good feature.

RE: Why doesn't PrusaPrinters have a "Popular" sort for models?

I guess I'm missing something...

RE: Why doesn't PrusaPrinters have a "Popular" sort for models?

Popular, most downloaded and the rest are examples of social media preferences - they are inherently self sustaining and so more or less useless; because they are popular they are presented at the top of the list so they are seen by most so they become more likely to be chosen, so reinforcing the preference in a meaningless loop.

The basic problem is that there are thousands of useful designs on all of the 3D sites that are almost impossible to find while there are a few that come up every time no matter how you compose your search.

The problem is inherent to any similar user-contributed catalogue.

When new, with only a few dozen entries, everything is easy to find and users are reluctant to provide full metadata; it's too much apparently pointless effort. So the programmers make it easy to post with minimal data and offer a tagging system for those who want it.

This is fine for up to a few thousand entries but beyond 10k or so it breaks down, a more detailed, formally structured, metadata set is needed but there are already thousands of poorly described entries in the system - does it make financial sense for the catalogue host  to hire someone for a few years to go through the old entries and re-enter them?

What do you do about the object spammer who reinvents the cube and then ticks every single category?

His friend who designs one object and then reposts it 300 times each personalised with a different name?

Or the talented designer who doesn't know how to describe her object?

Example: a popular model of fridge is frequently damaged by coyotes throwing them at roadrunners, many people need to replace the same part; different designers describe it in their own way:

1, Acme FA1 mk 4c(2013) part no. 1234 - by the fridge engineer

2, Coolit door knob - by the person who hasn't crawled round the back to read the ID plate

3, Mandalorian fridge part - by the fan who decided on a decorative replacement

While the first is strictly the best definition most owners of damaged fridges won't know the manufacturer's part list and designer may search for "Old Acme red latch" which will not find any of the above and so yet another version of the same part is designed and added to the catalogue.

And the next searches are done in German, then in beginner's English by a Tamil speaker...

I confess I don't know the answer, perhaps we need some sort of Wiki format so visitors who do find an object are able to refine the description and perhaps add a review so that this huge resource of design talent is not lost in an impenetrable heap.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't answer your question; sorry,

RE: Why doesn't PrusaPrinters have a "Popular" sort for models?

@yveske

It is probably hard to find on the browser.  I did not see it at first myself.