Do you mean for MetaFilter or MetaChat?

Yeah, sure, Ok. I think.

BTW: the "figure of merit" for the sort comparison can be anything, so this generalizes to any-old-order for sorting the display. The figure of merit code would be kept in a lookup table and users could submit proposals (or even code?) to the PowersThatBeMattorDodgy.

ADMINISTRATOR, PLEASE HOPE ME!

this is not tuesday or kitten day or a hamburger today
≡ Click to see image ≡

Or we could use 'ORDER BY' on the date-time field of the Comment table. This would free up the lookup table allowing us to use it to store pictures of puppies. Taking this idea to the next logical step, why not have three lookup tables, one for puppies, one for kittens, and one for big purty bunny-wabbits? As we all know, modern databases allow some form of linking between tables, so why not use this to form a distributed grid of puppy-kitten-wabbit links? The way I envisage it is that we'd use a feature of SQL (which stands for Standardisationalised Questioning Links) to put several checkboxes on the screen, at least one of which would have the poster's name next to it. Now, the important part is that if the user clicks on anything but the checkbox with their name, either the puppy-kitten-bunny links appear, or their original post, but not both. The only problem that I envisage is that, whilst modern databases allow the storage of upwards of 640Megabites of storage, modern computers are based on 8-bit technology (sort of like the Atari 2600, but with a keyboard). This means that we're going to have to limit future comments to 5 characters. That allows the other 3 bits to store the puppy-kitten-bunny on/off switches.

warbaby, I'm not 100% sure, but I think you used to be my project manager. Do you regularly use the phrase 'fail forward'?

Also, I second the idea of eating Cleveland.

oy, you guys have not figured out the hole pony ride thing here.
you take it out of the stable to groom or clean or teach it to trot
not stare at it until it grows wings

geez, kids these days
make it so we can break it

veedubya, I am neither your father nor all men.

This "fail forward," it vibrates? Does this mean the future tense of crash, burn, or corkscrew in?

Or does it mean that we already blew it but won't admit it until next month?

warbaby, we must meet to discuss this. With your brains, and my looks, we cannot fail to set the world alight!

For the meeting, wear a cloak. And a hat. I'll be sporting a bushy, but patently false, moustache. You may do so too, but don't feel under any obligation. Particularly if it would clash with your shoes.

For reference, I'm being bugged by the black-ops section of the CIA, so consider everything we tell each other to be passing over an unencrypted channel. Will you be bringing your copy of The Catcher In The Rye, or shall I bring mine?