I wonder if it would have gotten a better reception if it was "RelatedStoriesBot" instead of "DupDetector".
I used it as a way to find more comments on a topic, and liked it pretty well for that. Of course, I liked it when RiderOfGiraffes was posting them as well; although I wondered how he was able to actually read any of the stories because he seemed to be everywhere with dupe reports.
I had hoped that the DupDetector would give me more time to read stories, but I found two things:
1. There were many, many more dupes being found than I expected. Checking the robot's output before confirming the posting took about the same amount of time as it used to take finding fewer, but doing it by hand. Fully automating it would only take a little more work, and maybe I'd then get the time back.
2. I was reading a bit more, but I found that the additional material wasn't interesting. I was probably already reading everything I found useful, interesting, instructive, or engaging. I'm working on a script to help me with that as well.
The problem I'm finding is the sheer volume, and most of it is repeats, politics, repeats, TSA, repeats, wikileaks, repeats, Assange, repeats, etc. The proportion of material with deep technical content is much less than I remember. Consider - as I write this anything older than 40 minutes old has already fallen off the "newest" page. At that pace it can't all be worth reading.
It's suggested that newcomers read the "news" page, and perhaps the "over" page so they get enculturated with what this site is about. Similarly, it's suggested that older hands inhabit the "newest" page so we can vote up those things that deserve it, and flag the inappropriate.
But I can't keep up with "newest" any more, and much of what I would find interesting is vanishing before I can find it. Searching deeper will find it sometimes, but the 'bots were intended to help.
So I'm working on trying to help, working on trying to find the good stuff (by some definition), and working on adding value.
So, for what it's worth, that's what I think. I hope it sparks off some interesting or useful thoughts.
I like the bot (I thought it was you) and I think it would work if the OP deletes the post. It would be up to them, as it probably should be because, as the PG Essay kerfuffle earlier showed, sometimes posts should be seen again. I hope you have time to give some details on the bot itself. In my opinion DupDetector should live on.
I used it as a way to find more comments on a topic, and liked it pretty well for that. Of course, I liked it when RiderOfGiraffes was posting them as well; although I wondered how he was able to actually read any of the stories because he seemed to be everywhere with dupe reports.