How is the 'top' status evaluated?

Site Feedback
1

There is this ‘top’ page, where the ‘top (what?)’ topics are listed.

I’m just trying to figure out what makes a topic be listed on the ‘top’ page. Especially, I believe that the criteria for being listed in the ‘top’ should be visible, with it’s current values (counters?) on the page.

From what I can see, the topics on the top page are not sorted on either ‘number of replies’, ‘number of users participating’, nor on ‘number of views’ of the topic, so I take it the criteria for being “in the top” is not any of those.

Then, what is it that makes a topic so interesting as to be listed on the ‘top’ page?

2

That’s a good question, but it’s a bit off-topic for Let’s Encrypt. The ‘top’ status is determined by our forum software, Discourse. I’m not sure what the exact algorithm is.

3

I think it was proportional to posts × likes × K1 + views × K2, or at least it used to be. I think that staff member likes are weighted more, too? It’s really hard to come up with a good algo there, so I’d have to reread the code.