REPOST: The Gurushots Algorithm
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NOTE: This post (The Gurushots Algorithm) was originally written in August 2018. It is being reposted again due to a system error that deleted the original version.
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I’ve received many emails from people suggesting that the Gurushots algorithm has changed and photos are now getting fewer views. Now, as I’ve said before I don’t have any detailed knowledge of the Gurushots algorithm. But I know a man who does! I’ve spoken to Moolie Puterman (Director of Product at GuruShots) who has confirmed everything I’ve written here.
Firstly, it’s important to remember that the Gurushots algorithm is designed to give every image an equal opportunity to get voted on.
Whether you put a photo at the beginning or the end doesn’t really matter in relation to the number of views in the challenge. Note: I am talking about voting views. The Gurushots algorithm does not and can not control who VOTES on a photo.
The way the Gurushots algorithm works is once you put a photo in the challenge the voting system strives to equal out the views across all photos in the challenge. This means Newly entered photos get exposure (voting views) fast because they have a lot of “catching up” to do.
The maximum views is dynamic and changes as the challenge progresses. Obviously, we can not know the number of views there will be as this is a user-initiated action. Popular challenges will have more views but also more photos, so things are not always straightforward.
If you enter a photo on day one, you will see that you get a lot of views at the beginning and then it will slow down significantly. This is because others who enter later try to equal your amount of views. The maximum amount of views grows dynamically as will the number of views that the photo you put in at the beginning of the challenge.
Once you reach the current top amount of views your exposure will slow down or even stop for a while until the maximum amount has increased and you will be distributed with views according to the change. It is important to understand that no matter what, at the end ALL photos in the challenge will have a similar amount of views (give or take a few and considering exposure bonus times and Boosts).
This mechanism has not changed, it remained this way for a very long time. The only thing that changed recently is the number of players and photos in each challenge, as more people play you reach the level of view faster.
Remember that a voting view is different from a normal view. A voting view is how many times a photo has been viewed on a voting screen in one specific challenge. A normal view (which is displayed for every photo) is simply a count of how many times a photo has been viewed on the entire platform. These views include all challenges that that photo has entered, views on the ranking pages, on the player’s profile etc.
I hope that clears things up for you somewhat.
July 31, 2019 @ 5:13 pm
But is the distribution of players at each level the same at each moment?
If there are less high level players at the begging, it means that there are less points at stake for the same amount of views.
Views for each challenge should be counted as potential points (a view from a guru should count as 9 views, and one from a newbie as one).
August 20, 2019 @ 10:31 am
Thanks Alexis, this is an interesting idea. However, I think it would severely mess with a photo’s performance. For example, a Guru could view a photo (photo A) and not vote for it. Therefore photo A has zero votes. Whereas photo B could have 9 newbies view it, the chances of all 9 newbies not voting for it is slim, and photo B will probably pick up a couple of votes. So, photo B has a big advantage.
August 15, 2021 @ 11:34 pm
This is a bogus response….With each level of grow your vote weight increases. Further, a lot of the BIG GUNS whose votes carry more weight flood into the voting ni the last 15-30 minutes. So, if you entered early, odds are that you are getting less weighted votes, then being locked out in the final 15 minutes when the heavy hitters are casting votes worth 5, 6, 7 or more votes. This is where Guru Shots system is significantly flawed. I’ve seen too many occasions where someone does not even enter the contest till the last hour, deploys a boost, swap and fill and skyrockets up the ladder….meanwhile, many times better photos are not even being seen in the last 15 minutes of a Match.
September 1, 2021 @ 3:27 pm
Sorry for the late reply. Yes and no. Actually, it’s not a straight forward as that as you may have realized. Most images that you see appear in the last minutes have actually been entered earlier in the challenge and earned most of their votes then. Swapping has become a bit of an art and plays a big part in the tactics of the game.
September 21, 2019 @ 3:58 am
Hi,
I’ve just read your GuruShots “guidebook” and it’s very informative. I just started playing the game a week ago and it’s fun.
You have a section about “Boosts” and using the boost button. Is this only for Challenges open to multiple photos and not just a single shot?
I’ve only once played a challenge in which the boost button even appears. It’s not a matter of unlocking or not, the button just isn’t there.
Can you explain?
Thanks.
Catherine
September 21, 2019 @ 4:58 am
Hi Catherine. Yes, you are correct to assume that. Boosts are only available in 4 photo challenges. It’s important to boost the strongest photo, this is usually the one that has the most votes.
Best of luck
Tom
March 12, 2023 @ 2:01 pm
actually boosts are available for 4 photo and 3 photo and 2 photo challenges. single photo challenge does not have boosts
March 13, 2023 @ 12:18 pm
Hi Bejoys,
To clarify boosts are sometimes available in single photo challenges, it’s something the Gurushtots team have been testing.
October 8, 2019 @ 6:39 am
Hi Tom,
Thanks for this info and for your efforts in answering questions from the GS community.
I have noticed that, unlike a month ago, most of the 4 photos challenges are now “locked” as early as 2 days before the end of the challenge. I am not sure if this is an algorithm issue that needs to be fixed, as I have yet to see a GS notice or advice regarding this matter.
I would appreciate reading your feedback on this.
Thanks!
Aqui MS
October 9, 2019 @ 2:35 pm
Well spotted. This was updated earlier this month http://support.gurushots.com/support/solutions/articles/13000058054-locked-challenges The time the challenges locks changes and is no longer fixed like before.
November 12, 2019 @ 11:37 pm
Hi Tom
Just had cataract surgery and now my vision is great, all the photos I posted look over-processed and I hate them!!
I’ve done over 1000 challenges since joining 2 months ago. Wish someone could take a look at my folio and tell me if I should take them down and start again. I don’t want to contact 1000 Gurus for their thoughts….
November 26, 2019 @ 7:24 am
FERNY-> overprocessed and winning…
Even though for a simple photographer, aside your performs you learn a lot about photography, creativity … and processing excess.
Another question why swapping ?
December 6, 2019 @ 1:24 am
Hi, Tom
I’m a big fan of your work, I enter most Challenges that are yours, I made 4 exhibits now, and was selected for Tel Aviv. However I seem to be stuck at Expert, all i need is a Guru Pick… Is this a common block for most people? P.S. I think it would be amazing if you could do an exhibition in Toronto Canada.. ❤ anyway thanks for your beautiful gift you share with the world, its inspiring.
December 25, 2019 @ 1:53 pm
How is it possible to have a photo of it on the same day, we placed up to 10 times more vieuws it?
January 23, 2020 @ 9:51 am
Thank you Tom its help full
best wishes
January 29, 2020 @ 2:11 am
This is so not true – i have a lot of experience on the GuruShots (i have a status of Guru) and i can vouch for my words ( i’m also a professional photographer so i can recognise a good photos) – this is how it actually works: photos placed on the first few days have at least 30 – 40% less votes at the end of the challenge than photos posted on the last day, or even last few hours – that is a fact, and something that you learn first when you start playing. I don’t know how this “algorithm” works, but it surely don’t work as Moolie Puterman is saying. And tested the system. This is what i did several times and it always worked: if i liked the photo which i posted on the beginning of the challenge, i swapped it later (usually few hours before the end of the challenge) with the same photo (i uploaded same photo twice) and gain at least 40% more votes with the one i posted at the end of the challenge. On other occasion i swapped the good quality photo i posted on the beginning with some low quality garbage (just to test the system) and even that one gets much more votes than the one posted on the beginning of the challenge – only i had to use swaps, which i have to purchase – you learn early in the game that you can’t go forward on GuruShots if you don’t spend money (usually you can go as far as Champion for free, if you are lucky ) – and that is a whole point of this “game”, to spend money on extra “swaps”, “boosts” and “keys”, specially now, when they are locking the challenges so you have to have extra keys if you want to enter later in the game. And if you enter at the beginning of the challenge, you have no chance to even get among top 100, no mater how good your photos are. It is rigged in the way that you have to spend a lot of money if you want to eventually win the challenge.
February 1, 2020 @ 8:10 am
Agreed, same level, same experience..the game is so destroyed now that most of those long term challenges are being played in last few hours..a year ago, when I was in top 10 two days before the end, I stayed there or end up in top 20, nowadays from fifth position in last half hour to 40-50
February 11, 2020 @ 7:00 pm
Hi Damir, sorry for the delay in replying
Let me try to clear things up. You have correctly noticed that photos entered at the end of a challenge get more votes (not views). This is because as a consequence of the algorithm the more experienced players have worked out that they don’t need to upload their photos until the end which means they don’t have to spend so long voting to keep their exposure meter topped up. The effect of this means that these experienced players, who are often higher ranked (Masters & Gurus), are all voting at the end of the challenge. Meaning that there are more 8 and 9 point votes being given during that period. So the average vote/view count increases. This is why there is so much movement at the end of the challenges. All this is fits in with the algorithm outlined above.
As for spending money, yes it is an option and will probably speed up your progress. However, I think you’d be surprised how many Gurus have reached that status without spending a cent. However remember, all the bonuses are available for free. So, there is no need to spend money to win.
July 28, 2020 @ 5:32 pm
This seems rather disingenuous and intentionally hiding what is really happening. In your article, you write, “It is important to understand that no matter what, at the end ALL photos in the challenge will have a similar amount of views (give or take a few considering exposure bonus times and Boosts).” This is misleading. The crucial part in that sentence is “give or take a few considering exposure bonus times and Boosts.” However, it is not “a few.” It is an enormous difference in views based on boosts and exposure bonuses. This is the real reason why photos entered at the end perform better than those at the beginning, because one entered at the beginning cannot keep their exposure bonus up at 100 perpetually (we all work and sleep). The whole “views” is also intentionally misleading. Gurushots seems to be intentional playing on an equivocation of the word. Gurushots needs to be clear about views. While in a challenge, the views number listed when viewing a ranking should only show “voting views” from that particular challenge and be labeled such. If they want to show how many eyeballs have been on the photo, that can be done when viewing the photo in the photographers album. The only thing I want to know is the number of voting views it has had in the challenge, that Gurushots doesn’t readily display this, is intentional so that it can continue to mislead about how “all photos get the same number of views” nonsense.
July 28, 2020 @ 6:27 pm
Thanks Caleb, I take on board your point about the sentence in brackets and have updated it to read ‘give or take a few and considering exposure bonus and boosts’
Your thinking behind why photos entered at the end of a challenge getting more views is incorrect though. The real reason photos entered at the end have better results is to do with the ratio of votes per view than the actual views. You can keep track of views to see this in action.
As for your point about Gurushots should display the views per challenge. At the end of the day, Gurushots is a game and everyone plays by the same rules. The team are always open to new suggestions and I know this one has been made before, but they have not implemented it for some reason… at least not at the moment.
July 28, 2020 @ 6:34 pm
Hi Celeb thanks for your comment. I take on board what you say about that sentence and I’ve updated it to read ‘give or take a few and considering exposure bonus times and Boosts’
Your understanding of why photos entered at the end get more votes is incorrect though. The views will be the same, but the vote to view ratio will be higher if you enter late. You can confirm this yourself.
As for the suggestion about voting views, I know the team are always open to new ideas but this is one that they have chosen not to implement. At the end of the day, Gurushots is a game and everyone plays by the same rules.
July 29, 2020 @ 3:17 am
I see your auto correct changed my name from Caleb, to Celeb, happens a lot. Anyway, I appreciate the response and respectful tone. I’m still not convinced by your argument about why photos at the end do better than photos entered earlier. The problem is that Gurushots is less like a game where all the participants know the rules and more like a reality TV show that only pretends to be a fair competition but rigs things behind the scenes. There are many hidden areas where Gurushots can “rig” the outcome to further financial incentives. For example, I’ve never been able to get a clear answer for what the “bonus meter” does. If all photos get the same number of “views” but then the bonus meter gives them more “exposure,” what does this mean? Do they get more “views” or are the views they get “better?” If they are getting more “views” then are photos entered later given credit for a full exposure rating up until that point? In which case late entered photos absolutely will get more “views” and not solely be benefited by more votes per view. Or is a photographer’s bonus meter averaged out so that all of their photos, regardless of the time they entered, given the same number of “views” as the photographer’s other photos based on the average vote meter of that photographer over the course of the competition? However, a different photographer that didn’t enter her first photo until the very end, would potentially have a higher average bonus meter, thus more “views.”
Maybe gurushots is equivocating in what it means by “views” again and a “view” with a high bonus meter is more likely to be “seen” and thus voted upon because it counts “views” for photos in which the viewer never scrolls down far enough (just hypothesizing here). Or maybe the bonus meter means that the “views” it gets are from higher ranked viewers as a “view” from a guru is far more valuable than a “view” from a newbie. So, if gurushotos is playing around with the likelihood that the photo’s “view” will be from either a guru or a newbie, that will make a 9 fold difference. These would allow gurushots to say all photos get the same # of “views” while still given distinct advantages to some. These are just a few examples of how the opaque nature of the voting system and “exposure” component give the platform plenty of room to “game” the system and make this a reality TV show rather than a true competition.
The “boost” is a whole different topic. Clearly, a “boost” gives a photo more “views” and a photo in a 4 photo challenge will NEVER win top photo without having used a “boost.” Also, going back to the start of the argument, a photo entered when the challenge first begins on a longer challenge will never win either, at least how things are currently configured.
I could be completely missing the mark, but that only emphasizes the opaque nature of the platform, as opposed to a true competition with clear rules and modes of play.
April 17, 2020 @ 3:17 am
I agree with much of what you have said, except I’m not so sure the game can’t be won without spending money. I haven’t spent any money on swaps, keys or fills and I have reached Master level and only need one more Guru pick and to win a challenge in order to reach Guru level. I have come extremely close to winning a challenge, but just can’t seem to get it. But, I never actually thought about swapping a photo for the same photo, so I’m going to try that. Thanks for the tip!
April 25, 2020 @ 5:39 pm
HI Rachel, it certainly can be won without spending money as many players have found out (you don’t have to take my word for it you can check in one of the many FB groups). In fact, it sounds like you are getting very close to doing it yourself :D keep it up!
June 27, 2021 @ 12:02 am
So from past one year you are on Masters Level? This totally proves Caleb’s point.
September 26, 2020 @ 9:32 pm
I concur there is no way a photo entered at the beginning of the challenge will win. None zilch nada nyet.
October 11, 2020 @ 2:49 pm
Except the Gurus Top Pick Winner. In fact, an early entry much more likely to win a Gurus Top Pick than a last-minute entry.
March 24, 2020 @ 9:38 am
Unfortunately, the game is really destroyed – GS is supporting cheaters and fraud.
First of all, I have a Guru status, a multiple winner, 200+ top100 ranks etc. and what is happening in the last few months is ridiculous. When I am in the first position, my photos are being deleted (no previous announcement that they are being reported or so) only email that my photo was reported and therefore deleted – but all those photos were along with the rules and the challenge theme as well. When I am writing on support, there is no reaction or some general one like “thanks for reporting I will forward it to our developers” and that is it – if GS has major bugs, they should return invested money and not use people as testers that are not being paid but moreover those players pay to GS to test their code. What is the rule of GS moderators? How it is possible that 1) they are not punishing cheaters but regular players? 2) Why when the first place was reached by some cheater (f.e. Copyright issue) and the account has been deleted the first place is not given to the second person in the rank? Sorry but the game was really good a year ago, but nowadays it sucks.
May 18, 2020 @ 12:21 pm
Hello Sir,
I have a question. How do you get your money prize if you win a challenge in gurushots?
Every challenge has a money prize on bottom right corner. Is this real?
May 18, 2020 @ 1:15 pm
Hi Ahmed. The money you mention, is the value of the prizes.
July 20, 2020 @ 2:47 am
Hello Tom,
Thanks for your GS challenges.. :)
It is possible to have more notified about the discount offer please ? I just receive the discount but I miss the click, so cannot to call back the discount :-( And prices.. 5 swaps for 5 eur it is not so cheap, I think it is little bit expensive. Is there any link for discount offers please , if any ? :)
Thank you
August 15, 2020 @ 10:03 pm
Hi
Another thing that is enoying is not knowing How many photos are on challenge on a given time.
The vote is not secret to the photo owner therefore it would be possibe to make a system that modulates the quality of the vote, preventing that voters vote to photos that have no quality.
October 7, 2020 @ 8:46 pm
The flaw in the game is that you don’t need to ever vote to win. If you join with 15 minutes to go and fill (and boost if it is a 4 image challenge), you will go to the all-star level (unless you have poor images) before the end of the challenge. As more and more people figure this out (and thousands have), the number of votes in a challenge will drop.
I think people who join at the beginning should get some kind of modest advantage in the number of views they get. Maybe an additional view for every half day of the challenge. Or something like that. Right now, as reported above, you can join a 21 day challenge at the beginning, vote, swap, and do all the things to rise to the top and have your efforts come to naught in the last fifteen minutes. I have twice been number one in the last half hour of a challenge and because of the last minute entries, I have not even finished in the top 100.
October 11, 2020 @ 2:47 pm
Hi,
Very few, if any, challenges are won with photos entered in the last 15 minutes. I know it may appear that way, but these are photos that were entered at an earlier time and then swapped back in the last minutes/hours of the challenge. An advantage that earlier participants receive is that they have a much much higher chance of getting a Guru Pick ;)
October 8, 2020 @ 2:25 pm
I have a question about views. Let’s say there are 1000 photos in a contest. I joined late and have seen 500 of them in my initial voting. The ones I have not seen have the maximum number of views. When I next vote, will I see the ones I have already seen again, or will I see the ones I haven’t seen yet, even though they have reached the maximum number of views?
October 11, 2020 @ 2:45 pm
Hi Rick. Firstly the numbers you use are very low. Most challenges have 5000 + players, so you would need to see 2500 to see 50% as you mentioned. How it works is that as more entries are added the maximum number of views increases too. In the time you are looking through those 2500 there will undoubtedly be more photos added and therefore an increase in the maximum view count. So, you’d probably see a mixture of both plus the new entries.
October 13, 2020 @ 4:56 pm
I know the numbers were low. I was using them for illustration. And you mostly answered my question. I guess what I want to know is if exposure bonus (and boost) give a player more views. Because if, at the end, everybody gets viewed the same number of times, there would be no need to vote up your exposure bonus. I thought for a while that maybe exposure bonus just put you higher on the page so that people who don’t scroll through the entire page never actually see your photo. But I was told that the distribution on a page is random.
October 11, 2020 @ 7:42 am
What I’m reading is also my experience – the photos entered near the end of a challenge do better overall than if they are entered at the beginning of a challenge. However, lately, challenges have been locked, so you can’t enter without using a Key (money) when the challenge still has 40+ hours left to go. So much for not using money! Also, How do you get a Guru Pick if you enter the challenge towards the end and after the Guru has made their picks? It seems you have to choose to go for a top position or for a Guru Pick, because it’s nearly impossible to get both.
October 11, 2020 @ 2:40 pm
Hi Diane, you are partly right, in fact, your almost 100% right. Yes entering closer to the end does seem to give an advantage, this is due to the fact the higher-ranked players are voting at that time and therefore you get a better vote to view ratio. You also seem to answer your own question, yes you need to decide if you want to play for a Guru Pick or a high ranking, this is part of the tactics used by the top players. The only thing you say that is slightly incorrect is that you have to pay to keys. Don’t forget keys can be earnt for simply participating in challenges. Gurushots has thousands of Gurus you have risen to that rank without spending anything, so it’s certainly possible to do it without spending money!
September 1, 2021 @ 12:11 pm
Hi Tom, firstly I love your work, something to aspire to.
I have noticed that some of the guru choices are questionable. For example, I am currently in the Sun Blocked challenge, the guru has chosen 5 photographs of the same image. (Dandelion in front of the sun). Surely it would be fairer to choose the best image and then give other topics a vote. There are some amazing photos ( not thinking of mine!) which were ignored for similar images.
I have also seen people post previous guru’s pick being used for consequent challenges, is this against the rules?
I have also seen poorer photos chosen or photos mainly from the top 100 so unless you have received the votes you have little chance of being chosen.
I am blown away by the quality of photographs on the site and look forward to your challenges. I aspire to become better!
Susie.
September 1, 2021 @ 3:20 pm
Hi Susie, thanks for the comment and your kind words about my work.
Firstly, I can’t really comment on what other Gurus pick in their challenges, but what I can say is that they make their picks in the same way you vote. That is they see a page with 200 images and select the worthy shots from the images shown. I imagine that the Guru you are talking about with the dandelions was shown those images over multiple pages. Obviously, they can’t remove a Guru Pick once it has been issued.
Many players check the Guru Picks in a challenge and will then go out and shoot photos that match those picked in a similar style, perhaps this is the case with the dandelions… I also notice that a dandelion is used as the header photo for this challenge. Again players see the header photo and often try to recreate it to catch the Guru’s attention.
I don’t think it’s a case of the better photos being ignored (it could be, but unlikely) I think it’s more a case of the Guru is not shown those photos during his/her voting session. It really comes down to how hard each Guru looks for those great shots – because you are right, they are there!
Guru Picks can be used again and again. It is only if that image wins a challenge (which includes the Guru’s Top Pick Winner) that the image needs to be retired from the game.
I hope that helps
September 1, 2021 @ 8:54 pm
Thank you so much Tom. Yes you have helped, I understand how that can happen. We see (if you pardon the pun) a snapshot and not the work involved.
Looking forward to your future challenges.
Susie
February 17, 2022 @ 11:49 am
In some cases rules should be more specific and clearer. There was a ‘Squares’ challenge recently and 5 guru something like picks did not contain a single square but rectangles or rhomboids.
I feel sorry for the people who missed out because the guru was not strict enough with the application of the rules.
October 16, 2020 @ 7:11 pm
Does exposure bonus give you more views? If not, how does it increase your exposure?
October 27, 2020 @ 11:29 am
I am a guru and has achieved this status some years ago. I have won 3 challenges, but struggle to get GPs. And I have come in 2nd twice and have 9 x top 10s.
Now, the last year or so, it seems that I am getting further and further away from the top of the game, even though I am confident that my pictures are getting better.
It doesn’t matter if I play from the beginning of the challenge or come in late. I can raise to first place, but often ends far away from top 100 when the challenge finishes. I assume this is due to the fact that there are many more players now than a year ago?
What I have noticed is that some gurus who win a lot, can actually have pictures placed lower than mine 24 hours before the end of the challenge, but while my pictures rocket to the bottom theirs seem to stay at the top. I really cannot understand how this difference in behavior works?
Also, I notice a few handsful of gurus that are constantly winning or end up in top 10. Granted, they have great pictures, but in many occassions not always as great as many others. This suggest that there are tricks to the game, even glitches perhaps, that a few has figured out and which works to their advantage. Of course, the more you win, the more free swops is available to you and I suppose you can swop until you find the right picture that gives the highest number of votes. Can you confirm that this is actually the case for those who win a lot? They also swop a lot?
Otherwise, I still love the game and it constantly challenge me to take better pictures.
December 18, 2020 @ 3:54 pm
I have been playing and observing. The numbers are almost as entertaining to me as the game itself. I have experimented and noticed a couple things:
1: If you do not fill your exposure bonus meter, your votes will fall far shy of what you need to compete. This makes sense, but is a bit contrary to what you mentioned. The game “strives” to give all photos equal exposure, however it appears that the real answer is equal exposure multiplied by the bonus modifier, calculated at any given time. This actually makes good sense mathematically, if not for true fair exposure. My experiment resulted in my challenge counting as my one “Premier” achievement for my profile.
2: When submitting multiple photos for a challenge at once (3-4 in my experience,) of roughly equivalent popularity (based on vew:vote ratio,) one photo will usually pull ahead by about 4 times. If you look at the Top Photographers in any given challenge, you will see one photo for everyone that has 2x to 4x the number of votes as the rest. This implies a “total exposure” tally for the photographer as opposed to an individual photo exposure tally. This may be good to level the playing field but still, it doesn’t result in equal exposure for each photo. This appears to be more of a “first up” algorithm for a photographer’s exposure, where the photo with the most votes will always be the first to appear. It also appears that Swapping results in the new photo taking this position as it appears as though it will usually get equivalent exposure to the original #1 spot, which will stop receiving votes.
Regardless, I do thoroughly enjoy the game. I have a few really good photos I like to use a lot in challenges, even though I feel it is sort of “taboo” to keep using the same shots. I hope you forgive me for having to look at the same photos of mine in your challenges!
December 22, 2020 @ 12:35 pm
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February 7, 2021 @ 11:07 am
Hi, Tom
I have a smartphone applicaion colled “GuruShots – My Challanges in TableView”
and there is a term named “Voting Factor”. I haven’t found any information about it.
May 10, 2021 @ 7:54 am
this will probably be the end of me however, in our team we have two Guru’s who are always either 1st or 2nd. They post the same photo’s over and over again, both have 100’s of views and thousands of votes and I am wondering how this helps the rest of the team trying desperately to get to the top to gain more points and freebies and of course get noticed by GS?
May 22, 2021 @ 7:56 am
If you are in a challenge in the 10th half hour before the end of the challenge. In the last five minutes, your ranking will change to 200th. Why is this? I put the picture right after the challenge started and it has remained in the top 20 all the time but in the end the ranking is lost. This is frustrating. This has happened many times.
June 8, 2021 @ 5:46 pm
Tom, Here I have a dumb question. I had submitted many photos to challenges and hoped to be a Top 100 photo to advance my Guru level. I was around top 50 through out the entire challenge period till the end. Unfortunately, it always ended at over 100 position in the last few minutes or seconds. I always wonder how it has happened in the last minute.
August 11, 2021 @ 8:15 pm
Hey Tom –
Thanks for the article. I enjoy GuruShots a lot (just got Guru status this week), although I have my frustrations as well. One thing I think needs to be addressed – we all know that portrait aspect ratio images are already penalized due to the smaller visual display on a desktop/laptop device. However, at least they are randomly distributed on the voting page.
On mobile, however, the portrait aspect images are clustered near the bottom of the voting page. Give that there are 40-50 images per voting page displayed in one vertical list, it is unlikely that most people are scrolling all the way to the bottom to vote on all images. Thus portrait aspect image is double penalized. Not sure why the distribution isn’t the same as it is on desktop… As a long time player, I know not to enter these due to the limitations I am describing. As a portrait photographer, it is disappointing not to be able to enter some of my favorite work.
August 27, 2022 @ 8:30 pm
Hi Tom,
How precise does a photo have to be to the topic? Recently there was a challenge of bees and wasps, but some posted photos of flies. Can they be reported as off topic or will they get the benefit of the doubt? I know everyone in the world can’t know the difference, but sometimes l get the impression that photos are just entered without relation to the topic. Is it only the other participants that can call them out?
September 15, 2022 @ 3:01 pm
Sorry for the delay in replying. It really does depend and each player needs to make their own choice. Obviously, flies are not bees or wasps, and any photos of flies would be off-topic. Having said that things are not always so clear-cut. A challenge called ‘Dramatic Light’ for example, what is dramatic light? everyone will have slightly different opinions. My advice is that if you are sure a photo is off-topic you can report it and, if enough reports are made against that image it will be pulled from the challenge. If you are not sure and think it is borderline, then simply don’t vote for it and move on.
You might find this hard to believe but off-topic photos are a part of all photography competitions, I’ve judged a few and there are always people who submit photos that just don’t match what was asked for, even in prints. The thing with Gurushots is that everyone sees everything.
Best of luck
February 8, 2023 @ 4:01 am
Hi Tom
Here are some interface ideas to save page reloading:
1. Mobile App. You currently show Level Rank on the main Challenge page. You can also show Total Rank next to Level Rank.
2. Mobile App. You can show Total Photo Rank under each photo.
3. Mobile App. You can show Votes to Next Level (similar to Web).
4. Web. You can show Level Rank and Total Rank on the main Challenge page.
Other things can be done to reduce the number of page reloading during the game, especially for Web interface.
February 9, 2023 @ 11:06 am
Thanks, it’s always good to get feedback. I have passed your suggestions on to the team for consideration
February 26, 2023 @ 8:52 pm
Hello. I’ve been playing GS since 2019, and while I reached the Master level in 2020, reaching Guru level seems almost impossible. I’ve noticed the same thing that others have noticed: Entering later increases your chances to win, but decreases the chance to get a GP. You can have the best of both worlds though, by entering early and swapping at the end. Of course, to do that you must buy swaps, the free ones are not nearly enough to do that at every chalange.
February 26, 2023 @ 9:02 pm
If you want to fix the algorithm so that entering a photo later (or swapping later) doesn’t give you an unfair advantage, then just give more exposure to a photo voted by a low voting power users. For example, do something like this in the algorithm: if voted by newbie, have a random chance of 1/2 to not increase the views of that picture (so that others can vote on it again). If voted by a challenger, give a 1/3 chance, etc. Of course, those numbers are just examples, the real numbers must be fined tuned better.
That way people will be encouraged to actually enter their pictures earlier, and also vote. Maybe even give an slight exposure bonus if you enter your picture sooner rather than later.
February 28, 2023 @ 11:27 am
Thanks Radu. I’ll pass your comments on to the development team for consideration.
All the best
Tom
May 9, 2024 @ 8:04 pm
Very informative and interesting article.
What I find to be somewhat unfair in GS however in the fact that if you end a challenge with, for example two photos in top 100 photo (66th and 85th), and overall also top 100 photographer, you only het accredited the one for top 100 photographer, while you have 2 top 100 photos. This photos never even get a credit that they have made it under the 100 top photos.
Whereas, in the very same challenge another poor photo that ended maybe 300th, gets accredited with the top 100 photographer badge.
I don’t think this is right.