July | 2008 | super-structure

Gruber had posted this afternoon about a great-sounding, open-source project titled StupidFilter meant to help filter out stupid comments on the web. From the StupidFilter site:

The solution we’re creating is simple: an open-source filter software that can detect rampant stupidity in written English. This will be accomplished with weighted Bayesian or similar analysis and some rules-based processing, similar to spam detection engines. The primary challenge inherent in our task is that stupidity is not a binary distinction, but rather a matter of degree. To this end, we’re collecting a ranked corpus of stupid text, gleaned from user comments on public websites and ranked on a five-point scale.

However, when I tried the demo out, I was very disappointed. I thought I’d start easy and enter:

First post!

Which is just about the dumbest comment I could think of which might appear online. The response from the online demo?

Text is not likely to be stupid.

Uh-huh. We clearly have disparate definitions of what constitutes stupidity. Good luck, guys. I am really rooting for this to work. If the trolls, flamers, and idiots know they’re being ignored, then they really might go away. We’re just not there yet if I still ever have to read "First post!"

So, Yikes! I thought I’d try and lob them another slow and soft pitch to see if I had jumped the gun with my two-word gimme. This text gave the same "not likely to be stupid" result:

You’re and idiot! I cannot believe that you’d ever agree with Bush and/or Obama! You should die you Nazi and/or hippie!

Could someone please give an example of what is stupid text, then?

We keep ourselves pretty busy these days. Well, we certainly manage to fill the time with something and hopefully most of it is worth the time we spend on it. So, this one is a week late, but with good reason. There’s always a few highlights, though:

Footrace – Independence Day morning Angela and I participated in a Fourth of July 5k/10k in downtown Nashville. Running is always a good way to see a city and this was a really nice race (even with a bit of rain on us). I did the two loops to make a 10k which (sadly) marked the longest run I’ve been on in about 15 months. Angela and Ainsley did the 5k which both mommy and daughter seemed to enjoy as well. Here’s to getting back into shape!
Running with Ainsley – We recently got a bike trailer/ running stroller combo. Since we don’t yet have a baby-sized helmet, we’ve only used it for running on a couple of occasions. However, it’s really great for us all to get out and run together. One of the tough things about trying to keep in shape with a little one in our lives has been having to find the time for us to go out separately so the other could watch her. This handy little gadget solves that problem, whether we want to run or bike. It’s too bad we don’t bring the dogs with us. I’ll tell you why though: imagine trying to run while holding a pair of ropes which are attached at the other ends to a pair of missiles, each with a missing tail-fin. That’s what it’s like to run with two terriers.
Nashville Zoo – We got a family membership to the Nashville Zoo on Saturday and spent several hours walking around. It’s really nice (and this after having gone to the San Diego Zoo back in April).

We were in such a Zoo mood, we even went up to Opry Mills to eat at the Aquarium Restaurant afterwards. Dave & Steph came out to hang out with us for a while, as well.
Fireworks – It’s the fourth of July and that means firework displays. The one in Nashville is really nice. Frank & Sandi go to see them with us on their way back to Alabama.
Lisa Loeb – She has a new album out called Camp Lisa and it’s – yep! – a collection of camp songs. She is doing some in store shows at Barnes & Noble and we got to see her this past Monday evening. My brother Dave also came out to see her and to hang out with us (he’s a big fan).