This week, I thought I would address a concern of some readers. "Why do you print ridiculously bad articles?"

This is a very complex question. I apologize that it's taken twelve years to have a forum to explain it. Here is my attempt to explain why bad articles exist.

1) All the Articles Cannot Be Good

This first point is the most important. Article strength is relative. "Offense VS Defense", as an example, is only a good article until "Who's the Beatdown?" gets printed. The thing that defines whether an article is good is the other articles that exist with it. As an experiment, let's say we got together a collection of the top 300 pro players and had them select the 1500 best articles in Magic's history. I chose 1500 because that is roughly the number of articles in a year. You would only need to read the best 300-400 to have read the best articles on the site. All the other ones would be bad, even though they are good articles.

2) Different Articles Appeal to Different Readers

The solution to the aforementioned problem leads to the second reason "bad" articles exist. When last we left the site, they had 1100 articles that were unreadable. To make those articles matter we look to other categories. A good chunk of articles are designed to be read in Theme Weeks. Other articles are made with casual readers in mind.

3) Diversity of Article Srength is Key to Discovery

The next reason "bad" articles exist goes to the heart of what makes a website tick. The Internet, and this site in particular, are very much about discovery. When you read Slashdot, for example, you don't have to know that Linux is better than Windows. All the articles are on the page and you read what you get. Here, you pick and choose what articles you read. That makes the ability to differentiate between articles very important. As you grow as a reader, you get better at determining an article's potential.

4) Article Quality is Relative

One of the things we do to make it hard to figure out is to make articles that are hard to instantly analyze. A lot of these types of articles have a very narrow function that are either "good" or "bad" depending on whether there exists a reader that can use them.

5) Diversity of Quality Rewards the More Skilled Reader

Mostly up to now I’ve explained why "bad articles" have to exist. I also want to point out that "bad articles" have some good effects on the site. A lesser reader, for instance, is more likely to follow the advice of a sub-optimal article. As an example, let's say we made a site in which all articles were the same quality (actually impossible, but for the sake of argument, let's assume we can). Reader A is a professional, and Reader B has only been reading for four weeks. Reader B's comprehension may be a little off, but they're both reading solid articles. Making bad articles makes skill more important.

6) People Like Finding "Hidden Gems"

There is a second benefit of "bad articles". One of the joys of the Internet is discovering the article that everyone else has dismissed. We cannot make good articles that seem bad without making bad articles that actually are bad.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

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This week, I thought I would address a concern of some readers. "Why do you print ridiculously bad articles?"

This is a very complex question. I apologize that it's taken twelve years to have a forum to explain it. Here is my attempt to explain why bad articles exist.

1) All the Articles Cannot Be Good

This first point is the most important. Article strength is relative. "Offense VS Defense", as an example, is only a good article until "Who's the Beatdown?" gets printed. The thing that defines whether an article is good is the other articles that exist with it. As an experiment, let's say we got together a collection of the top 300 pro players and had them select the 1500 best articles in Magic's history. I chose 1500 because that is roughly the number of articles in a year. You would only need to read the best 300-400 to have read the best articles on the site. All the other ones would be bad, even though they are good articles.

2) Different Articles Appeal to Different Readers

The solution to the aforementioned problem leads to the second reason "bad" articles exist. When last we left the site, they had 1100 articles that were unreadable. To make those articles matter we look to other categories. A good chunk of articles are designed to be read in Theme Weeks. Other articles are made with casual readers in mind.

3) Diversity of Article Srength is Key to Discovery

The next reason "bad" articles exist goes to the heart of what makes a website tick. The Internet, and this site in particular, are very much about discovery. When you read Slashdot, for example, you don't have to know that Linux is better than Windows. All the articles are on the page and you read what you get. Here, you pick and choose what articles you read. That makes the ability to differentiate between articles very important. As you grow as a reader, you get better at determining an article's potential.

4) Article Quality is Relative

One of the things we do to make it hard to figure out is to make articles that are hard to instantly analyze. A lot of these types of articles have a very narrow function that are either "good" or "bad" depending on whether there exists a reader that can use them.

5) Diversity of Quality Rewards the More Skilled Reader

Mostly up to now I’ve explained why "bad articles" have to exist. I also want to point out that "bad articles" have some good effects on the site. A lesser reader, for instance, is more likely to follow the advice of a sub-optimal article. As an example, let's say we made a site in which all articles were the same quality (actually impossible, but for the sake of argument, let's assume we can). Reader A is a professional, and Reader B has only been reading for four weeks. Reader B's comprehension may be a little off, but they're both reading solid articles. Making bad articles makes skill more important.

6) People Like Finding "Hidden Gems"

There is a second benefit of "bad articles". One of the joys of the Internet is discovering the article that everyone else has dismissed. We cannot make good articles that seem bad without making bad articles that actually are bad.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Related Stories

• Top Ten Magic Headlines That Would Cause Mass Panic
• Best Article Ever Written
• Internet Writer Boldly Claims Next Set Will Suck