Can anyone explain "Trending Threads" (esp the algorithm behind it)??
 

Sometimes when I'm bored and messing around with my phone, I check out "Trending Threads". I assumed that threads made it to this list based on an algorithm driven by variables such as new activity, recent velocity, total replies/views, etc....and, that is more interesting to me than the catch-all "new posts".

But, today it dawned on me that the trending threads I see are about 60% BA, 20% DL, and 15% TB, UA, AA.

While I do find the BA forum to be among the most interesting/engaging of the lot, some of the BA threads that make it to the trending list are about really mundane topics (e.g. lounges in Nashville). Meanwhile, during casual browsing, I often come across threads that aren't considered trending in other forums that are kind of interesting.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f3de22268c.jpg

Bump. I see that some people have viewed this thread, but nobody has commented on it yet. I've actually pretty much given up on the trending threads feature; if I fancy browsing the BA forum, I see the same threads anyway. Still, I remain semi-curious about what you guys see on your "trending threads" pages. Does everyone get a mix of BA soup with a few dollops of threads from other forums...or is FT attempting to show us content that it thinks we'd like individually?

Sorry for missing. It's a mix of recency, replies, and views. BA is far and away our most popular forum, so that's why it is disproportionately represented. I can't tell you the exact algorithm because frankly I don't know it and the designer who made it has left the company.

Thanks for the explanatory reply. I had no idea that BA was the most popular forum, but I guess that makes sense when you think about how much velocity threads there often have. And, I will admit that some of those guys have a knack for making mundane topics somewhat interesting.