First I want to thank Backplane.com for this GREAT site and for the ongoing improvements. I have a suggestion which is not driven by anger and I'm not at all on the verge of suicide. I also don't actually expect someone to come forward to confirm what we may be seeing. That's not really important. I just wanna kindly raise some awareness (to the site's key players - and this has nothing to do with Gaga and Haus) of the repercussions of these questionable high "like" counts that we've been seeing for the same users. First, it's obvious to your users that something many not be quite equal when comparing the high number of "likes" 3000+ likes) obtained on contributions from some users to the contributions (VERY SIMILAR IN QUALITY AND CLEVERNESS) made by others who only receive 3 "likes". I have some theories about what's behind it (as many of us do) but that's less important. The bottom line is the current mechanism of inserting the same users' posts on the Hot List (b/c of the inflated likes) rather than giving everyone an equal shot may wind up discouraging many users to contribute, thereby ultimately defeating one of the purposes Gaga seemed to have for this site. This type of perceived disappointment is also less likely to foster creativity, meaning we may not be getting the best of what our users can contribute. I also feel this is contributing to the constant and desperate requests for "likes" during ALL chats (Gaga present or not) which is not the purpose of the chat. While obtaining a "like" should NOT be the sole purpose of contributing, everyone enjoys praise, some more than others depending on various factors. Obviously, Gaga does too and her ability to share her genuine reaction to the praise she receives is one of the reasons we love her. Ultimately, the pursuit or praise is just a normal, human reaction and, when things seem unfair and/or unattainable (especially when users associate their 'like' counts with the possibility of Gaga spotting their contribution on the hot list), it brings out the worst in human nature. [As a side note: I wish more users would take notice that Gaga also regularly acknowledges the "less popular" contributions]. I won't draw ridiculous analogies of the periods in world history (some more recent than others) when humans were pitted against each other in desperation to obtain the basics for survival. The pursuit of these "likes" is bringing out that.... some sort of worst in some very well-intentioned people and the popularity mechanism built into the site for some users is making it worse. We're here to support Gaga, share our creativity and to make friends in a somewhat controlled environment which is really a very nice thing. It's bad enough that we have to deal with injustices, bullying, hatred in the real word as well as be observers to the horrible effects of the media on our most talented and cherished pop artists. So it would be nice if we could just find a way to chill it out a bit more in here. I know it won't be perfect and I think we all are VERY thankful for this site but let's try to "build a better [LM] world" to foster creativity and promote equality. I'd love to hear suggestions. PawsUp <3