Mitch's Wooden coaster poll
Fate is the path of least resistance.
Aska is a carbon copy of Wild Wild West in Germany (RCCA/Intamin, traditional style)which came in (deservedly) at 141.
I know that this poll is considered the most accurate, but nonetheless I think that a "Fan group" can easily manipulate the outcome.
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
It seems that all the naysayers of Mitch's poll are the ones who are a little too attached to the notion that their favorite coaster is the best ever...
Although my second Favorite , Thunder Run , DOES NOT get the praise it deserves. IMO , easily better than Raven.
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Aska? What the crap is that?
Was the outcome that Balder is the worlds best wooden coaster - surely this is not the case? Out of interest where did Thunder Coaster (Vekoma in Scandinavia) come?
The algorithm is pretty much as follows:
Everyone submits a ballot of their coasters in order.
For every pair of coasters, (so for instance, Balder and Tremors) the alogorithm finds every ballot that has both of the coasters.
For each of these ballots, the algorithm compares where the two coasters placed relative to each other. If Balder was ahead, Balder gets a tally. If Tremors was ahead, Tremors gets a tally. When all the votes are counted, whichever coaster has the most tallies get a win. The other coaster gets a loss.
The rank is determined by a win-loss record.
Notice that this tallying process occurs for each pair of coasters which results in (number of coasters)^2 "games" being played. Also notice that each ballot has (n^2)/2 data points (each coaster compared to every other coaster on the ballot).
Implications:
So if Balder wins with a perfect record (which it did) that means that no coaster is prefered by more of the people who have ridden that coaster and Balder.
This also means that if you haven't ridden a coaster, you don't tally for it or against it in any game that it is playing.
It also means that results with few riders (see Aska) can get quite skewed.
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
What would be the result if Mitch just counted all the relative comparisons within each ballot as wins and losses and didn't do the "games?"
Would the poll be more/less/equally fair?
What about if it were done by preferential ballot?
The reason I'm thinking about this is because it seems like in Mitch's current implementation there're some possibile scenarios where the addition or removal of a coaster could flip the rankings of two unrelated coasters, which seems wrong to me. *** Edited 12/7/2003 7:13:23 PM UTC by ApolloAndy***
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
thepinkdoomofmonkeys said:
Although my second Favorite, Thunder Run, DOES NOT get the praise it deserves.
It ranks 28th in the coasters ridden this year category, which isn't shabby at all. I think that ranking, especially for wooden coasters, is the most informational. Texas Giant ranks 24th in the overall poll, but 40th when ridden this year, while, as Mitch points out, Texas Cyclone ranks 86th overall, but 35th when ridden this year.
The result would be different beacuse it would not put my favorite versus your favorite. Without the you vs me factor, there is no comparison. The results would favor the coasters that get ridden the most, no matter where you rank them.
This would make the poll less fair.
Preferential would skew the results even more, based on the same factor, the more rides a coaster gives, the more likely of getting voted for.
The removal of a coaster should not affect the poll, because those who have ridden it can still rank it compared to operating coasters. (If that's what you meant)
The first time I read about Mitch's poll, I was unsure of its validity, but it really (for the most part) makes the playing field even. I do believe that it has a tendancy to favor (or cripple) a new coaster. I think that's how Balder got the #1. I still think Balder MUST be really good to even break into the top 10, so it's got something going for it. But, look at MegaFobia and Tonnerre de Zeus, both former #1's, both from Europe, both have dropped considerably since their #1 ranking. Makes me think that if you are new and kind of good and happen to be in Europe, you'll end up #1 on this poll, at least for a while.
Pass da' sizzrup, bro!
The thing that always bugs me about Mitch's poll is that he has to run it twice. Once with "Fav. steel" and once without. It seems to me that the result of the without should be exactly the same as the with (save the steel of course). It strikes me that this is not the case, though I haven't figured out quite why it happens and whether it's really that bad.
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
Olsor said:
It ranks 28th in the coasters ridden this year category, which isn't shabby at all. I think that ranking, especially for wooden coasters, is the most informational. Texas Giant ranks 24th in the overall poll, but 40th when ridden this year, while, as Mitch points out, Texas Cyclone ranks 86th overall, but 35th when ridden this year.
But still , the ride has airtime(bunnyhop bliss, fourth drop), laterals(those crazy speed turns), sensation of speed( an average speed of 48 mph),and an out of control feeling(the whole thing is insane). There's no reason why it shouldn't rank higher.
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Man , if Sonny was refitted with Millenium Flyer trains , I bet it would jump about 80 spots.
Other than that, Thunder Run is a a fantastic wooden coaster, one that I always look forward to riding in row 1.2.
But there are many other wooden coasters that do more (and do it more often) than Thunder Run.
Thunder Run Fanboy #1 !!!!;)
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Although I would like to see another insane bunny hop on that long stretch and an air filled jump into the final brakes......
Im upset to see the Ga Cyclone falling further down the list this year, however, and I hope it does better next time around. I would hate to see it leave the top 25.
Also, the Texas Cyclone is indeed a fantastic ride these days. I was impressed both this season and last season by its performance, and I believe that its rankings will improve as its ridership in its current conditions increases.
One more thing that surprises me about the results of this poll every year is the ranking of the Legend. I feel it deserves higher, but I guess it doesnt matter what i feel, does it? Lol.
Anyway, here's looking forward to next year's poll and what new wooden coasters are added to it!
ApolloAndy said:So if Balder wins with a perfect record (which it did) that means that no coaster is prefered by more of the people who have ridden that coaster and Balder.
And in this case more people means 11. To me that is much too small of a sampling to determine a number one coaster. I like this poll, I find it interesting, but it is not without its flaws. A few well-travelled people can really skew the results.
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