The Three Adjustments Nobody Talks About
Author-diversity decay, out-of-network discount, and new-author boost
Three Post-Scoring Adjustments
After the base score is computed, three adjustments reshape the ranking:
1. Author-Diversity Decay
If you've already seen posts from the same author in your current session, their next post gets discounted.
- Decay factor: 0.5 (default)
- Floor: 0.25 (the discount bottoms out at 25% of original score)
- Formula:
score × (1 - floor) × decay^k + floorwhere k = how many posts from this author you've already seen
This means your 2nd post shown to the same viewer is worth 50% of the first, the 3rd is worth 25%+floor, etc. Space your posts out — back-to-back posting is actively penalized.
2. Out-of-Network Discount
Posts from accounts the viewer doesn't follow get multiplied by the OON weight factor (default: 0.75).
- This applies to replies and reposts too, even from people you follow — if the original post is from someone you don't follow, the reply/repost gets discounted
- There's a separate Topic OON factor (0.5) when topic filtering is active
- New users (under the age threshold) get a reduced OON discount — this helps them discover more content
3. New-Author Boost (Cold Start)
Brand-new accounts get temporarily lifted toward a target feed position.
- Impression threshold: 1000 impressions
- Target slot: positions 15-16 (roughly the middle of the feed)
- Follower cap: accounts with <1000 followers
- Max post age: 24 hours
While a new author is under the impression threshold, their posts get boosted toward slot 15-16. Once they exceed 1000 impressions, the boost fades. Front-loaded activity on a new account has outsized leverage — the algorithm is actively trying to give you a chance.
Check Your Understanding
1. What happens when you post multiple times back-to-back?
- A. Nothing — each post is scored independently
- B. Author-diversity decay discounts your 2nd, 3rd, 4th post in the same session✓ correct
- C. You get a bonus for being active
- D. Only the first post is shown
Why: Author-diversity decay (factor 0.5, floor 0.25) progressively discounts each additional post from the same author shown to the same viewer.
2. What is the out-of-network discount factor?
- A. 0.25
- B. 0.5
- C. 0.75✓ correct
- D. 1.0
Why: OonWeightFactor = 0.75 — out-of-network posts get 75% of their base score. It also applies to replies/reposts of OON posts.
3. What position does a new author get boosted toward?
- A. Position 1 (top of feed)
- B. Positions 15-16 (middle of feed)✓ correct
- C. Position 50
- D. They get a random boost
Why: ColdStartSlotMin=15, ColdStartSlotMax=16 — new authors are lifted toward the middle of the feed while under 1000 impressions.
Exercise
Check your posting pattern today. Did you post 3+ times? Your 2nd and 3rd posts were likely discounted for your followers. Try spacing posts 3-4 hours apart tomorrow.
Hint: The decay factor is 0.5 — your 2nd post in a session carries roughly half the score of your first.