The Original Prophecy of John "Nostradamus" Davies

Old nodes still garner upvotes this year, but this year's nodes have no chance of being upvoted five or more years ago:-). I have no doubt, that in another five years, nodes like Drunk on golf: 99 Bottles of Beer will have well over 100 votes. But by then, the threshold for getting into "Selected Best" will be even higher.

-- davies prophesizes Sep 12 2011, five years ago today

In the spirit of Nostradamus, I've taken the liberty of distilling John's bold and magical prophecies into three quatrains:

Ancient nodes garner praise bounteously in the year
a visionary creator of jobs falls from his apple tree.
Yet the nodes from that year shall have not the opportunity
to be complimented five or more years previous.

In front of a monastery are strewn ninety nine intoxicating vials,
disgorged from an illustrious and ancient line of a monk.
His fame, renown and power through sects and speech is such that
they are deservedly praised more oft than the sum total of bottles.

And yet, five years hence, the threshold for being
glorified and exalted shall rise to a loftier plane still.
In consequence, the ninety nine vessels shall remain bestrewn,
forever unwept, unhonored, and unsung.

Today, exactly five years after John's acclaimed prophecy, I'm bewildered to report that Drunk on golf: 99 Bottles of Beer stubbornly remains forty six votes shy of a century. That makes me feel sad, for I put a huge effort into that node and, fortified by John's courageous prophecy, expectantly waited for five long years to see it finally reach its full potential.

Eerily, the selected best nodes threshold five years ago was around 100 votes ... and there haven't been any centurion nodes for nearly five years now. Since 2010, nearly six years ago, there have been only five centurion nodes:

• 2010-04-22 (149): A wholly inadequate reply to an Anonymous Monk by pmichaud
• 2010-09-08 (101): Re: Greediness of * vs. greediness of + by moritz
• 2010-11-13 (114): What Worked In My 1st Year Of Perl: LOL by luis.roca
• 2010-12-28 (104): RFC: How to Release Modules on CPAN in 2011 by ELISHEVA
• 2011-01-11 (103): Re: Why does perl math suck? by ikegami

So only true believers would claim a significant increase in the threshold for getting into "Selected Best". I am a true believer. I feel sure I've misinterpreted the wording of John's original prophecy, and patiently await a contemporary reinterpretation -- and a new prophecy for the next five years.

-- Your loyal servant, Chavigny

Update: I'd like to express my gratitude to the valiant monks who strove to realize davies prophecy, up-voting Drunk on golf: 99 Bottles of Beer from 54 to 67 in just two days!

• 2014-11-16 (93) -> (101) at May 2023: The First Ten Perl Monks by eyepopslikeamosquito (finally reached 100 on Nov 20 2019, thus becoming the most recent centurion node and the first since 2011)
• 2013-03-21 (84) -> (84) at May 2023: Old Monks go gentle into that good night. by punch_card_don
• 2014-02-18 (83) -> (86) at May 2023: in praise of poor old Tk by zentara
• 2013-02-22 (82) -> (83) at May 2023: Perl is my cast iron pan by talexb
• 2011-05-08 (67) -> (72) at May 2023: Drunk on golf: 99 Bottles of Beer

See Selected Best Nodes: 2011-2015 for more.