At 08/06/2012 10:34 AM, Evan Leibovitch wrote:

DA is also based on something random -- that is, whatever reference moment the selected timestamp is supposed to be closest to. The main difference between my checksum method and DA is that the applicant's "entry" -- in the form of the checksums of their applications -- already exists and can't possibly be gamed after the fact.

I agree with Avri, that if the checksum method is susceptible to challenge as an illegal lottery of chance then so is DA.

Yup. That is what I said, although perhaps not as clearly.

OTOH, there are a number of non-random methods to create the reference point for my alternate scheme. One of them could be to collect the first page of every application, make a checksum of THAT resulting (1900 page) document, and use that checksum as the reference against which to measure the others.

I like that one! Of course, if they had announced that ahead of time, it could have been gamed as well (presuming the page size and algorithm were fixed).

- Evan