I think the problem that the randomized algorithm solve is not missing good content. It is to give the same chance for equally good content - or at least to minimize the error due to page limit.
to have an up-and-coming link placed at the top of the list on the frontpage
Two things:
1) either the up-and-coming are a few borderline posts taken in order and then here you'd just extended the front page with a few more posts (ie. it changes nothing)
2) either you'd carefully choosen a heuristic for those posts which is pretty much what is suggested here.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your experience with this problem, it's very interesting.
An other idea would be to fix the content quality and make variable the number of posts in the front page.
I think the problem that the randomized algorithm solve is not missing good content. It is to give the same chance for equally good content - or at least to minimize the error due to page limit.
to have an up-and-coming link placed at the top of the list on the frontpage
Two things: 1) either the up-and-coming are a few borderline posts taken in order and then here you'd just extended the front page with a few more posts (ie. it changes nothing) 2) either you'd carefully choosen a heuristic for those posts which is pretty much what is suggested here.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your experience with this problem, it's very interesting.
An other idea would be to fix the content quality and make variable the number of posts in the front page.