Fair ranking

Paying for rank has to deliver rank. On an Orbit, the only things that decide where your bid lands are how much you bid and when you bid it. The deadline doesn't move, every sponsor is who their account says they are, and the people you see in the slots when bidding ends are the people who get charged.

How it works

1. One ranked list. Every bid on an Orbit is ranked by amount, highest first. A company and a fan are ranked the same way, and nobody can pay to skip the list.
2. Ties go to the earlier bid. Two bids at the same amount are ranked by who placed theirs first. If that's somehow the same instant too, the order is still fixed, so it never comes out two ways.
3. Raising keeps your bid's place in time. A raise changes your amount, not when you bid.
4. You're quoted the cutoff plus $1.00. The bid box shows the amount that takes the last slot, never the cutoff itself.
5. The deadline is hard. Bidding ends at the stated time by our clock, not your browser's. A bid a second late is refused, and no bid extends the deadline.
6. The winners are the slots at the deadline. We work them out with the same ranking the page was showing you.

Who can bid

• You have to be signed in. Your bid shows under your ShoutOrbit handle, which comes from your account. It isn't typed into the bid, so nobody can bid under someone else's name.
• A creator can't bid on their own Orbit. They get "You can't bid on your own Orbit."
• Every bid gets an automated check of its pitch and link before it appears. A bid it turns down never shows and is never charged.

Why it works this way

Why only amount and time. Anything else in the ranking would be a judgment someone could argue with, or a lever someone could pay for. Amount and time are things you can see and plan around.

Why the earlier bid wins a tie. If matching a bid beat it, the best strategy would be to wait until the last second and copy the top amount. This way bidding early never costs you.

Why what you saw is what's charged. The ranking always comes out in the same order, so the winners worked out after the deadline are exactly the bids the page showed in the slots. Nobody sees one winner and gets another charged.

Why you're quoted the cutoff plus $1.00. A bid at exactly the cutoff ties the last slot and loses it to the earlier bid. Quoting the cutoff would mean somebody bids believing they bought a slot, and doesn't get it.

Why you only have to beat the cutoff. The only entry rule is the Orbit's minimum. If you had to beat the top bid, only the last few people to bid could ever win, and every earlier sponsor would be guaranteed to lose.

Why the deadline doesn't extend. A creator publishes on a schedule, and you need to know when your final price is set. A deadline that moved whenever someone bid would push the video back and keep you guessing.

Why your handle comes from your account. A bid is said out loud to an audience. If the name were free text, anyone could bid as a company or a person they aren't.

Why a creator can't bid. A creator's own bid would push real sponsors' prices up, and they could then remove it for free.

"Someone's already at $X"

Where an amount would take a slot, it can only be bid once. If someone already holds it, you see "Someone's already at $X. Try $X+1." and pick a higher amount.

It is a courtesy, not a rule of the ranking. It stops you placing a bid that would only tie and lose. Below the cutoff the same amount is allowed, and the earlier bid ranks first.

Why below the cutoff is allowed. Amounts below the cutoff are never shown. If a repeat amount were refused there, anyone could find every hidden amount by trying them one dollar at a time.

What can go wrong

• You bid in the last second and the page says bidding has ended. Our clock decides. A bid that arrives after the deadline isn't placed and isn't charged.
• You bid the same amount as someone below the cutoff. That's allowed. They bid first, so they rank above you.
• Two people bid the same amount for the last slot at the same moment. The check above can miss a bid placed in the same instant, so both bids can stand. The earlier one ranks first, and the later one falls below the cutoff.
• The top bid is turned down. A creator can turn down any bid, including the top one. That sponsor isn't charged. While bidding is open everyone below moves up a place. After the deadline, the next in line moves up.

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