Not from History Today, just something I noticed while reading about medieval measurements.
Time immemorial casually means forever, longer than anyone can record or remember.
Originally it was quite specific, marking the start of common law in 1189. Anything that happened before the baseline of 1189 was legally immemorial, thus didn’t exist in the Common Law Operating System. Like 1/1/70 in Unix or 1/1/80 in DOS.
Later the interval shortened but remained part of common law jargon, referring to customs like common law marriage or adverse possession where an unregistered condition had remained without legal challenge for a specific period like 7 years or 60 years.
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The accidental comparison got me thinking. Magazines don’t have algorithms. Magazines don’t try to aggravate the reader to get clicks. They try to satisfy most readers with most articles, knowing that they can’t please everyone all the time. They do listen to subscribers and respond when too many are unhappy. A few years ago Collectible Auto tried to get rid of two regular short features, then brought them back when readers complained.
Judging by my two favorites, magazines try to maintain a pleasure/boredom ratio of 5:1. Some issues are below 3:1, others up to 10:1. Other readers would judge each issue differently but the long-term average must remain steady.
Social platforms don’t even measure boredom. They aim for anger/pleasure above 10:1, and constantly refine the feed if you’re not angry enough.
Polistra's Mill 