I think we might see a bit of a drop off in the second half of the month as people's stacks might start dwindling without getting the benefit of daily reward top ups.
I think that's right, except that we might see a sprint to the finish in the last couple of days. There are big stakes for the top few ranks, so it would be odd if we didn't see big zapping sprees as we jockey for position.
I do think the madness is a cool idea and fun but it does create some perverse incentives and I think because it only pays the top 64 stackers that it is great for current stacker engagement but not so great at enticing new users.
I think it's a good idea. A one-week minimum period seems balanced to me. The method you proposed is fair and rewards all stackers in a balanced way, whether they spend more or less time. Overall, the rewards are proportional to the time that stackers spend on Stacker News.
You're right, there's a good chance that's happening. I think it's already started. I could be wrong, because I don't have the data, but it seems to me like there are already a lot of posts on the home hot page with relatively few sats. But that could be because of stackers confidence coefficient.
But it's madness. Surely in madness we can achieve new heights. I just think the pace might slow down a bit as stacker's stacks dwindle without daily rewards. It's a mental thing. Even though you know you are getting rewards at end of the month and you can see your estimated rewards you still think twice about your zapping when you see your balance declining.