The cause of the dispute: After Taobao modified its sorting algorithm to favor those sellers with the highest ratings from buyers, some retailers cried out because their online storefronts no longer showed up near the top of search results.

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Although the company has recently modified its trending topics algorithm, spam is still a major problem one that happens to be adversely affecting its World Cup tracking site.

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Roth has used modified forms of this same algorithm to design matching systems for Boston's public school system and for placing medical school graduates with residency programs.

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