The subreddit “Random Acts of Pizza” (RAOP) is a place where people can post their requests for a free pizza, while others in the community can grant these requests. In a 2014 study, a small group of researchers from Stanford used RAOP as a case study on how to ask for free stuff on the internet. Using data science tools and methods, they found there were a number of factors in what makes a request more likely to score someone a pizza.
In their words: “Our goal is to understand what motivates people to give when they do not receive anything tangible in return. That is, we focus on the important special case of altruistic requests in which the giver receives no rewards.”
The Data
The researchers looked at 5728 pizza requests (24.6% successful) between December 2010 and September 2013. 70% of the data was used to figure out what factors were most influential, and the remaining 30% was reserved to test the effectiveness of their predictions. Their model was able to correctly predict if a certain request was awarded a pizza 67% of the time.
Here are some of the key findings:
Narrative
The most compelling part of the study focuses on the feature of narrative. It identifies what general reasoning the requester is using to explain why they are deserving of a free pizza. Consider these two pizza requests:
Example 1:
“My gf and I have hit some hard times with her losing her job and then unemployment as well for being physically unable to perform her job due to various hand injuries as a server in a restuarant. She is currently petitioning to have unemployment reinstated due to medical reasons for being unable to perform her job, but until then things are really tight and ANYTHING would help us out right now. I’ve been both a giver and receiver in RAOP before and would certainly return the favor again when I am able to reciprocate. It took everything we have to pay rent today and some food would go a long ways towards making our next couple of days go by much better with some food.”
Example 2:
“My friend is coming in town for the weekend and my friends and i are so excited because we haven’t seen him since junior high. we are going to a high school football game then to the dollar theater after and it would be so nice if someone fed us before we embarked :)”
The first request (successful) describes experiencing hard times, the second request (unsuccessful) only expresses desire to be fed. To organize each request into categories of narratives, the researchers used topic modeling and automatic detection. Here are the resulting five narratives:
Money
Example post: “Broke until next paycheck, Delaware. Really hungry and some pizza would be amazing right now. I had to pay to get my car repaired this week, leaving me with little money until next Friday when I get paid again. Some pizza would be really amazing. I would definitely pay it forward when I get paid next week.”
Job
Example post: “This is my first RAOP, low on money would really enjoy a pizza! Hey, my roommate and I are running low on cash. He lost his job last week and I had to pay his month’s rent, and I’m going to have to until he finds another job. If someone could help us out with a pizza that would be great! Thanks!”
Student
Example post: “Studying for finals, no time to go get food. Im studying for my last batch of finals before applying to college in the fall (transfer student, community college path). very hungry but being broke and having no calc textbook I’m really pressed for time :(”
Family
Example post: “Help out a Dad please? […] I’m flat out broke until tomorrow with no food in the house for dinner tonight. My daughter is 2 and we usually do a pizza and movie night every once in a while, and she’s been asking about it. I’ve got rent and car payment coming up, and bill collectors calling. I try to not let my wife know exactly how bad we are when it gets like this, but she mentioned we didn’t have anything for dinner tonight, and I can’t get groceries until tomorrow.”
Craving
Example post: “I went out with some friends earlier in the week and ended up lending my friend 20 bucks til he could get to an ATM. Long story short, we ended up pretty silly drunk and crashed at different houses so he never got a chance to pay me back. I get paid tomorrow and I could definitely tough it out, but I’d love to down a few slices before I spend the night cleaning up my apartment.”
Of these narratives, all but the “student” narrative were found to be strong predictors of success. While “job,” “money,” and “family” had a positive relationship with success, the “craving” narrative had a negative one. This indicates requests communicating need (“job,” “money”) are more successful.
Here are some other features found to improve success rates:
Additional Features
Evidence: Having a picture or screenshot to prove a claim. Examples include a picture of an empty fridge, or a job termination letter.
Reciprocity: Expressing gratitude by offering to buy a pizza for someone in the community at a later time. Specifically these requests mention the language of “pay it forward” or “return the favor.”
Length: The greater the number of words in the request, the higher the chance of success. The researchers attributed this finding to the fact that a longer request would have a better chance of explaining evidence.
Status: Reddit users with older accounts were found to be more successful in their requests. Similarly, if they had posted in the RAOP subreddit in the past, their success rate also increased. People are more likely to help those who have already contributed to the community in some form.
What Didn’t Work
Politeness: While gratitude (paying it forward, returning the favor) is an aspect of politeness that was found to have an impact on success, politeness in general (greetings, deference, indirect language, apologizing, hedging) was not found to be a good predictor.
Sentiment: Language that expresses being in a good or bad mood did not have an effect on whether a post was successful.
How to ask for free stuff:
If you’re planning on asking for free stuff on the internet, don’t worry so much about sounding polite or jovial. Instead, explain in verbose detail (length) why you could use said free stuff (narrative) and support your story with additional evidence. Express your intention to pay it forward (reciprocation) when you get the chance. Finally, having a high user status in the community you are asking within will further increase your chances!
