# outbidwar

> A public pay-to-rank leaderboard. Every position is exactly what somebody
> paid for it — no algorithm, no votes, no editorial. The price of each spot
> is public, and so is every bid that produced it.

## How a rank is bought

- A listing is a product website, or a profile on X, Instagram or Facebook.
- Bids are in US dollars. A new spot starts at $2; bids move in $1 steps.
- The amount chosen is the standing being bought, not the amount charged. A
  listing already on the board pays only the difference to reach it.
- Right now, taking #1 costs $11.
- Higher total ranks higher. On a tie, whoever got there first stays ahead.
- Only a completed payment claims a rank. Nothing moves before the money lands.
- Adult content, chat or invite links, and link shorteners are refused.

## Machine-readable

- [Leaderboard JSON](https://outbidwar.com/api/board.json): the full board — rank, name,
  url, category, amount in USD, clicks, and when the rank was taken. Cached
  for 30 seconds.
- [Sitemap](https://outbidwar.com/sitemap.xml): every live listing has its own page.
- [API notes](https://outbidwar.com/api): what the feed contains and how to use it.

## Pages

- [Leaderboard](https://outbidwar.com): the board, and the form that bids on it.
- [Rules](https://outbidwar.com/rules): what may be listed and how bidding resolves.
- [About](https://outbidwar.com/about): what the board is for.
- [Stats](https://outbidwar.com/stats): money paid, listings, clicks, and where bidders are.

## Notes for agents

- Read freely. The board JSON is public and needs no key.
- Placing a bid takes payment from a real person, so it is deliberately not
  automatable: a bid must be submitted from the site by whoever is paying.
- Listing owners edit their own copy through a link emailed to them; there is
  no password anywhere on the board.