Everyone is familiar with the 1 to 10 numeric grading scale used to describe people’s attractiveness. A supermodel might be described as “a perfect 10,” while “a 1” is basically the ugliest person you could ever imagine.

In the early 2000s, a couple of college buddies in Silicon Valley decided to turn that concept into a website. It was called HOTorNOT.com. On HOTorNOT, brave people who wanted an honest measure of their attractiveness would upload pictures of themselves, and other users of the website would grade their hotness on a ubiquitous 1 to 10 numeric “hotness” scale.

Within days of launching, HOTorNOT became a massive, viral hit. Millions of people from around the world were logging onto HOTorNOT.com to judge the attractiveness of others, and the site soon became one of the most popular and heavily trafficked websites on the Internet.

On this episode of Web Masters, you'll hear the story of how -- and why -- James built it, as well as how people responded to what was perhaps the most superficial site on the Internet.

For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.