I think we need to decide what we are actually tracking here. If we are tracking currently active forum users who are widely recognized by other forum users, then I think Vod's list is probably pretty accurate.
The list is organized based on Merit, activity and trust. With this three parameters, anyone with higher position can definitely be on the top list. Gavin Anderson has enough activity but in trust, he is not even in 1000 list, IMO. Also, almost close in merit. So, if we consider those 3, he is definitely not most recognized. Well, this result is based on forum activity only. It doesn't calculate the contribution of course.
Agreed with you. That's bitcointalk world, not bitcoin world.
I believe the three main pillars of a bitcointalk profile are Merit, Activity and Trust (MAT).
Since I already rank everyone based on those attributes, I thought I would make a new attribute and call it "Recognition".
Everyone is scored 1-1000 for each pillar. If you are not ranked you are scored 1000. The totals are added up, and divided by three.