Post Rank/Medals

[Wolvenreign]

Hey, GBATemp.

I'm sure no one has been watching me or my posts since I'm hardly controversial, but on the off-chance that you have, you'll notice that I only post when it's absolutely necessary, and when I do post, it's usually helpful in some manner or another. I don't flame, I don't do single-word posts, and I always think carefully about my words.

Unfortunately, despite having completed numerous softmods posted on the forums and being generally helpful, I can't help but notice that my succinct posting has earned me only three medals throughout the years.

I also notice that some posters (not naming anyone) will post one-word posts in order to get a higher post count. and thus, more medals. I can't help but think that makes folks like me look a little...diminished.

So, on to the point. Wouldn't it be better to give someone medals based on their words-per-posts-per-time, perhaps with a side of the administrators taking a close look at who deserves to be ranked, rather than post counts themselves? Even if that isn't a great idea in and of itself, isn't there some way to improve the system?

Thanks for listening.

 

[Goli]

It would be better if people refrained from doing what they're told not to do in the rules (hardly anyone follows them), like quoting uselessly, one word posts, image replies, etc. *stares at shlong, _Chaz_, and countless others*

 

[.Chris]

Look at what happened to Hastsu. BAN, all because his spamming.

 

[Rydian]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but medals are meant to be a way to show at a quick glance who's been around longer (and also who's been active as you get no increase if you're not here), and involvement with the community.

Don't assume people think worse of you for it. For example there's many specific members here with a higher medal rank that cyan, but if both he and they gave contradicting statements I'd trust cyan over them.

 

[Evo.lve]

Actually, medals are a mark of post count.

1 Green Medal = 10 posts
2 Green Medals = 50 posts
3 Green Medals = 100 posts
4 Green Medals = 250 posts
5 Green Medals = 500 posts
1 Red Medal = 1000 posts
[...](can't remember)
3 Blue Medals/Pips = 10000 posts

 

[granville]

I'm inclined to agree that medals should be handed out to people who make relevant and good contributions when they post. Not spammers. I'm also sure there are plenty of people out there who post JUST to get those medals too.

At the same time, i feel admins and mods (or other staff) shouldn't have to sort through the responsibility of handing out medals. GBAtemp is a HUGE community, it would just take up too long and they wouldn't be able to do their real job as well.

I wouldn't mind if the medal system were abolished completely. That would be one less incentive for people not to spam as much. Though there's still post count. Some sites have a "rep system" used to mark up or down posts people like. Though judging from youtube and forums that use it, that would be an even worse idea since it's easy to abuse by trolls. I'd say just get rid of the medals completely, it has clearly influenced people to spam. Though i guess it won't happen anyways. You bring up valid points regardless.

 

[.Chris]

I've been trying to achieve that 1000 posts for a while now, but without spamming! (no warns right now!)

 

[Wolvenreign]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but medals are meant to be a way to show at a quick glance who's been around longer (and also who's been active as you get no increase if you're not here), and involvement with the community.

Don't assume people think worse of you for it. For example there's many specific members here with a higher medal rank than cyan, but if both he and they gave contradicting statements I'd trust cyan over them.

I get your second point, but what about members who do the right thing by posting less? When there's nothing to say or contribute to, the right thing to do is to read rather than post some uneducated opinion or one-word post. I think some people should be respected for lurking.

Hey, I just got a good idea! What if the medals still had their ordinary functions, but you added a "shadow" to each medal? The longer the shadows, the more a person has been lurking and reading (balanced against how long they've been there: i.e. someone who has been here since 2007 but hasn't read or lurked much gets a short shadow, but someone who has been here a short time with a high lurking density gets a tall shadow).

This would give respect and reward to those who lurk rather than create unnecessary topics.

 

[Rydian]

Or just an "activity" meter to keep things simpler.

Do it as a percentage of days logged in versus overall days as a member, but say make single days not logged in not count, or do other things to skew the percentage level one way or the other, so you can see a bigger difference easier (or perhaps make it only count for the past 30 days or so).

Of course these measures would only count from the time they were implemented.

 

[Sterling]

I had an idea a while ago for an awards section in a user's profile. You post and share knowledge on the forum, whether it be great, semi great, or just plain spam, there would be an award/deward for it. I personally think they should be in a particular field of knowledge, or specific group. The way it would work is a new set of staff would be tasked with looking at flagged posts. Similar to the report button, these members would look at this post and award/deward accordingly. Flagged posts would only show up once in a bin, and if the button for flagging posts is pressed multiple times it will only show the newest date it was put in the bin. Also users PMing these staff for certain awards will be given a suspension period for awards in which their posts will not show up in the bin. Also only newer posts will count, and after an award is given for a post, the cannot be another award until the next day. I also think that when you reach a certain amount of award you will unlock a title you can display in ask GBAtemp, and the forum.

 

[Phoenix Goddess]

I don't think the temp needs an award system, simply because some people will only help others for the sake of an award. It wouldn't be genuine help. I think the temp has enough staff groups already, what's the point of having more JUST to issue awards and go through a bunch of posts?

I would have to agree with granville here. Spam would decrease drastically if there were no medals for anyone to aim for.

 

[Sterling]

I don't think the temp needs an award system, simply because some people will only help others for the sake of an award. It wouldn't be genuine help. I think the temp has enough staff groups already, what's the point of having more JUST to issue awards and go through a bunch of posts?

I would have to agree with granville here. Spam would decrease drastically if there were no medals for anyone to aim for.

Who in their right mind would post just to get a emblem? I post and help people because I enjoy it. I think an award system would also help point out frequent spammers. There would after all be a category that would show just how many spam dewards you have.

Also if something like this were implemented, an new staff category would be imperative if you don't want the other staffers to be overloaded. They could work at their own speed, and most posts would be obvious which category they belong in with minimal skimming.

 

[granville]

Who in their right mind would post just to get a emblem? I post and help people because I enjoy it.

No one was accusing you of spamming if you post good info. But there are tons of people on the site who post just to get those emblems, don't kid yourself. Post count itself is seen as penis points to the spammers. They will do anything just to get themselves more posts or emblems. Hatsu or whatever was one, antonkan was another i recall. There are plenty of spammers who just one-word post, or quote a message just to add a simple one-word response. The fact that there are topics asking about what emblems you get for a specific post amount should give you an idea that people care. There are people here who are under the impression that reaching a certain post or emblem gets them a sense of accomplishment or sometimes even entitlement to have others' respect. It's a sense of arrogance. What they don't care about though is that every worthless message with a single word that doesn't add any relevance to the discussion at hand puts unnecessary strain on the servers. Obviously, some of the most spam happens in popular new release threads with various worthless questions or comments, and can potentially force the staff to shut down the site temporarily. It's a mess.

So to answer your question, no one in their right mind would. But the site is full of people not in their right mind. I wouldn't say the site is maniac-free by any means.

 

[Shinigami357]

So to answer your question, no one in their right mind would. But the site is full of people not in their right mind. I wouldn't say the site is maniac-free by any means.

Best quote ever.


Anyway... I'm quite split on this suggestion. I can see a bit of the reasoning (tempers who actually say something of merit will be honored and thus newbs will find it easier to find the right person to ask if the medals or whatever are posted on the guy's profile). Thing is, digging through all that crap to get to the good stuff can sometimes be tremendously stressful for whoever gets assigned the job.


Maybe a voting system and then the mods select out of the top people? LOL

 

[Rydian]

A voting system won't be implemented, it's been discussed and costello said it was voted no by the staff.

The only things that have a chance are automatic things, and of those I think a weighted activity meter is the best, but if anybody else has others that don't require input from other users, say them.

 

[Sterling]

So to answer your question, no one in their right mind would. But the site is full of people not in their right mind. I wouldn't say the site is maniac-free by any means.


Best quote ever.


Anyway... I'm quite split on this suggestion. I can see a bit of the reasoning (tempers who actually say something of merit will be honored and thus newbs will find it easier to find the right person to ask if the medals or whatever are posted on the guy's profile). Thing is, digging through all that crap to get to the good stuff can sometimes be tremendously stressful for whoever gets assigned the job.


Maybe a voting system and then the mods select out of the top people? LOL

Exactly, but a voting system may be a bit taxing. I say awards that stack for a handle on the value that a temper brings to the discussion would be best. So a new section of staffers would be useful. Especially once a few users gain some recognition. Once someone knows you know what you're talking about, the easier it is to pick the people who deserve the reward faster. Say I post something that helps, or helps but doesn't solve the problem entirely. The post gets flagged with a particular field of knowledge... Say i post something about a Supercard. When someone hits the award button, an interface pops up with options to flag the area of expertise. If it isn't one listed, an other option with an input box so a mod can check to see if it does or doesn't fall under a category. After a poster receives an award for a post, the user cannot receive another award for a period of 24 hours, and the same post cannot be eligible for another award. Say I do this 5 times, I now have 5 awards for Supercard solution knowledge, and when someone flags another one of my posts for the same category, I am already known to give sound advice, so the mod in charge only has to skim my post, and skim to see if it helped someone. Nothing really in depth.
*note: The numbers are purely made up, and would be up to the mod reviewing to be at whatever depth he/she wants to be.


QUOTE(Rydian @ Dec 10 2010, 03:42 AM)

A voting system won't be implemented, it's been discussed and costello said it was voted no by the staff.

The only things that have a chance are automatic things, and of those I think a weighted activity meter is the best, but if anybody else has others that don't require input from other users, say them.

Damn, well there goes my notion. I was all excited and everything too. :/ I thought they only looked at removing postcount.

 

[granville]

I just say we get rid of medals. Post count probably has a use to the higher up staff here (they can monitor how many posts certain people have made within their join period and monitor some of the spammier ones). So it's a shame that can't be removed, i'd suggest we remove post count from everyone's eyes except the user him/herself. It won't stop spammers in general of course, but it will cut down on some of them perhaps. Doesn't matter though i guess, nothing will stop idiots and nutters.

Just believe me when i say- it's certain that a fair few users on this site want nothing more than to increase their post count enough to make lame Dragonball Z jokes. Then you have those who consider the medal below their name a proof of valor in times of battle honor... >_>

Anyways, i hope i'm done with this topic. I've made my point and beliefs.

 

[Killermech]

It would be cooler if Medals were given depending on the time you've been here, rather than the amount of posts.
1 week = 1 Medal
1 Month = 2 Medals
3 Months = 3 Medals
6 Months = 4 Medals

and so on.
I would atleast find them more meaningful.
Or you could do a combination, while still prioritizing the timeframe, like

1 week + 1 post = 1 Medal
1 Month + 10 posts = 2 Medals
3 Months + 100 posts = 3 Medals
6 Months + 300 posts = 4 Medals
1 year + 300 posts = 5 medals

Where the amount of posts stops at the same amount.

 

[mameks]

Contrary to seemingly popular belief, I couldn't care less about my post count|number of medals.
Although, yeah I may have post count blogs, its only due to the numbers piquing my interest.
I like Killermech's idea.

 

[p1ngpong]

Personally I couldn't care less about medals, its just another postcount indicator that doesn't really mean anything. At the moment its very simple, you get x amount of posts you get this ribbon. I really see no point in complicating an uncomplicated system by basing the ribbons people get on some sort of pre-determined merit system, especially in a way that would involve more work for staff in having to decide who earns x ribbons for x contributions. Such a thing not only creates more work for us, but leads to people bitching and whoring in an attempt to gain these titles that at the end of the day would still mean very little.