post ratings system

Spiritoftheseventies

how does the boards feel about a ratings system for posts. Ie you either disapprove or approve of a post. Have seen it used on an other forum and it seems to work very well. Poster collects ratings which eventually add up to a green square where feedback is positive and one red where feedback is negative. Is it worth pursuing?

billy the squid

I believe they are called reputation points.

the system was tried here before and it was unsuccessful

AckwelFoley

A variant of this question pops up here at least once every 2 weeks. Understandibly it in theory may have its merits, however as usual its open to abuse - somewhat like youtube..

Personally i think the thanks system is the best, if you like it - thank it, its a positive gesture - positivity is nice - if you dont like it, reply to it stating your case, at least that way there is a little more effort required to be negative.

Spiritoftheseventies

billy the squid wrote: »

I believe they are called reputation points.

the system was tried here before and it was unsuccessful

out of interest why was it unsuccessful.

Oryx

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

out of interest why was it unsuccessful.

Posters gave rep to their friends, traded in rep, and created threads just to earn rep. Rep whores on every forum corner. It was a mess.

Spiritoftheseventies

Oryx wrote: »

Posters gave rep to their friends, traded in rep, and created threads just to earn rep. Rep whores on every forum corner. It was a mess.

Yes but i think if you put in a place a system where you can only give out or take away so much rep it should work. I think it would also shift the emphasis away from post count stats.

Giblet

It was unsuccessful because I wrecked it.

Gordon

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Yes but i think if you put in a place a system where you can only give out or take away so much rep it should work.

Yeah we had that, it didn't work.

Spiritoftheseventies

Well how about this. Mods anonymously award or take away the reps and that way it cant be open to abuse. I know we have a thread of the day but think its worth giving a go.

therecklessone

How about people just concentrate on making worthwhile contributions to the site and accept whatever praise or recognition they get as a by-product rather than making it their raison d'etre?

Eire-Dearg

therecklessone wrote: »

How about people just concentrate on making worthwhile contributions to the site and accept whatever praise or recognition they get as a by-product rather than making it their raison d'etre?

Agree. It's a great forum, it's fine as it is, let's move on.

Spiritoftheseventies

therecklessone wrote: »

How about people just concentrate on making worthwhile contributions to the site and accept whatever praise or recognition they get as a by-product rather than making it their raison d'etre?

Because it seems to me that there is way too much emphasis on post count and that in itself suggests there is quantity over quality. A post ratings system would shift that balance.
I have seen it work on another site and it is done is a humourous way. It also means a poster can strive to be better if he has a negative rating while a positive rater is always aware of keeping his standards up.
Again if mods give out or take away the rep there is no suggestion of bias.

therecklessone

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Because it seems to me that there is way too much emphasis on post count and that in itself suggests there is quantity over quality.

The only person I see obsessed with postcounts is you.

The amount of contributions made by a poster to boards is only one aspect to their overall persona on the site, the manner in which they interact with other users is far more important, and nobody needs little green squares over/under their name for mods to realise if a poster makes a positive contribution or not.

What value are you assigning to the concept of mod awarded rep? Maybe we should all be awarded gold stars for being extra special? This isn't baby infants you know.

Stop trying to change things just because you had a bumpy start to your time here, if you stopped jawing on about this sort of nonsense and got on with my first suggestion you'd have a much happier boards experience.

Gordon

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Because it seems to me that there is way too much emphasis on post count

Says who?

and that in itself suggests there is quantity over quality. A post ratings system would shift that balance.

You will be advocating reputation over quality in that case.

I have seen it work on another site and it is done is a humourous way.

I've seen it not work on this site!

It also means a poster can strive to be better if he has a negative rating while a positive rater is always aware of keeping his standards up.
Again if mods give out or take away the rep there is no suggestion of bias.

Why put a rating on someone? Why should someone feel that they have to strive to be better? If we switched that on and asked users to keep their standards up and strive to be better we'd be told where to go by the users, and quite rightly so.

What is the problem that you are trying to fix?

Spiritoftheseventies

Recklesstone Did i say we all had to be given gold stars. Im suggesting that maybe a posters thank rate be included on side panel. But at the moment everything is about post counts while a persons contributions are not being highlighted.

Gordon wrote: »

Why put a rating on someone? Why should someone feel that they have to strive to be better? If we switched that on and asked users to keep their standards up and strive to be better we'd be told where to go by the users, and quite rightly so.

You seem to think its a bad thing. I think its a good thing. I have been called a post whore and other stuff by posters by others and rep called into question by others. So that is what I am trying to fix.
To put in place a system Where posters and not just me are "noted" for their contributions because as far as I can see we still have a system where we only have people zoning in on the negative.

Steve

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Well how about this. Mods anonymously award or take away the reps and that way it cant be open to abuse. I know we have a thread of the day but think its worth giving a go.

No thanks.

Mods have enough to do without having to judge the 'quality' of every post and deal with the whingers who didn't get rep or who don't agree with the post that got rep.

Smelly bucket meets fan etc..

therecklessone

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

But at the moment everything is about post counts.

Where?

Prove it.

Spiritoftheseventies

Im not going to drag up every post where its been mentioned but it has. As for ratings system Im not asking for every mod to rate every post but i think where a poster contributes positively to these forums it should be noted. I was voted best newcomer on a forum on these boards but dont think any mod has ever noted it. Instead my negative rep is called into question and continually so by some mods who have levelled A B or C at me. I think its time for a bit of fair play and at least if there was a ratings system that would at least sort out some of the problem.

therecklessone

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Im not going to drag up every post where its been mentioned but it has.

In the absence of you providing examples to back your point up we are left relying on your word, which in my opinion is not very credible.

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

As for ratings system Im not asking for every mod to rate every post but i think where a poster contributes positively to these forums it should be noted. I was voted best newcomer on a forum on these boards but dont think any mod has ever noted it. Instead my negative rep is called into question and continually so by some mods who have levelled A B or C at me. I think its time for a bit of fair play and at least if there was a ratings system that would at least sort out some of the problem.

So let me get this straight:

1. Your fellow forum users gave you recognition for your contributions.
2. That's not good enough though, you want a gold star, or green dots, or jam on your bread, or a day named after you...
3. You are suggesting that mods give out rep to users.
4. But you claim that some mods ignore the fact that your fellow forum users value your contributions, and instead they have a negative opinion of you.

Just to clarify:

5. You want a mod-administered rating system, despite the fact that you're arguing mods do not rate you as highly as some users do.

Brilliant!

Tell the truth, you just want to be loved, right?

Spiritoftheseventies

therecklessone wrote: »

In the absence of you providing examples to back your point up we are left relying on your word, which in my opinion is not very credible.



So let me get this straight:

1. Your fellow forum users gave you recognition for your contributions.
2. That's not good enough though, you want a gold star, or green dots, or jam on your bread, or a day named after you...
3. You are suggesting that mods give out rep to users.
4. But you claim that some mods ignore the fact that your fellow forum users value your contributions, and instead they have a negative opinion of you.

Just to clarify:

5. You want a mod-administered rating system, despite the fact that you're arguing mods do not rate you as highly as some users do.

Brilliant!

Tell the truth, you just want to be loved, right?

Not talking about mods across the board. Just some mods from a particular forum. And if you are asking me to incriminate either mods or posters who brought up my post counts I just wont do that. You will have to trust me on this one.
To ask you a question Are you against someone's thank rate being posted on their side panel in the absence of a ratings system and if so why?

Oryx

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Are you against someone's thank rate being posted on their side panel in the absence of a ratings system and if so why?

Im jumping in here, even though this was aimed at someone else. Thanks was originally on the side bar. But as with rep, it tends to turn into an epenis/kudos/status symbol and thanks whoring ensues. I like the system as it is. Thanks has a value. Make it too visible and that value gets abused.

therecklessone

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

You will have to trust me on this one.

We will have to agree to disagree on that one, as I stated above your word is meaningless to me.

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

To ask you a question Are you against someone's thank rate being posted on their side panel in the absence of a ratings system and if so why?

Yes.

1. The rep system was tried here and abused, hence it's no longer available.

2. A mod-administered rep system places too much work on the moderators who have far better things to do with their time.

3. I don't believe the Admins of this site should reward attention whores in any way, shape, or form.

4. Finally, a poster's post-count does not define who they are on this site, anyone who tells you otherwise is being disingenuous. Each poster establishes a track record through their behaviour, newer users take time to do that, but I think it's pretty easy to establish the bona fides or lack thereof of a regular contributor to a specific forum on boards.

Spiritoftheseventies

Maybe you are right but just feel there is just too much ambiguity with posters posting at the moment. . My rep isnt terrific on other site Im talking about but given I was told I should never post on the internet by one or two posters on this site, the ratings system just makes a mockery of that. Can only speak personally but dont think Im being treated very fairly at the moment.
Will leave it at that.

Steve

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

given I was told I should never post on the internet by one or two posters on this site, the ratings system just makes a mockery of that. Can only speak personally but dont think Im being treated very fairly at the moment.
Will leave it at that.

If someone told you that then you should report the posts / PM / wherever it was said.

If you feel you're being bullied in any way then speak to the forum mods where it's happening. If you think mods are bullying you then speak to a category mod (listed on the bottom right of the forum), if that doesn't work then avail of helpdesk and speak to the admins.

I can assure you that it's not tolerated on this site - besides in a case like that, rep points would be the last thing a mod / cmod / admin would look at.

You are what you post, that's the way it's always been here.

therecklessone

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Maybe you are right but just feel there is just too much ambiguity with posters posting at the moment. . My rep isnt terrific on other site Im talking about but given I was told I should never post on the internet by one or two posters on this site, the ratings system just makes a mockery of that. Can only speak personally but dont think Im being treated very fairly at the moment.
Will leave it at that.

If you feel you are being unfairly treated then a Feedback thread looking for system changes will not address that.

Your first port of call should be to the CMod of the forum you are talking about.

If they fail to address your concerns then start a Help Desk thread, or should you be unwilling to expose your complaint to public scrutiny then I'm sure an Admin would be willing to answer private correspondence re. your complaint.

edit: had the thread open for a while before posting this, Steve beat me to the punch with his advice above.

Peyton Manning

Sots - trust me - you dont want to see what your reputation would be.

Spiritoftheseventies

Archimedes wrote: »

Sots - trust me - you dont want to see what your reputation would be.

Archi i have posted on another site and i have picked up two green squares in the space of a month. Which leads me to believe that no poster is beyond redemption. Question is this. If a poster has a bad spell is he doomed forever with that rep.
I for one as you know dont judge a poster on his past failings but some do.

Overheal

They're Moderators not Diggsters. Theres a reason we have the Report Post funtion too. Mods are not capable or expected to read (let alone Rate) every post they come across. A Moderator is also a volunteer, who is not expected to devote their waking life to rating yours or my contributions. They like too contribute to discussions too. And they have opinions, too. And they can - on occasion - display a bias. Forcing them to govern a rep system would create so many problems I'd rather not enumerate them all.

Post count doesnt equate to status or recognition. You'll find people who have been moderators in as short as a few weeks from joining, with maybe a couple hundred posts or less. Its not because they get sized up by their e-penis its because they've been recognized by their contributions as someone who would be ripe for the role, etc. And thats but one example. Theres plenty of people on the site I dont need a bar next to their name to know I disagree with them or in some cases have even learned to dislike them. And just because one of those posters had a green bar next to their post count; it would not sway me from thinking they were any less of an asshat.

Spiritoftheseventies

Overheal wrote: »

They're Moderators not Diggsters. Theres a reason we have the Report Post funtion too. Mods are not capable or expected to read (let alone Rate) every post they come across. A Moderator is also a volunteer, who is not expected to devote their waking life to rating yours or my contributions. They like too contribute to discussions too. And they have opinions, too. And they can - on occasion - display a bias. Forcing them to govern a rep system would create so many problems I'd rather not enumerate them all.

Post count doesnt equate to status or recognition. You'll find people who have been moderators in as short as a few weeks from joining, with maybe a couple hundred posts or less. Its not because they get sized up by their e-penis its because they've been recognized by their contributions as someone who would be ripe for the role, etc. And thats but one example. Theres plenty of people on the site I dont need a bar next to their name to know I disagree with them or in some cases have even learned to dislike them. And just because one of those posters had a green bar next to their post count; it would not sway me from thinking they were any less of an asshat.

Okay we can shelve the ratings system. So what do we have in its place. The spoken word of poster (s)/mods from a forum who decide how good a poster is on how they perform via the confines of that particular forum.
Im not saying its all bad but i got a bit annoyed last month when certain posters came out with sweeping statements and Im not entirely convinced that either the said posters or mods have changed their viewpoint entirely.
Was just an idea no point pursuing any further

Overheal

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Okay we can shelve the ratings system. So what do we have in its place. The spoken word of poster (s)/mods from a forum who decide how good a poster is on how they perform via the confines of that particular forum.
Im not saying its all bad but i got a bit annoyed last month when certain posters came out with sweeping statements and Im not entirely convinced that either the said posters or mods have changed their viewpoint entirely.
Was just an idea no point pursuing any further

Well what you are saying is other posters have formed an opinion about you, Spirit. Thats not really an issue that a Reputation System can fix, like I explained.

This thread isn't really about a Reputation System at all then. You just think a Reputation System would solve your problem.

At this point your issue is with the Help Desk, and speaking to the Category Moderator or the Admins, via Help Desk, and provide them with examples of the Cyber-Bullying your mentioning.

Nevyn

Why do we need anything in it's place, why can't we let people judge the merits of posts for themselves?

Spiritoftheseventies

Overheal wrote: »

Well what you are saying is other posters have formed an opinion about you, Spirit. Thats not really an issue that a Reputation System can fix, like I explained.

This thread isn't really about a Reputation System at all then. You just think a Reputation System would solve your problem.

At this point your issue is with the Help Desk, and speaking to the Category Moderator or the Admins, via Help Desk, and provide them with examples of the Cyber-Bullying your mentioning.

maybe I will but my intention initially was to explore the possibility of a ratings system which is why I went here. I thought it was a good idea but it didn't work before so maybe best leave it at that.

Frisbee

SOTS the only person who seems focussed on postcounts is you.

Also if it means that much to you that people should see what people think of your posts you can enable an option in your CP to show how many thanks you've received under your postcount afaik.

Steve

Frisbee wrote: »

you can enable an option in your CP to show how many thanks you've received under your postcount afaik.

I'm pretty sure that option is not available on boards. Maybe you should check again.

Spiritoftheseventies

Frisbee wrote: »

SOTS the only person who seems focussed on postcounts is you.

Also if it means that much to you that people should see what people think of your posts you can enable an option in your CP to show how many thanks you've received under your postcount afaik.

to be fair happy to let things slide now. Havent post here in two days now. Was just an idea

_blank_

Steve wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that option is not available on boards. Maybe you should check again.

<----

Steve

Des wrote: »

<----

Get owwa dat garden

Overheal

Des wrote: »

<----

Ahem.

Mr. Presentable

Oryx wrote: »

Im jumping in here, even though this was aimed at someone else. Thanks was originally on the side bar. But as with rep, it tends to turn into an epenis/kudos/status symbol and thanks whoring ensues. I like the system as it is. Thanks has a value. Make it too visible and that value gets abused.

This is pretty much it, OP. There will always be people who respect (for want of a better word) post count, or join date, or thanks rating, or rep. What they should be respecting is the community garnered standing of the poster. You know whose posts you want to read without needing to check a sidebar to see what everyone else thinks.

I well remember the rep system. Threads called "rep the poster above for complimentary rep" were common and even more abusive than the current thanks-whoring first reply fashion in AH. It really means nothing. Think of it as you would your real relationships in the water and muck world; you don't choose your friends etc based on what badges they wear.

I am not my post count
I am not my thanks count
I am not my join date
I may be my infractions record

Spiritoftheseventies

nipplenuts wrote: »

I am not my post count
I am not my thanks count
I am not my join date
I may be my infractions record

therecklessone

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

It's not that hard to understand, past indiscretions may be a stain on a posters character.

Overheal

therecklessone wrote: »

It's not that hard to understand, past indiscretions may be a stain on a posters character.

We're looking into that.

Spiritoftheseventies

Yes I had a feeling that was what it was about but just wanted it confirmed.