Improving Member Levels: Less Threatening, More Fun [Archive] - maemo.org

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 08:52 AM

On this forum we have a number of member "levels" that you hit when you reach a certain number of posts: Junior Member, Member, and Senior Member. Unfortunately, these titles they often imply that their owners have a certain status in the community that doesn't necessarily reflect that owner's real status within the community (in the case of a prolific troll, or an individual that likes to spam help requests, etc.). This issue has come up often enough (and out of left field often enough) that I believe it should be addressed as part of the Talk migration.

As such, I'd like to make this a contest of sorts to come up with the best set of replacement levels. Any proposed list should be appropriate (not your top-5 profanities, qwerty12 :p), non-threatening (we don't want to repeat the problem with "Senior Member" we have now), and fun. The numbers 1-5 in Finnish would be a good example (Yksi, Kaksi, Kolme, Neljä, Viisi). Let's try to shoot for at least 5 levels, but feel free to add more if you want (though I'm not clear on exactly how the vBulletin system works).

Once we get a decent number of proposals, then I suppose we can move them into a poll. We'll also need to decide on the post value for each level. I figure the top level should be somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 posts (100 is appropriate for a new forum, but not a 4-year-old one).

TA-t3

03-12-2009, 09:07 AM

The number of posts (which decides the current level) doesn't, as we know, tell anything about the quality of posts, so why not change it from 'Senior Member' (which I think is reached after just a 100 posts or so) to 'Prolific Poster' or something.. ;)

Yours,
Senior Member #4974

EDIT: Some level suggestions: 1-x: visitor x-50: hanging around 50-300: regular 300-1000: prolific poster: 1000->: needs a life :p

dwould

03-12-2009, 09:09 AM

Is there no way to base a level off of the Thanks count? presumably a high thanks count is more likely to equate to an active and helpful member of the community than merely a high post count.

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 10:01 AM

Is there no way to base a level off of the Thanks count? presumably a high thanks count is more likely to equate to an active and helpful member of the community than merely a high post count.

Yes, this was an option I was considering, but I think it'd require some work on the plugin to make it happen. Probably not worth it. The maemo.org karma is a "good enough" reward for getting Thanks!. The levels should be more for fun than anything else, and having them involve no more work than spamming as much as you can manage seem appropriate. ;)

eiffel

03-12-2009, 10:34 AM

First ten posts: "New member".

After that: "Member".

No need for the patronising "Junior member" or pompous "Senior member".

Oh, and if you want to make the forum more welcoming to newcomers, how about this: the first person to respond to a new member's first post can start by saying "Welcome to the forum". If a few people start to do that, it should catch on.

Regards,
Roger

Den in USA

03-12-2009, 11:00 AM

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 11:08 AM

First ten posts: "New member".

After that: "Member".

No need for the patronising "Junior member" or pompous "Senior member".

Yes, but that's no fun. We still want the rankings, we just don't want them to imply anything other than they should.

Oh, and if you want to make the forum more welcoming to newcomers, how about this: the first person to respond to a new member's first post can start by saying "Welcome to the forum". If a few people start to do that, it should catch on.

Not really relevant to this thread, but feel free to get it started. . . .

Frank Banul

03-12-2009, 11:19 AM

What do you want the rankings to imply? I think I understand that you want them to imply only post count. What is the fun you are seeking?

Yes, but that's no fun. We still want the rankings, we just don't want them to imply anything other than they should.

allnameswereout

03-12-2009, 11:29 AM

Maybe a combination of New Member -> Member in Finnish instead? I see the usefulness of New Member versus Member in English, I see the fun of Finnish titles, and I see the usefulness of karma giving one a new title as member. Maybe we can combine it all-in-one:

1) In Finnish
2) Import aspect being New Member versus Member (in Finnish?)
3) After that its Karma and fun, in Finnish.

qgil

03-12-2009, 11:29 AM

In an integrated talk.maemo.org the karma points could be perhaps made more visible. It might give a hint when put next to the post count and the thanks given & received.

andrewfblack

03-12-2009, 11:30 AM

User Ranks with Internet Speed Names
Less then 50 Posts - Dial Up
51 to 250 - ISDN
251 to 500 - DSL
501 to 750 - Cable
751 to 1000 - Fios

User Ranks other idea
Less then 50 Posts - Newbie
51 to 250 - Average User
251 to 500 - IT Worker
501 to 750 - Network Admin
751 to 1000 - Linux Guru
1500+ - That guy in office that fixes your computer.

Ok I know give me more time I'll make up better ones.

Khertan

03-12-2009, 11:37 AM

I propose something base on the addition of ascii value of each char of the nick divided by 42.

Of course do not forget to click on the button "THANKS" on this really usefull post.

-----------

Do you think this is really important to show that you are an important people in the community in the forum, or does what you say is more ?
Really you need this ? to rate people ? I don't think this is really necessary. But it s my point of view

andrewfblack

03-12-2009, 11:43 AM

I think that after 1500 or so you should allow people to set there own title.

andrewfblack

03-12-2009, 11:51 AM

or maybe we could do images like 5 boxes and you get another shaded for each 250 posts.

Jobester

03-12-2009, 11:52 AM

New member and member are pretty good, even if there are exceptions where new member would be inaccurate. For more fun could name after the Maemo OS names, Freakish Fremantler et cetera. Should be an opportunity for a bit of education about the seemingly random OS names, or could tie it in with qwerty12's top five profanities. So elitism is a must and this could be achieved by using post levels of 3^n; 1, 3, 27, 81, 243 and so on. There could be also be random ones such as 19 could be antidisestablishmentarianism and 100 for beer and pizza! Anyway, my point clearly is that if it were up to me the levels would be named after food. Since I suspect there are a significant amount of users here who were poor starving students at one point in their life, I'd recommend using the names of international recipes for instant noodles

Jobester

03-12-2009, 11:56 AM

Or another option is also not have post counts displayed

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 12:00 PM

Or could also not have post counts displayed

An option, I supposed, but as they're used for karma, it'd be rather difficult to make sense of that number if you didn't know what was used to calculate it.

qgil

03-12-2009, 12:01 PM

That too. If you are interested or suspicious about a user you could always click the profile link.

debernardis

03-12-2009, 12:14 PM

1. newborn pea
2. toddling menace
3. teen-aged gangsta'
4. working-class hero
5. oldie goldie junkie

plus further bonus levels: "senile smiley", "talking corpse", and "undead tablet firmware ghost" :)

Hope that terms have no profane/offensive meanings in English...

pelago

03-12-2009, 12:40 PM

I second the comment that the more important thing is the Thanked count, not Posts count. Why not just move the Thanked number to a more prominent position, rather than have named ranks?

eiffel

03-12-2009, 12:45 PM

Yes, but that's no fun.
OK then.

1-9 posts: Never heard of General Antilles
10-99 posts: Has noticed General Antilles
100-499 posts: In awe of General Antilles
500-999 posts: Tries to smile like General Antilles
1000-3799 posts: Tries to act like General Antilles
3800+ posts: Is General Antilles

Regards,
Roger

sunnydips

03-12-2009, 01:15 PM

Why don't you send everyone a pm with a survey or quiz or both attached rating that user's level of knowledge on such things as linux, networking, programming, etc. You could even add a whole section to the itt site: Test for Senior Member

But I believe that if we go ahead with this that the forum should somehow direct more newbie traffic towards the "senior members" because otherwise why does this matter?

Like in Ultima Online how you had counselors and game masters and admins.

I think unanswered threads past however long it takes to push it off the top page should be forwarded to senior members to take a look at.

urnass

03-12-2009, 01:35 PM

Here a confusing suggestion:

New Member
< 10 post

Observing Member
> 10 post

Member
> 10 posts and (4 post in last 30 days or > 2 Thanks in last 90 days)

Guru
> 40 Thanks total or (> 40 posts total and (> 20 post in last 30 days or > 10 Thanks in last 90 days))

God-like
> 100 Thanks total or (> 100 post total and (> 50 post in last 30 days or > 25 Thanks in last 90 days))

The actual numbers of thanks and posts is somewhat arbitrary & should be adjusted to reflect other members opinions.

Even though it's confusing, I think a valuation scheme like this is a good balance between recently joint member who jump right in contribute quickly, valuable long time members who have been unable to contribute due to recent external circumstances & the other active members to this forum.

For example, I would I consider myself an observing member to this forum. I read it 3 time a week, but I don't contribute often - therefore I'd give myself a label of "Observing Member". If I decided to contribute more and those contributions where valued by other member (by Thanking), then I would be rewarded with a higher member status.

So thank me for this contribution so I can be rewarded. :D

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 01:42 PM

. . . otherwise why does this matter?

That's the point, it doesn't matter, but the current arrangement (with seniority) makes it seem like it does matter. So, I'm fishing for some cool alternatives that underline the fact that it doesn't matter.

eiffel

03-12-2009, 02:15 PM

1-9 posts: Never heard of General Antilles...
[Sigh] That post was supposed to be a light-hearted joke, but I've received some PMs which show that not everyone took it that way. Sorry about that.

Regards,
Roger

sunnydips

03-12-2009, 02:49 PM

(in the case of a prolific troll, or an individual that likes to spam help requests, etc.). This issue has come up often enough (and out of left field often enough) that I believe it should be addressed as part of the Talk migration.

I may be one of those users who spams help requests :p The thing is I'm unsure if the reason no one answers is because no one knows or because no one cares to waste their time on the stupid newbie question. So I post in multiple areas hoping to get a response and end up a senior member just two days after receiving my first NIT.

There's certain issues I see with the forum that could work much better for everyone should the people with the know decide to make it matter. I personally do not have the skills and perhaps I'm a bit out of place suggesting such things but I'd like to see a bit more structure in the tablet forums.

Wouldn't it be better a newbie like me could post a thread and know that he'll get help from a "experienced" user and not just another newb with 1000 posts?

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 03:07 PM

[Sigh] That post was supposed to be a light-hearted joke, but I've received some PMs which show that not everyone took it that way. Sorry about that.

You don't even know, buddy, you don't even know. . . . ;)

lemmyslender

03-12-2009, 03:28 PM

Just for fun, let anyone with more than say 100 posts make their own title.

However, the length of the title can be no more characters than the number of post divided by 20. You would get 5 characters for a title once you hit 100 posts and an extra character every 20 posts after that.

This would let everyone get creative with their titles and have fun with them. It would also still give an indication of how many posts someone has as well.

sondjata

03-12-2009, 03:31 PM

I say we get to make our own ranking once past "newbe." That should make it interesting.

lcuk

03-12-2009, 03:31 PM

remove the post count and the total thanks from each comment.
keep it on the profile page and keep the thanks in this post listing.

comment thanks should not be based on any level of seniority or history.
A newbie with something valid to say should be heard and rated by the peers in the discussion on an equal footing to someone who has been around for a while.

what I *do* think we need is a way to moderate out the crap.
a so called no-thanks which could start to fold up the offtopic comments made (obviously not deleting them and individual users should choose whether to see them or not)

sunnydips

03-12-2009, 03:41 PM

Ah. Yeah... How about something like Yahoo! Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com/)

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 05:10 PM

what I *do* think we need is a way to moderate out the crap.
a so called no-thanks which could start to fold up the offtopic comments made (obviously not deleting them and individual users should choose whether to see them or not)

No thanks! We don't have the numbers to work averages like Slashdot does, so it's just going to result in the fulfillment of personal vendettas and unpopular opinions getting buried, regardless of the validity of the content (ask ThoughtFix sometime about the rating of his blog posts on Planet).

Dealing with this sort of stuff is a moderator's job.

lcuk

03-12-2009, 05:13 PM

we have the maemo planet though which already has a concept of thumbs up and thumbs down.
ratings are good, a user feels like they are participating if they can help cleanup the mess as well as just patting them on the back.

fatalsaint

03-12-2009, 05:19 PM

0-25 - New Member
25-50 - Needs to get out more
50-200 - Needs a life
200-400 - Is forgotten
400-1000 - Legally Dead
1000+ - Photophobic

:D

sunnydips

03-12-2009, 05:39 PM

and instead of thanks we could do High 5! :D

fpp

03-12-2009, 05:50 PM

[Sigh] That post was supposed to be a light-hearted joke, but I've received some PMs which show that not everyone took it that way. Sorry about that.
Regards,
Roger

Well, *I* thought it was funny... an even more obfuscated private joke (for new users) would be to use a variety of past and existing nicknames, from lowly trolls to community superstars, to rank users - from "darius-class" all the way up to "GA-class" for instance, with all the shades of grey in between.

Joke aside, I could even see a couple of qualities in such a system, because it could make for *a lot* of possible rankings without having to invent anything at all : everyone's ranking would be more fun and more lively, changing often and indefinitely - one month "qwerty12-class", the next "qole-class"... and it also would make it very clear to all that ranking is there for kicks, not to actually mean anything :-)

EIPI

03-12-2009, 07:06 PM

in increasing order of seniority:

widget
app
killer app
Command Line
Kernel

lma

03-12-2009, 08:12 PM

As such, I'd like to make this a contest of sorts to come up with the best set of replacement levels.

I'd prefer to just get rid of them altogether. Post & thanks counts (which are displayed anyway) are much more precise and transparent than any pecking order labels assigned by arbitrary post thresholds.

geneven

03-12-2009, 09:05 PM

I think it's all pretty unnecessary. I don't use labels to help me decide who to trust.

YoDude

03-12-2009, 09:14 PM

OK then.

1-9 posts: Never heard of General Antilles
10-99 posts: Has noticed General Antilles
100-499 posts: In awe of General Antilles
500-999 posts: Tries to smile like General Antilles
1000-3799 posts: Tries to act like General Antilles
3800+ posts: Is General Antilles

Regards,
Roger

If that^ was the winner it would be an excellent way to raise additional "server" funds. Offer a premium membership subscription for a fee that gives the subscriber the ability to change, or add a custom title.

I know I would pay a couple of bucks for any title that doesn't have the words "General Antilles" in it. :p

YoDude

03-12-2009, 09:17 PM

in increasing order of seniority:

widget
app
killer app
Command Line
Kernel

Dang! I like that. :)

Lieutenant Kernel would work too.

Thesandlord

03-12-2009, 09:34 PM

Really, when you have trolled these forms for long enough, you know who are the senior members.

What we need is some admins and mods to help out!

GeneralAntilles

03-12-2009, 09:54 PM

I think it's all pretty unnecessary. I don't use labels to help me decide who to trust.

Yes, that's exactly the point. :rolleyes: The labels aren't useful for anything but fun, that's why I'm proposing changing them.

Either way, the apathy line isn't behind the "Post Reply" button. . . .

What we need is some admins and mods to help out!

Please see the Talk announcement.

sjgadsby

03-12-2009, 10:56 PM

Jaffa

03-13-2009, 06:11 AM

Perhaps, since a high post count here likely indicates some dedication to miniature computing devices, we should turn the normal forum title progression style on its head. We could have people labeled with increasingly small/less significant titles as their post counts grow. It should be clear no one should take the veterans too seriously if they're all "dust motes", "pocket lint", or whatnot.

I like this idea. I also like the idea of foreign (to most) words to inject some humour, but Finnish words could help propagate the meme that Nokia is "taking over" ITT into the maemo.org behemoth.

Personally, I'm most siding with the ideas of dropping it altogether, and having the post headings based on the pervasive maemo.org user header (http://wiki.maemo.org/Task:Improving_maemo.org/Graphics#Member_profile).

SD69

03-13-2009, 07:41 AM

timsamoff

03-13-2009, 07:45 AM

I say we track user agents an grant higher levels to those who post here via their tablets -- anyone who has the patience to do that should be rewarded. :p

Tim

Jaffa

03-13-2009, 07:48 AM

I regard categories based on post count as being redundant of post count (we can easily see who has >100, etc).

I would rather have some useful descriptive information. Possibly, self-selection of a category reflective of the user's interest in Maemo - "app developer", "user", "just visiting", "tablet devotee", etc.

This idea may be a good one, but it requires more effort than changing the labels and thresholds of the current categories; which is what Ryan's asking about.

What about 5 categories:

Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Orange

Thresholds to be assigned semi-randomly. They're abstract & meaningless, let's make them so :-)

sjgadsby

03-13-2009, 07:49 AM

Personally, I'm most siding with the ideas of dropping it altogether, and having the post headings based on the pervasive maemo.org user header (http://wiki.maemo.org/Task:Improving_maemo.org/Graphics#Member_profile).

Using the user header from maemo.org could work.

I would have backed the "remove titles entirely" crowd except that I anticipate an influx of new users once that Maemo 5 lead device goes on sale. Furthermore, I expect quite a number of those new users will have frequented other Internet forums, and I can just see a "Here's an idea, let's add titles" thread taking off eight months from now.

Jaffa

03-13-2009, 07:56 AM

Using the user header from maemo.org could work.

Another reason I like it is that it better ensures that the web fora to the maemo-* mailing lists looks consistent with talk.maemo.org.

Furthermore, I expect quite a number of those new users will have frequented other Internet forums, and I can just see a "Here's an idea, let's add titles" thread taking off eight months from now.

Hmm. Maybe. Happy to defend - in 8 months time - the right decision now. Well, at least once ;-)

Benson

03-13-2009, 09:20 AM

OK then.

1-9 posts: Never heard of General Antilles
10-99 posts: Has noticed General Antilles
100-499 posts: In awe of General Antilles
500-999 posts: Tries to smile like General Antilles
1000-3799 posts: Tries to act like General Antilles
3800+ posts: Is General Antilles

Regards,
Roger
Benson Is General Antilles -- GeneralAntilles is just an impostor. :p:D

in increasing order of seniority:

widget
app
killer app
Command Line
Kernel

I love the concept, but, ever a stickler for correct terminology, Benson (who, need I remind you, Is General Antilles! :cool:) recommends:
Widget
App
Shell
Shared library
Kernel

Cruelkix

03-17-2009, 12:18 PM

I say let everyone put whatever title they want after they have passed a level that they are no longer a newbie. Say 50+ posts? That way I could change my name to "Mega Troll that doesnt know anything really, but posts every now and again anyway, usually drunk when doing so". Best Title Ever!

Or even "What the hell is a Mechanical Engineer doing here?"

Besides it would be alot more fun. Or like once a month you get to pick a fellow forum member to change your title? That could be very interesting indeed (no profanities allowed of course.....)!

Craig

lcuk

03-17-2009, 12:21 PM

That way I could change my name to "Mega Troll that doesnt know anything really, but posts every now and again anyway, usually drunk when doing so".

make sure you check with qole that you can use his sig first, I think he has copyright over it :p

Cruelkix

03-17-2009, 12:34 PM

make sure you check with qole that you can use his sig first, I think he has copyright over it :p

Haha, nice! See, now how much fun would it have been if qole had sent you a request for you to give hima title and you gave him that? Endless amounts of fun and good times!

timsamoff

03-17-2009, 12:40 PM

make sure you check with qole that you can use his sig first, I think he has copyright over it :p

Actually, I hold the copyright to the "usually drunk when doing so" part. Anyone who is currently using it should remove it immediately.

Tim

eiffel

03-17-2009, 01:04 PM

OK, how about:

Mistral
Scirocco
Gregale
Bora
Chinook
Diablo
Fremantle
Harmattan

That should give the newcomers something to ponder.

Regards,
Roger

qole

03-17-2009, 01:17 PM

... I anticipate an influx of new users once that Maemo 5 lead device goes on sale...

I've noticed a big influx of new users now that the N810 is $220 at WalMart.

make sure you check with qole that you can use his sig first, I think he has copyright over it :p

It's actually a reference to a post by my hero, Mr. S. J. Gadsby:

You wrote that you've read again and again that the next tablet was due "soon" and likened those "missed" dates to those of Duke Nukem Forever. I'm pointing out that since the release of the N810 WiMAX Edition, the only tablet release date Nokia has given is "a Maemo 5 device in 2009". Any other date prediction you've seen has been wishful thinking by, well, unofficial sources (read: fanboys, wackos, and trolls).

EIPI

03-17-2009, 01:54 PM

OK, how about:

Mistral
Scirocco
Gregale
Bora
Chinook
Diablo
Fremantle
Harmattan

That should give the newcomers something to ponder.

Regards,
Roger

Perfect! This system has a built-in purgatory for forum trolls.... "Congratulations Sir, based upon your wondrous postings of late, we have elevated you to the member level, Elephanta." Then cutoff all their posting rights.

qole

03-17-2009, 02:06 PM

I would choose "Sardine (http://sardine.garage.maemo.org/)" for my level ;)

EDIT: Why? Because I think I'm cutting edge... except that the edge I'm cutting is usually off on some forgotten, oddball tangent.

Maemo Sardine is meant for application developers, hackers and tinkerers, not for end-users. By nature it is unstable and will often be badly broken.

sjgadsby

03-17-2009, 02:09 PM

OK, how about:

Mistral
Scirocco
Gregale
Bora
Chinook
Diablo
Fremantle
Harmattan

It's looking likely that "Ilmatar" or "Inverna" will follow Harmattan, by the way.

GeneralAntilles

03-17-2009, 02:13 PM

Mistral
Scirocco
Gregale
Bora
Chinook
Diablo
Fremantle
Harmattan

This is a really good idea, actually. It's got built-in expandability, it doesn't imply anything that we dont want it to (though it might be funny laughing at the Diablo-level users—maybe we can limit this one to just qwerty12? ;)). As the forum grows and post counts grow, we just add new codenames on the end as Nokia comes up with them.

I'm in favor of voting this in right now. :D Perhaps with a post-count system that looks something like:

Mistral - 0-24
Scirocco - 25-99
Gregale - 100-249
Bora - 250-499
Chinook - 500-999
Diablo - 1000-1999
Fremantle - 2000-3999
Harmattan - 4000-*

Snoshrk

03-17-2009, 02:43 PM

This is a really good idea, actually. It's got built-in expandability, it doesn't imply anything that we dont want it to (though it might be funny laughing at the Diablo-level users—maybe we can limit this one to just qwerty12? ;)). As the forum grows and post counts grow, we just add new codenames on the end as Nokia comes up with them.

I'm in favor of voting this in right now. :D Perhaps with a post-count system that looks something like:

Mistral - 0-24
Scirocco - 25-99
Gregale - 100-249
Bora - 250-499
Chinook - 500-999
Diablo - 1000-1999
Fremantle - 2000-3999
Harmattan - 4000-*

As much as I have enjoyed the other suggestions in this thread, I have to agree with GA (Thank You eiffel). I'll second the motion to put it to a vote.

:eek: Did I just agree with GA? I need to go lay down.... ;)

TheRealBubba

03-17-2009, 02:51 PM

No need for the patronising "Junior member" or pompous "Senior member".
Roger

Really? I can imagine a use for "Patronising member" and "Pompous member" level tags...

I like the idea of something user-settable after X posts, that would probably become fun and useless in the way GA originally proposed.

But I also like the idea of a descriptive field, "hardware developer", "alternative OS user", but can imagine that a large proportion of users would feel they bridge too many categories (and that's what sigs get used for anyway).

I'm not so keen on the OS version hierarchy, just because it will confuse some poor newbies when trying to dismabiguate their platform from the user level of their information sources...

The "no thanks"/"thumbs down" has an immediate appeal, but I think reasonable objections have already been advanced.

fpp

03-17-2009, 04:18 PM

As much as I have enjoyed the other suggestions in this thread, I have to agree with GA (Thank You eiffel). I'll second the motion to put it to a vote.

:eek: Did I just agree with GA? I need to go lay down.... ;)

Yup | GA & eiffel FTW !

(wait... is this the election for the unlikeliest tandem of the year we're voting in ?...)

fpp

03-17-2009, 04:21 PM

I would choose "Sardine (http://sardine.garage.maemo.org/)" for my level ;)

EDIT: Why? Because I think I'm cutting edge... except that the edge I'm cutting is usually off on some forgotten, oddball tangent.

qole, I don't know what "Sardine" means to Canadians... but as a Frenchman, even though I'm prepared to be convinced that a sardine has edges, I would never consider cutting anything with one :-)

pelago

03-17-2009, 06:12 PM

The OS codenames doesn't get my vote. I think it will be confused as indicating what OS people are using. I vote to get rid of the labels altogether.

Jobester

03-17-2009, 06:26 PM

"Mistral (New Member)"

?

GeneralAntilles

03-17-2009, 07:15 PM

"Mistral (New Member)"

Yeah, this might be an option. Maybe a big sticky thread explaining the member levels could work, too.

fragos

03-17-2009, 11:09 PM

Any method should be objective which is why many forums use post and thanks count.

stangri

03-18-2009, 12:19 AM

But why? Why would the forum need membership ranking in addition to the posts count and thanks count?

GeneralAntilles

03-18-2009, 12:55 AM

But why? Why would the forum need membership ranking in addition to the posts count and thanks count?

It already has it (and has had it since its inception), most people expect it on forums, and it doesn't do anybody any harm to have a little fun with silly rankings as long as they're silly and meaningless.

Palmleavr

03-18-2009, 01:27 AM

So, if I understand the General Antilles' intention at the start of this thread, the main purposes of this discussion are:

1. To give a little more meaning to the member level descriptors :cool:
2. To have more fun with them :D

Here's my (two-bits) idea:

A. Start with an adjective = to give an idea of a member's experience with the Forums (using the following words and numbers as examples only):

Maemo Baby Mumbles/Penguin---
0 to 20 posts OR
some formula such as: (# of posts * # of days as a member) / 365 = 0 to 0.08

Maemo Dancer Mumbles/Penguin---
21 to 50 posts OR
formula = 0.09 to 0.18

Maemo Swimmer Mumbles/Penguin---
51 to 100 posts OR
formula = 0.19 to 0.30

Maemo Leader Mumbles/Penguin---
>100 posts OR
formula > 0.30

B. Add a noun = a member's self-styled title based upon their understanding of Linux/computers:

-Newbie (or Tyro, Naif, Greenhorn, Rookie, Tenderfoot, Trainee, Apprentice)

-Dabbler (or User, Amateur, Layperson, Non-Professional)

-Veteran (or Doyen, Guide, Old-Timer, Adept, Senior)

-Senior Member (or Expert, Master, Maestro, Senior Techie)

Or just use something more descriptive like:

-Gadget enthusiast
-Developer/Programmer
-Software Guru
-Hardware Maven
-Seeker
-CompetentbutnotSuperman

This would result in member names such as:

-Maemo Newbie Developer
-Maemo Leader Clown
-Maemo Dancer Software Guru
-Maemo Swimmer Gadget Enthusiast

[Actually, I'm not too enthusiastic about the "Penguin" names I came up with, but some other adjectives + titles would create some interesting results].

C. I also like the idea of adding some information about how many "thanked" posts each member has, or perhaps there is some way to record how many posted Answers (vs. Questions) each poster has made.

TheRealBubba

03-18-2009, 01:44 AM

Maemo Baby Mumbles/Penguin---
0 to 20 posts OR
some formula such as: (# of posts * # of days as a member) / 365 = 0 to 0.08

[...]

Baby penguin, eh.

How about something like:
(Penguin) Egg
(Penguin) Nestling
... Fledgling
... Penguin
Travelled Penguin
Emperor penguin

sunnydips

03-18-2009, 02:14 AM

sunnydips- king

most others - peasant

the rest - pheasant

Jaffa

03-18-2009, 03:17 AM

I'm with the "let's lose it" section - especially if we can move to the new maemo.org profile heading (including avatar, karma and additionally post count and thanks for tmo)

It already has it (and has had it since its inception)

Bzzt. I've "had" the inability to choose 12/24 hour clock since OS2005; not a good argument ;-)

Actually, since we agree that the existing levels and titles are sub-optimal, removal is just as valid an option as change; and the pre-existing argument is an argument for doing something.

most people expect it on forums

I suspect the number of people who participate in more than one (vBulletin) forum on the Internet to be very small.

and it doesn't do anybody any harm to have a little fun with silly rankings as long as they're silly and meaningless.

Agreed. But why not shoot for consolidation and make a user's post on tmo look - as much as possible - as a comment they make on downloads, a post on planet etc?

luca

03-18-2009, 04:08 PM

I suspect the number of people who participate in more than one (vBulletin) forum on the Internet to be very small.

Yes, even following just one is a burden.
Forums suck :D

ioan

03-18-2009, 04:23 PM

fpp

03-18-2009, 05:50 PM

Yes, even following just one is a burden.
Forums suck :D

Yes, they do, but since the demise of Usenet they're the place where things happen nowadays for special interests. I may be in the tiny minority Jaffa speaks of, but there's over a half-dozen I visit frequently in addition to ITT...

Benson

03-18-2009, 06:41 PM

Again, what is wrong with Junior Member, Member, Senior Member? Who feels threatened by this and how other labels are suppose to be fun? I feel like I'm on a IRC channel on Undernet where everybody wants to be @op.

Who feels threatened? Junior Members and Members, mostly. And they don't need to be "threatened" for it to be a problem, just plain misunderstandings; I've seen at least one occasion where someone thought I was a Mod because I was a Senior Member. (itT: the web's highest mod-density forum!)

SD69

03-18-2009, 08:08 PM

I'm with the "let's lose it" section - especially if we can move to the new maemo.org profile heading (including avatar, karma and additionally post count and thanks for tmo)

When it was announced that itt was moving to maemo.org, there were comments that it was a non-event, little more than a name change, etc., etc.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25309

IMHO, you should not propose use of maemo.org karma (since that is affected by much more than itt forum activity).

qole

03-18-2009, 09:28 PM

I'm only interested if I can be a Sardine.

fragos

03-18-2009, 09:58 PM

We sure are getting carried away with this. I recall in the 60's we used to joke that an expert programmer was the one assigned and a guru was programmer that did it once before. These various lables seem to have a similar level of useful meaning.

TenSpeed

03-18-2009, 10:09 PM

I know it's not as much fun, but I vote to ditch the titles completely. I come from the school of "Keep It Simple, Stupid." (No, it's not actually a school. More like distance ed.)

Hey, while you're at it, limit the signatures, clean up the interface, etc.

Right now each posting shows the avatar, name, time/date, post#, a "report" button (I've never noticed that before!), join date, location, # of posts, # of thanks, # of thankeds, thread title, signature, quote button, thanks button... Oh, and the actual content. Seems a little... unbalanced.

Clean that up and I promise that I'll have more fun. :)

If not, put me down for Sardine...

bobthebuilder

03-19-2009, 12:19 AM

I like titles because it atleast gives me a sense of how involved the individual is on the forums. I know that does not indicate his worth to the community, but it could be an indication.

Thesandlord

03-19-2009, 12:22 AM

Right now, titles are completely useless. Any system based on post count is stupid, because, hey look: I can see exactly how many posts you have without looking at the title!

I think that after people get a few hundred posts or whatever, they can pick a name from a list of pre-approved ones (So we don't get names that are 100 words long).

Or just remove them. In communist maemo, everyone is a comrade!

Jaffa

03-19-2009, 05:21 PM

When it was announced that itt was moving to maemo.org, there were comments that it was a non-event, little more than a name change, etc., etc. [...] IMHO, you should not propose use of maemo.org karma (since that is affected by much more than itt forum activity).

I'm not suggesting the "use" of maemo.org karma to select a description alongside a name; just that since ITT accounts and maemo.org accounts can be linked (http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=269442&postcount=3) that - for some users - additional information from the maemo.org account will be able to be shown on the talk.maemo.org posts.

Karma is an obvious one. A link in (from their tmo profile page) back to the maemo.org profile page is another. Perhaps "company" too.

ITT is becoming tmo, everything under *.maemo.org should strive to show user contributions in as consistent manner as possible, and the current proposal for is: http://wiki.maemo.org/Task:Improving_maemo.org/Graphics#Member_profile

attila77

03-19-2009, 06:52 PM

Right now, titles are completely useless. Any system based on post count is stupid, because, hey look: I can see exactly how many posts you have without looking at the title!

But you don't know the range. So in meaningful terms, you want to split the RANGE of 0 to top poster and rank accordingly.

X = # of posts of GA
0 - X/5 lurker
X/5 - 2X/5 casual typer
2X/5 - 3X/5 strong poster
3X/5 - 4X/5 message factory
4X/5 - 6X/5 GA lookalike
6X/5 - 10X/5 GA on steroids
20X/5 - 50X/5 carpal tunnel syndrome
50X+/5 man machine interface

adjust as necessary

lardman

03-19-2009, 07:22 PM

I like the idea of karma being used to rate the person, assuming we even need ratings and assuming it can be fed in somehow.

SD69

03-19-2009, 08:29 PM

I'm not suggesting the "use" of maemo.org karma to select a description alongside a name; just that since ITT accounts and maemo.org accounts can be linked (http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=269442&postcount=3) that - for some users - additional information from the maemo.org account will be able to be shown on the talk.maemo.org posts.

Karma is an obvious one. A link in (from their tmo profile page) back to the maemo.org profile page is another. Perhaps "company" too.

ITT is becoming tmo, everything under *.maemo.org should strive to show user contributions in as consistent manner as possible, and the current proposal for is: http://wiki.maemo.org/Task:Improving_maemo.org/Graphics#Member_profile

Sure, I understand all that. My point is using maemo.org karma on the forum will rank people according to criteria that is not limited to their activity on the forum. I understand karma has good purpose on maemo.org where people are doing things instead of just talking, but importing a ranking system into the forum is a bad idea.

Benson

03-19-2009, 10:01 PM

Sure, I understand all that. My point is using maemo.org karma on the forum will rank people according to criteria that is not limited to their activity on the forum. I understand karma has good purpose on maemo.org where people are doing things instead of just talking, but importing a ranking system into the forum is a bad idea.
Why is showing more info about them a bad idea, when that info will be available by clicking through to their profile page, anyway?

SD69

03-20-2009, 02:25 PM

Why is showing more info about them a bad idea, when that info will be available by clicking through to their profile page, anyway?Showing more info about a person's forum activity is a good idea. And Jaffa's proposal makes a lot of sense (from the perspective of maemo.org). But I think a person's karma or ranking on the forum should continue to be determined only by their contributions to the forum, and not by their contributions to maemo.org at large. Just my opinion.

lcuk

03-20-2009, 02:34 PM

Showing more info about a person's forum activity is a good idea. And Jaffa's proposal makes a lot of sense (from the perspective of maemo.org). But I think a person's karma or ranking on the forum should continue to be determined only by their contributions to the forum, and not by their contributions to maemo.org at large. Just my opinion.

the forum *will* be on maemo.org at large.
so contributions to the planet and to the wiki and to the projects should all go in together.
but I feel it should not be displayed and used on the forum.

within a forum having a hierarchy feels wrong.
it doesnt matter how much good a person has done elsewhere if hes trolling in a particular thread, or if an utter newbie comes up with an utterly amazing comment.

qole

03-22-2009, 01:35 AM

...it doesnt matter how much good a person has done elsewhere if hes trolling in a particular thread...

nah, that never happens. ;)

EIPI

03-24-2009, 09:39 AM

How about a member level system based upon the Beaufort Scale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale). The Maemo releases are named after winds. The Beaufort scale measures wind at sea.

Red

03-24-2009, 09:50 AM

The levels on another board I frequent were based on humorous versions of winds. They were:

Fresh Breeze 0
Familiar Wind 100
Constant Storm 500
Stale Wind 1000
Historic Gale 2000
Crusty Puff 3000
Omnipotent Gust 4000
Wild Windshear 5000
Jehovah's Exhalation 6000
Unceasing Huff-n-Puff 7000
Old Fart 8000
Wafting Whiff 9000
Tiny Typhoon 10000+

Well, you said you wanted humour!

qole

03-24-2009, 01:43 PM

Oooh! I like that! Just call me Mr. Crusty Puff!

fpp

03-24-2009, 03:52 PM

EIPI+Red+maemo = good fit ! :-)

wazd

03-24-2009, 09:06 PM

maybe some posts/thanks ratio? Like
0 - "flamer"
0.2 - "can help"
0.5 - "will be glad to help"
1 - "eagle-eye"
and so on.

GeneralAntilles

03-24-2009, 09:43 PM

maybe some posts/thanks ratio? Like
0 - "flamer"
0.2 - "can help"
0.5 - "will be glad to help"
1 - "eagle-eye"
and so on.

Only valid if the Thanks had been present since the forum was opened, which they haven't been. Besides, I'm not looking for any sort of meaningful ranking metric (that's what the maemo.org karma is for), just something silly to replace the current scale we have now.

FRZ

03-24-2009, 10:59 PM

Hey, I am a senior member and I don't know squat. I just accidentally delete my clone boot getting confuse over these device names. "Sigh", I worked so hard on the clone boot.

lardman

03-25-2009, 08:15 PM

Hey, I am a senior member and I don't know squat.

You're having a "senior moment" ;)

jeremiah

04-08-2009, 08:32 AM

I really like GeneralAntilles' proposal - I hope it gets integrated.

Now I just hope I can get to kaksi. :)

benny1967

04-10-2009, 05:40 AM

YoDude

04-10-2009, 08:25 AM

I don't really think there's any need for action... But:

If it's gonna be changed... a good reason to use karma instead of anything else would be that in spite of the domain change, user accounts will not be merged.

Showing karma for those who have a maemo.org account and not showing karma ("-" rather than "0") for those who don't might make people ask what this karma-thing is all about... how to get karma... which may lead to people opening a maemo.org-account... which in turn is good for the community: The maemo.org account is the key to further participation beyond the forum.

Exactly^...

This forum site behaves as the general public expects a forum site to behave and low frustration = low transference to Maemo the brand.

However, if simple actions continue to frustrate new users at the maemo.org site, just the opposite may occur and this in turn is not good for the community.

If they are like me when the N800 first dropped they will retreat back to the comfort of this forum until they can figure out how to make that new purchase more useful.