Karma

Excuse me, was it my grammar or sentence structure which was not up to your exacting standards?

Topsy's post may have been directed towards EdBob but this wasn't clear from the post. It came across as more of a general musing and therefore open to general comment. I think my statement is perfectly valid insofar as the board is the property of an individual and that individual can do with it what he wishes, that is my general musing. My use of the phrase 'deemed necessary to fiddle about with a board' was simply to make it clear that I was referring to Topsy's post. Ed Bob asked for opinions, true, and the posts which follow can refer to his original questions and also to those posts themselves.

Having a bad day, or just a bit touchy today?

It's not shifting the format (which is already similar to slashcode), it's adding a metric. the questions are whether the metric is useful, whether it can be made useful, and what the downsides to it are.


I disagree. A lot of quality threads grow because of discussion and separating the wheat from the chaff becomes very difficult. Good points are buried back a couple pages because a pile of "jokes" and nonsense along with some arguments and various off-topic additions. Scored posts would allow you to filter that quickly if looking for information.

How will you determine "fact" threads? UA's MVV refund and my MVV rants were both filed under "Life in Munich" where they belong; only one has facts though both have info. The subject of a thread will let you determine whether post scores are relevant or meaningful, whether they're meant as "informative", "funny" or "i totally agree LOLOL".

I don't think the board is meant for children or the easily confused -- there's no need to protect either of those groups. While some may think that statement doesn't jibe with my previous comments on "karma", I note that those rankings implied quality, with ipj rated lower than MarcusBlair. For a guest or newbie briefly looking through the site for info, checking the "karma" for quality of a poster would be a logical action and one would be left with the wrong impression.

Again, with the ability to score every single post, the desire to do so fades quickly. After 2-4 weeks it drops off, something I know from experience. With the ability to see what ratings individual users handed out, the temptation to "mod-bomb" people is removed since it would be exposed.

woof.

@Baddoggie
You have good points as you usually do, but I still don't think it is suited for this forum. I consider the fact threads already sorted out appropriately enough with the misc/random subgroup.

how 'bout a +helpful button (prolly already suggested or exists), and a little "I'm helpful!" symbol next to people who usually post helpful things (above a specified helpfulness level or something). For example, BD tends to post answers, so he would probably have a graphic with "I'm Helpful!" next to his name, so people reading through would know he is good w/ giving answers.

<sarcasm>
Maybe a +IsAnIdiot button as well... with a nice "I'm an Idiot!" graphic next to their names, changing depending on how many +IsAnIdiot points they have

Or a +I'mASmartass button? Could have a little donkey w/ a book or something... I think I'd already have the donkey holding his PhD.
</sarcasm>

EditorBob,

live and let live. Saves you a lot of work. That's why one can opt out if one doesn't like it. You change it and whatever you come up with next will probably be just as controversial. You can't please 2000 users all at once. Have a beer instead, there's some football showing tonight.

I was thinking, for every -ve a person hands out, they get the same -ve on their karma. Same with +ve. Just a thought - that would be real karma for those who zap everyone or those who love everyone...

Footie - Germany / Mexico - I would recommend hitting one of the mexican bars

Thanks to everyone for their input. Lots of good suggestions.

For the time being, however, the TT Karma system will remain as it is.

It's supposed to be a fun feature that isn't taken too seriously. If you don't like it, however, then opt out.

When a karma giving attempt is made against an opted out member, this attempt no longer shows up in the log file. Opted out members should be totally invisible to the system. In the near future there will be the option to de-anonymise the logging of your karma giving (thanks to Silva for that good suggestion). Karma buttons may also be removed from opted out member's posts (not sure if this is possible yet). Karma opt-outee's are no longer referred to as "cowards" or "communists". Opting out is a right for all members and nobody should feel bad about doing so. The system source code will be published soon - the link will appear on the results page in the next few days.

Once again in case you missed it the first time: if you have a problem with karma - then opt out.

From now on all complaints and criticisms of the karma system, or complaints about other members' usage of it, will be removed without warning. Canvassing for karma votes, or in any other way trying to artificially influence the results, will result in the member concerned being forcibly opted out.

InvisionBoard, the software on which the TT forum is based, will soon come with a built-in topic rating system. It was hoped that TT might build a more finely grained and customisable system - one that is tailored to the specific dynamics of this board. But that plan has now been abandoned. Invision's own per-topic rating system will be used when it is released - probably around September 2005.