Forum Post Points

[Adam]

To help manage the amount of negative, stupid or spamming posts on the boards, there is the + and the - on the bottom right of each post (not the mods though).



If you HATE something someone says, give it a -



If you LOVE something someone did, give it a +



If it has 10 -'s then it gets hidden.



If it has 10 +'s then it gets highlighted. lets get in the habit of using this.

 

[DreadMullet]

so we should abuse this new power...



are you encouraging us to rate all posts either + or -, or just rate the really good ones, and the bad ones?

 

[Gokussj5okazu]

I like the idea. Kinda like RvB's mod system, too many negs and no one has to see it.

 

[DYSTORTED INC]

I like it, actually i like the whole thing. Its nice and snazzy.

 

[DogWizard]

Not a big fan - I'd rather wade through a lot of pointless crap than have some automated bot decide what I get to see on the forums today. This is a feature that will be abused...

 

[Odessa 086]

I have been on FileFront forums for several years now. The place has an enormous amount of members and unfortunately, that leads to the abuse of post rep. How can you be sure same won't happen here?

 

[23Magnum]

I'm assuming you can only hit that button once per person per post, yes?

 

[DogWizard]

To help manage the amount of negative, stupid or spamming posts on the boards, there is the + and the - on the bottom right of each post (not the mods though).



If you HATE something someone says, give it a -



If you LOVE something someone did, give it a +



If it has 10 -'s then it gets hidden.



If it has 10 +'s then it gets highlighted. lets get in the habit of using this.

What's the oversight method on this new "feature"? How do we know what posts have been sanitized for our protection? Is it anonymous? If someone gets dogpiled will they even know that their content has been hidden and is there anything they can do about it?



Inquiring minds want to know... :unsure

 

[Adam]

Mods can always "unhide" posts. It sends it to moderator approval when it hits a threshold. Negative comments are out of control and these forums are earning a reputation for being a-holes to new members. This is to help alleviate that.

 

[Odessa 086]

Mods can always "unhide" posts. It sends it to moderator approval when it hits a threshold.

That explains it, then. Sounds great!

 

[City Static]

I'm assuming you can only hit that button once per person per post, yes?

I hope so, because we don't want people reloading pages and constantly giving negative points.

 

[DogWizard]

Mods can always "unhide" posts. It sends it to moderator approval when it hits a threshold. Negative comments are out of control and these forums are earning a reputation for being a-holes to new members. This is to help alleviate that.

How do members know that their posts have been sanitized? Is there any way that they can be notified as well? Two reasons - if they don't know that they have been censured then how will they learn and what if someone gets blackballed? Do they ever even know that their post is gone or do they just go about their business thinking that their posts are still there?



I just noticed that the Moderating/Admin team seems to be immune to this new "feature". Was that intentional?



I'm really not trying to bust anyone up about this, it's just a pretty radical change and I really want to know the "how's and why's"...



I do agree about the poor example for newcomers. I just would have preferred to see that addressed through the Moderating team. These same members that are being so offensive and have to be controlled are now holding the button...

 

[Master Chief 13]

LOL good Idea

 

[Grim Killer]

I'm already seeing some abuse to this feature. In some threads I'm seeing -1 on all the post. .

Like I bet this post will.

 

[ImaGonnaGetYou]

As long as it isn't added up to some "Total Reputation", it's fine. Otherwise, it WILL be abused, especially by new members.You can already see that, with ranodom posts in this topic getting a bunch of positive rep for no apparent reason.

 

[rube]

As long as it isn't added up to some "Total Reputation", it's fine. Otherwise, it WILL be abused, especially by new members.You can already see that, with ranodom posts in this topic getting a bunch of positive rep for no apparent reason.

Oh yes I believe it does. I already have a -2, poor reputation. One negative was me testing what would happen but the other was for a post that didn't strike me as offensive or off topic. Might have been somebody else testing. This sort of system was a disaster on another board I was a member of.

 

[ImaGonnaGetYou]

You can plus rep your own posts! :eek



Call in Bob the Builder, he can fix it!

 

[Vexona]

I posted this in the New Forum thingy too, but figured I would share this thought here too:



There were thread ratings and user ratings in the old board too. We haven't heard a complaint about the thread/user rating until yesterday when the theme/version switched. Perhaps, because of the previous organization of the board, people did not notice it or use it much before (I don't know ._.)? Just remember that the concept is not new, we've had the 5 star system available for the entire lifetime of the board.



Yup, each member only has the ability to cast their 'vote' on a post once. One person alone cannot bury or promote a post. A lone (-1) or (+1) says little about the quality of a post. It takes a consensus to make an impact. Maybe one negative person didn't like what you said and gives you a minus. You or someone else can hit + and it stays in a sort of equilibrium (big whoopie, right?). That's bound to happen. It only becomes relevant when that negative or positive rolls over to 10 (or whatever threshold is in place). Anything outside of that, must not be extraordinarily offensive or helpful. I think the system is meant to target exceptional posting, in either end of the spectrum.



Whether or not the system works will rely on the maturity and nature of the community as a whole.

I just noticed that the Moderating/Admin team seems to be immune to this new "feature". Was that intentional?

Hrm, could you agree that it would bad idea to let people downgrade a post where the mod has locked a topic or been forced to warn a group of people?

The staff has to handle issues that folks can get *very* defensive about. It would be become incredibly problematic for us to try and do our job =. Please understand that this does not imply that we feel we are above criticism, or, that we don't appreciate praise (cause we need to hear both). Our doors are always open, but we need to keep decorum and be allowed to intervene when necessary.



---



Haha, I have only one complaint so far. The forum reset everyone's gender to 'Male'. I'm sure you all didn't mind...but me, Beth and Odessa got a laugh.

 

[DogWizard]

I posted this in the New Forum thingy too, but figured I would share this thought here too:



Whether or not the system works will rely on the maturity and nature of the community as a whole.



Hrm, could you agree that it would bad idea to let people downgrade a post where the mod has locked a topic or been forced to warn a group of people?

The staff has to handle issues that folks can get *very* defensive about. It would be become incredibly problematic for us to try and do our job =. Please understand that this does not imply that we feel we are above criticism, or, that we don't appreciate praise (cause we need to hear both). Our doors are always open, but we need to keep decorum and be allowed to intervene when necessary.

Interesting take on that - my understanding what the this new system absolutely HAD to be implemented because the Admin team couldn't rely on the maturity and nature of the community as a whole. It's got to be one or the other...



It appears as though the Moderating team feels that certain disruptive elements need to be controlled, unfortunately, those same elements have now been handed the power to abuse the system. All it takes is for a small group of people to decide that they have a beef with someone (legitimate or otherwise) and that person could easily find themselves ostracized and caught up in a now-visible catch-22 of negative reinforcement (snowball effect). This leads to quid pro quo retaliation and it goes downhill from there. This community is already starting to fragment and splinter into cliques - I just don't agree with the percieved need to help that process along with an automated system.



As far as the Moderating team exemption goes - I understand what you are saying but the outward appearance is that the team is above criticism. I have seen more than one post from a Mod team member that certainly wasn't in the "nugget of wisdom" of "helpful" catagories. I'm just a big fan of an old-fashioned "good for the goose, good for the gander" approach for things like this. I have the greatest respect for the work that the Admin/Moderating team puts into keeping this site running, please don't believe for a second that I don't. I just don't agree with this particular system or the implementation thereof...



I'm truly sorry that my viewpoint is an unpopular one with the Admin/Mod team. I generally stay out of stuff like this. I keep my nose clean and make an effort to be helpful whenever possible and try to avoid being negative or disruptive. I just feel strongly that this new system is a mistake for the community and a step down the wrong path...

 

[Adam]

Well, it it gets abused, we can turn it off, or manage the abusers. But for spam, or mean comments to noobs, it's a good idea until mods can get in there and sort it out.