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.
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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.