Post by Webmonkey on Dec 1, 2009 20:00:24 GMT -8
Hey all,
The Reputation AKA Karma system has been up on the site since the Proboards' last message board code update, we've tested it out, now it's time to get some feedback.
First off, if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the 'approve' or 'disapprove' links on the side next to your mini-profile (the area with your fellow user's name, avatar and cutom titles if they have any). The way Reputation works is described in this post: New Feature: Reputation
My thoughts on the reputation system taken from the Webmonkey's responses to the Vampire Sphere's recent evaluation were:
So, true to my word, here is the poll. Please vote, and feel free to leave comments, ask questions and discuss.
You might Approve of the Karma System because:
Lets you give props to good contributers easily.
Downvoting jerks teaches them to be more considerate.
You might Disapprove of the Karma System because:
Creates a judgemental atmosphere.
Seems like an excuse to upvote friends regardless of post quality.
...and many other reasons for good or ill.
The Reputation AKA Karma system has been up on the site since the Proboards' last message board code update, we've tested it out, now it's time to get some feedback.
First off, if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the 'approve' or 'disapprove' links on the side next to your mini-profile (the area with your fellow user's name, avatar and cutom titles if they have any). The way Reputation works is described in this post: New Feature: Reputation
My thoughts on the reputation system taken from the Webmonkey's responses to the Vampire Sphere's recent evaluation were:
It's been a couple of months since the Reputation system went live on the boards and here is my experience with it from a Webmonkey perspective:
Firstly, the boards track all activity, so it's pretty easy to see who is doing what for me as the Admin of the message boards (if I don't mind slogging through the logs). Since the system was new and I wasn't sure how it was going to go/work, I made a point to pay attention to board usage details surrounding the Reputation system for a bit. Here is my informal report: 99% of folks have used it to give their peers props for good stories, helpful or funny posts, etc. as the system was intended. A couple of folks used it to relentlessly down vote people they just didn't like. On the Werewolf boards, a single person was confused about what it was for and down voted characters their character didn't like. After a reasonably amicable PM or two to those few folks, the down voting abuse stopped. Notably, I've seen improvement in the message board manners of those I PM'd, but admittedly I have no empirical evidence that calling out those abusers (in discreet PMs) was the direct cause of that, it's just anecdotal. What I do like about it is that it is a reasonably pure' expression of how the community (that reads the boards anyway) feels about the message board content. That's it, I have nothing else really to report.
Anyway, that said, now that this system has had a chance to be trotted around a bit, I can suppress the ProBoards Reputation System code if players wish, and will be putting up an All Sphere Poll to that effect."
Firstly, the boards track all activity, so it's pretty easy to see who is doing what for me as the Admin of the message boards (if I don't mind slogging through the logs). Since the system was new and I wasn't sure how it was going to go/work, I made a point to pay attention to board usage details surrounding the Reputation system for a bit. Here is my informal report: 99% of folks have used it to give their peers props for good stories, helpful or funny posts, etc. as the system was intended. A couple of folks used it to relentlessly down vote people they just didn't like. On the Werewolf boards, a single person was confused about what it was for and down voted characters their character didn't like. After a reasonably amicable PM or two to those few folks, the down voting abuse stopped. Notably, I've seen improvement in the message board manners of those I PM'd, but admittedly I have no empirical evidence that calling out those abusers (in discreet PMs) was the direct cause of that, it's just anecdotal. What I do like about it is that it is a reasonably pure' expression of how the community (that reads the boards anyway) feels about the message board content. That's it, I have nothing else really to report.
Anyway, that said, now that this system has had a chance to be trotted around a bit, I can suppress the ProBoards Reputation System code if players wish, and will be putting up an All Sphere Poll to that effect."
So, true to my word, here is the poll. Please vote, and feel free to leave comments, ask questions and discuss.
You might Approve of the Karma System because:
Lets you give props to good contributers easily.
Downvoting jerks teaches them to be more considerate.
You might Disapprove of the Karma System because:
Creates a judgemental atmosphere.
Seems like an excuse to upvote friends regardless of post quality.
...and many other reasons for good or ill.
