possible change to forum ranking... looking for feedback

[HPB]

LInk forum name to main toon names and pull achievements.

I know this is only WoW specific, but it would weed out a lot of bullshit. Like - Haven't hit 80 yet? STFU about (current) max level topics. Haven't got the bare minium PvP achivements yet (like kill 100 players or something ridiculously easy) STFU about PvP. Haven't cleared a single dungeon? STFU about PvE. (max level dungeon?).

I'm not saying you're not allowed to ask questions on those topics - but if you're spewing advice... *cough*.. you shouldn't be.

Seriously - this would straight up stomp a ton of crap here.

This really wouldn't work for a few reasons:

Some people like to keep their toons private, including people that might post a lot.

Some people who used to play wow but have moved on to other MMO's might not have achievements on their inactive character sheets if they quit before 3.0.

There may be a few people on the forums that have never played WoW.

Speculation is half of the fun when considering what teams you are going to level/gear up. Some theory-crafting doesn't hurt anyone. Separating some good ideas from absurd ones can't be done too well by software.

[Moorea]

I like fur's proposal

LInk forum name to main toon names and pull achievements.

I know this is only WoW specific, but it would weed out a lot of bullshit. Like - Haven't hit 80 yet? STFU about (current) max level topics. Haven't got the bare minium PvP achivements yet (like kill 100 players or something ridiculously easy) STFU about PvP. Haven't cleared a single dungeon? STFU about PvE. (max level dungeon?).

I'm not saying you're not allowed to ask questions on those topics - but if you're spewing advice... *cough*.. you shouldn't be.

Seriously - this would straight up stomp a ton of crap here.

This really wouldn't work for a few reasons:

Some people like to keep their toons private, including people that might post a lot.

Like who ? if you're in mboxing community why would you hide your toons ? Even if for whatever reason you want to hide some, you can probably still find a lone level 80 to link in...

Some people who used to play wow but have moved on to other MMO's might not have achievements on their inactive character sheets if they quit before 3.0.

There may be a few people on the forums that have never played WoW.

yes that's true and a downside of the proposal - yet even with wow bias I think this would useful - obviously in the EVE subforums people shouldn't care too much about the WOW stats - also maybe there can be some other armory like for a few other major mmos

Speculation is half of the fun when considering what teams you are going to level/gear up. Some theory-crafting doesn't hurt anyone. Separating some good ideas from absurd ones can't be done too well by software.

theory crafting presented honestly as such is fine... but if people forget to identify it as theorycraft, the actual wow achievements would help give some context

[Moorea]

forgot : have a look at slashdot's system too - I think it works decently (mostly "posts" are moderated but also you accumulate a general feedback based on past posts/... which gives a starting score to new posts)

[Starbuck_Jones]

I think a ranking system will do little more than make the forums a game. For me, I already know who stands out in the community (good and bad) because I participate. Waiting to be the first to thumbs down every post from someone who tends to post before thinking or obviously did not read the wiki does not create a friendly and open community. I feel it will add a layer of e-peen that we just don't need.

[keyclone]

[quote='Svpernova09',index.php?page=Thread&postID=2 05764#post205764]Users should be allowed to make up their own mind about someone, but they should also be protected from the dangers that they may not be immediately aware of, and should be warned before taking any advice from someone who shouldn't be giving advice.
[/quote]this is the reason i started the thread. personally, i don't look at the rankings... i read the post and weigh accordingly. if i find the post to be odd/offensive/etc, i generally look to the nick/avatar and try to understand if its out of character. but that requires a foreknowledge of forums and its members, which only comes with time.

the purpose of the suggestion would be to help the newcomers sift through the responses to questions and try to give them an ability to weigh the response, similar to how i do it, but without the foreknowledge.

and i agree... having it turn into an e-peen game would be just lame. any thoughts how to avoid?

what if the vote would be cast on each comment made by the user, and the tally would be reflected under their avatar? how could the voter's history be used in voting? if someone is a basher, and they vote someone a troll, that vote should be considered less as the voter does that to everyone thus making their vote meaningless (iffy here.. just streaming consciousness)

@ [url='index.php?page=User&userID=843']Ughmahedhurtz[/url]
how do we avoid the pure democracy e-mob but still give the newbies info to help them gauge the responses? (this is the goal)

@ElectronDF
not allowing any member votes on a newbie with less then 20 posts would make perfect sense


@Fursphere
instead of requiring the achievement info, it could be a voluntary thing and the reader seeing the achievement could weight the response accordingly. this would allow privacy for those that want it, as well as give the poster the ability to back up their claims with experience.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

[edit] Added icons.

I did some thinking about this last night. The best idea I came up with is something along the lines of Fur's suggestion, minus the link to the armory.

Set up people's profiles so they can check off things like having multiboxed:

• for 1 subscription period in any MMO
• for 1+ years
• for 5+ years

• a team to 80
• a Northrend level 80 normal instance
• all Northrend level 80 normal instances
• enough 80 heroics to get a piece of badge gear
• in 10-man Naxx or Ulduar
• in 25-man Naxx or Ulduar
• in level 80 BGs
• in level 80 arenas

And maybe a couple others (suggestions welcome). Then have little icons show up under your avatar or signature that indicate having earned those achievements.

Now, I suspect there's nothing in the forum software that would lend itself to that without some code work, and I'm surely not going to pile on our gracious hosts by suggesting they Get Cracking(tm). :P I might have to see if I can come up with some icons people can include in their signatures. It'd be on the honor system (i.e.: you'd have to not just bald-face lie about this stuff) but I think it would give people an "at a glance" way to see whether someone actually knows what they're talking about.

How's that sound?

[Bigfish]

Just my 2 cents, but I'd prefer something independant of post count that lets people identify their relative skill level, (new, intermediate, advanced, etc), just for the sake of figuring out if someone has been around the block, or are offering their opinion, which may be correct, without much experience.

[Sam DeathWalker]

Set up a system like FoH and let the readers judge as they will. I went from being banned for 2-3 years to the 6th highest rated poster (guy with 2 posts don't count):

http://www.fohguild.org/forums/usercp.php

http://www.fohguild.org/forums/membe...putation&pp=30

Ya thats a brillient idea to not let people give advise on something until they do it.

If you can't talk about leveling until you reach 80 then;

If you can't box 20 or more characters then don't talk about multi-boxing.

Hey if you havn't talked to GoD don't give advice about religion, and if you havn't been to the moon don't talk about space exploration. Oh and if yur not the President don't talk about how to run the country.


I think that the readers of this forum are intelligent enough to decide if advice is resonable or BS. Anyone who can even set up a multibox system isnt just going to blindly follow any advice anyone posts without independant confermation from another source. I don't belive much of anything anyone says on anything unless I read it from multiple sources. Someone says "X spot is the best to grind". I look at it, then I read other grinding guides and see if there is some common mob to all of them, then I check the mobs HP at wowhead and how many times its been looted, then I go look at the area myself. Who wouldn't check from alternate sorces? Thats why posters who put links to outside information in thier posts are lot more valuable then those who make ipse dixit conclusions.

[Sam DeathWalker]

If by "troll" you mean provide erudit elucidations on a subject to cast light upon the truth, no matter where it leads, rather then make a conclusion based upon who brings the message rather then what the message is, then ya then I'm trolling.

[Svpernova09]

If by "troll" you mean provide erudit elucidations on a subject to cast light upon the truth, no matter where it leads, rather then make a conclusion based upon who brings the message rather then what the message is, then ya then I'm trolling.

I think he means trolling by taking up any chance you get to talk about yourself.

I think a ranking system will do little more than make the forums a game. For me, I already know who stands out in the community (good and bad) because I participate. Waiting to be the first to thumbs down every post from someone who tends to post before thinking or obviously did not read the wiki does not create a friendly and open community. I feel it will add a layer of e-peen that we just don't need.

This is how I feel, so I'm very reluctant to entertain the thought of any type of ranking / voting system. I think Ughmahedhurtz may be on the right track, not sure about implementation, but I do like the idea of pulling data from the armory. I would think that would be a nice optional feature to have attach your armory stats to your profile.