While I generally applaud the way ATS is run by the owners and site moderators; I do have a sticking issue with the Star & Point system. I believe
it's time for an overhaul.
Red Stars:
I would like to see the implementation of "Red Stars". This would allow people to express that they disagree with a view expressed by a member
within a thread. It doesn’t even have to be expressed with a graphic. Perhaps just a variable number followed by "Disagree with this point of
view"
E.g. (
15) Members Disagree With This Point Of View.
One of the benefits I see in this strategy is that it may defuse some ugly situations by acting as a release valve. This could also save someone from
making a mistake that deducts 500 points from their total, or even a ban situation. Currently we only see a number that represents the amount of
members that agree with one side or another. The current Star system draws a metaphoric line in the sand which ultimately leads to adversarial
behavior.
While debate is the intention of the forum, it may go some way in making things run in a more civilized fashion.
ATS Points:
Many times we see divisive (or troll threads) on the board that have the clear intention of marginalizing certain belief systems and creating yet more
ugly situations. Often I've entered such a thread to give my point of view in the intention of trying to balance the argument.
Sometimes it’s not so easy to simply ignore them, let’s be honest. However I do not wish points to be rewarded to the Op's total as it's my
belief that he/she does not deserve them in such a situation. And it's not always the case that they are banned or receive warnings from Moderators.
It can lead one to believe that they are rewarded points for simply generating traffic no matter how dubious.
This often leads to a member who has received thousands of points with a less than honorable intention. This is clearly not fair when another honest
contributor can toil away for months receiving just one point for every bit of quality input. Applause does not always come easily!
I believe this situation could be remedied with the addition of a simple checkbox below the message field that says "I do not wish to contribute
points to this Author".
Though I am aware that it is not a simple task from a coding point of view to add these types of options to the website, I feel if we can implement
Anonymous Users, we can surely implement a system that is more accurate and ultimately fairer/progressive.
I would like to hear other members points of view on these matters (
and solutions) as well as opinions from the 3 Amigo's (
if possible)
and Moderators.
Kind Regards,
IRM
Please Flag The Thread If You Feel This Issue Is Important
[edit on 31/7/08 by InfaRedMan]