How do you earn points?

i was just wondering if you earn points by the more replys you get on a thread or what?

there are many ways to earn points on ATS/BTS and PTS.

Creating threads, getting replies, participating in contests, debates, etc all help you earn points.

Just use the SEARCH FEATURE or browse this particular forum "Board Questions & Business" for more info.

and yes...replying to other's threads also will get you points.

[edit on 8-22-2005 by worldwatcher]

what about repling in other persons threads?

You get a point from that as well. If you want a lot of points fast... make good submissions to ATSNN or win a ontest... I got 15,000 points from winning the shirt contest... In case you didn't notice there is currently a contest for 10,000 BTS points going on right now.

Edit*

I hate when my wireless keyboard is running low on batteries... I keep making typos

[edit on 22-8-2005 by DarkHelmet]

Here's a good link

LINK

To be as brief and accurate as possible:
The best way to earn points on ATS is to contribute the best researched and best thought out content you possibly can.

To elaborate:

An intriguing thread that challenges members to think and discuss will get you 2 points per reply. In my mind a "good" thread can go 4+ pages, sometimes 10+. That could be worth between 160 and 400 points. Just be mindful of the fine line between provacative and provocation- stirring up controversy for controversy sake will get you a big fat warning.

An intelligent post will garner you applause- 250 points a pop. This also turns that bar under your point counter a little redder each time.
To my mind, a bright red bar that is still relatively short is the mark of a new member who stands out head and shoulders above the crowd- it shows quality over quantity. You don't see too many short but red bars.

Bringing news to ATSNN is quick and easy, if you can beat others to a good story. It's 250 points a pop, plus 50 per reply.

Joining the research forum and contributing to projects gathers a hefty bonus upon project completion too, plus a "scholar" title under your name, where most people just have "member".


Then of course there's the newest frontier: the multiple point counts. If you really want to be an oddity, be the first member to get your PTS or BTS points above your ATS points.

Last but not least: don't take points to seriously. They are just a quick gauge of what a member contributes. The deeper and more meaningful "measure of a man" around here is simply to be known and respected for intellect, effort, and civility in the threads you participate in.

I can never make over 5000 points. I never been in the WATS forum and it's been a year. So I just gave up on it. I can't be a scolar, writter, news writter, or fighter because I don't have the time for that stuff. Looks like good old fasion posting for me.

Hint: Science and Technology, Space Exploration and PST are gold mines of points.

Perhaps people are underestimating the power of receiving "Applause".

Our best contributors unsurprisingly also are among those racking up in excess of 100k points. This isn't because of a high volume of posts (although some of them do post alot), but because they are of such interest to other members that they receive Applause and the inclusive points bonus that it includes.

To get applause that requires mods, super mods, etc. But what if the best posts are located in theads that mods rarely go too?

ive given up with the point system as you can see



/_____
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Originally posted by GoldEagle
To get applause that requires mods, super mods, etc. But what if the best posts are located in theads that mods rarely go too?

That's impossible. Mods gravitate to good posts like flies on ****. (j/k j/k, bad analogy, don't ban me )

Seriously though, there are moderators assigned to every single forum just like jurisdictions of sorts, and it's their responsibility to monitor all the posts in those forums. Check out the list of names under each forum listing on the main forum page to see who's assigned to which forums. There are no "unmoderated" sections of ATS.

The best way to get points is to make a cheque out for £1,000,000 and send it to:

15 Aera Road
Springfield
44776

Please make cheques payable to 'Agent Smith'

Originally posted by wecomeinpeace
Seriously though, there are moderators assigned to every single forum just like jurisdictions of sorts, and it's their responsibility to monitor all the posts in those forums. Check out the list of names under each forum listing on the main forum page to see who's assigned to which forums. There are no "unmoderated" sections of ATS.

I use to be an mIRC moderator (we use to be called "Sysops" in the 90s), let me tell you a few things. For starters think moderating mIRC was bad, moderating a forum is maddness.

Mods are people, you can't expect them to go from thread to thread all day. They also have lives, they can't be on ATS all day, everyday. Also ATS is HUGE, and only 10/35 mods are online at any given time. They have to read each thread which could have grown 5 pages since their last check. Each forum alone has at-least 10 threads that have new replies.

They have to do their job on top of enjoying ATS for themselves (posting, replying, etc), I didn't enjoy mIRC that much because I had a job to do, I could never really have fun socializing, but I had to keep the pedophiles and racists away and ban them. Quite a task for mods on ATS to handle, but they are doing the best they can.



[edit on 9/5/2005 by GoldEagle]

Getting The Point

To my enduring delight, ATS is moving away from a points system which effectively encouraged spamming the boards with low-quality “quickie” posts and flame-bait threads and is rewarding certain kinds of content with substantially larger point awards.

The net result of this will be an improvement in the overall content of the board. In fact, I'm already seeing it and I'm sure others are, as well.

This is a very good thing. I applaud (sometimes literally) the staff for making this excellent move.

Encore, Encore!

Speaking of applause, I was slow to recognize the importance of applause in the “new ATS economy”, and have been somewhat stingy with it. In light of the importance of applause, however, I'll be loosening up with it, although I still have no intention of applauding anything that I don't honestly and sincerely think deserves it.

Essentially, when you get applause, the staff is telling you: “Keep doing that!” It's a way of giving you solid feedback that you are contributing quality content to ATS, and encouraging you to maintain your high standards.

By the way, myself and others with applause powers rarely applaud people for agreeing with our points of view. My first applause was given to a member who pointed out in no uncertain terms that I was wrong, and did so in an admirable way. That earned my applause, and is one of the kinds of things I do applaud.

The purpose of applause is not to reward kowtowing or try to corral members to think a certain way, it's to recognize the quality of posts that we think make ATS and its sister boards better.

If you want points, a good way to get them is to submit posts that are thoughtful, respectful of other members, well-researched and well-sourced (links are good), well-formatted (yes, neatness and readability count, so use those enter keys) and most important of all, the kind of post you would like to see more of on ATS.

ATSers disagree on all sorts of things, and if people want to get along around here, they need to learn that. But almost all ATSers tend to agree on what makes a post exceptionally good.

Knowing that, I recommend adding a little extra to your posts. Take a few extra minutes to make your posts better. Do that enough, and you may earn applause for doing it.

And don't be disappointed if your masterpiece post doesn't get applause. It's an honor, not a privilege.

Want Points? Try PODcasting!

If you have dollar signs in your eyes (or “point signs”, I suppose), the “big money” right now is in PODcasting.

Currently, each podcast you submit to any ATS or BTS feed will earn you 2500 points. That's right, 2500 points. That's the equivalent of 2,500 “me too” one-liner posts or 1,250 replies to a hot-topic thread. Or ten applauses, for that matter.

That's a lot of points. Podcast enthusiast that I am, I'm really cleaning up, to say the least. But frankly, even if podcasts paid zero points, I would still be going nuts on the podcast feeds, because the whole podcast dimension blows me away.

In handing out such massive amounts of points for podcasts, our benevolent SkepticOverlord is clearly encouraging members to plug in their mics and hit the podwaves with their news and views. He's doing this because he believes, like I do, that podcasts aren't just a fun gimmick, but the seeds of a revolution.

If you're shy about the idea of talking on the Internet or revealing your voice to your fellow members, 2500 points a pop is one hell of a powerful incentive.

I don't expect the 2500 points/podcast bonanza to last forever, but it is crystal clear that SO and the senior staff are keen to generously reward members who are willing to move beyond the limitations of what has been a text-only medium and put our online community at the leading edge of Internet evolution.

For more on PODcasting and what it can do for you, check out:

ATS Member PODcasts, Official Announcement
I didn't really understand podcasting
Introduce Yourself with a Podcast!
ATS Member PODcasts

See you in PODspace!

Originally posted by Majic
Want Points? Try PODcasting!

That's nice, but some of us don't own microphones. I guess I'm stuck with good 'ol posting if I want the points.

Speechless

Originally posted by GoldEagle
That's nice, but some of us don't own microphones. I guess I'm stuck with good 'ol posting if I want the points.

I can't speak for everyone, but odds are good that if you can get a computer, you can get a microphone.

Of course, if a member can only log in from a public place like a library or an Internet cafe, there could be issues, but even those environments are, in many cases, upgrading capabilities.

It doesn't need to be fancy, either. A $5.00 microphone from Radio Shack will do, or one which comes with a $15.00 sound card.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

The Sound Of Newsic

But if sound is simply out of the question, fear not. ATSNN has been a great source of points for members who submit news articles. 250 points an article, if I recall, plus generous points for replies.

You can also get 250 points for submissions to Collaborative Fiction, including Short Stories. It's up to worldwatcher to decide what's suited, but she's quite reasonable and is very helpful to members who want to share their work.

If none of those options are appealing, SO is always working on new ways to enhance the ATS experience and enrich our community. You can bet your bottom dollar -- er, point -- that new and exciting ways to earn points are coming, and coming soon.

Game Point

Of course, all this said, ATS isn't all about points, but the information and interaction we get by coming here.

I advise caution with regard to “pointitis”. Yes it's fun to get points and you can buy things with them in the member center, but they are meaningful only if our contributions to ATS are also meaningful.

And there is an inherent feeling of reward in contributing quality posts, even if you only get one point for them.

I ought to know. I've submitted enough of them, and I don't mind one bit that most of them earned very few points. After all, that's not the reason I submitted them.

I submit them to put in my two cents, not to get my one point.

I'm not really in this for the points. It's just that it will be a whole year on ATS in a few weeks and I still havent gotten into the Way Above Top Secret forum.

I'll buy a microphone then, any indication from Simon what will be the amount of points per PODcast after the 2500 point fest is over? I will get a mic but I don't know in how long.

ATSNN is good source of points, that's how I gained my point wealth.

Not only do i not understand the points system i don't understand how people have minus points and why there are 3 different point ... things?!

Luckily for me the points are not the reason for me joining so i really don't care if i have 1 point or 1,000 points.

I'm guessing that we have different point categories for ATS when it gains size and they add more features specific to a particular domain. We have negative points because they have some things to iron out in the code still or they want the ability put people in debt for future activities.

The points are there just to keep the people interested in ATS and also so you can purchase stuff in the ATS store. It's basically just "ATS Land Fun Money".

IDEA!!

I think we should put a ranking system on ATS. Like a star rating [1-5] that appears in the members mini-profile or a hierarchy. This can help make members more eager to make better quality posts because the want a higher rank or a better star rating. The do this on other forums and it proves to be a very successful method to help promote quality contribution because no one wants a low rating, they will work there way up.

[edit on 9/7/2005 by GoldEagle]