New colored tags to replace the mystery colored bar...

Just chirping back in to say.........

It took me 2 years to get used to ordering coffee at Starbucks

Tall = small

Grande = medium

Venti = large

Bizarre, but I got used to it. Just like my new Boxers are XL. ( eXtra Lean )

Labels are merely that. I will strive to judge on content of post rather than one's "vanity plate." Honestly, being a visual fellow, a poster's Avatar speaks volumes to me. (And sometimes user names, but we are stuck with those from sign on and they may not always reflect our increased enlightenment.)

Closing remark:

Question: How many ATS'ers does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: 1,000

Reason: 1 to change the bulb and 999 to sit around and complain how much they miss the old light bulb.


P.S. My Star to Flag converter algorithm is almost done. Pewter Status, is just around the corner.

P.S,S..Sorry about misquoting Groucho before.....

Regards.....KK

reply to post by questioningall


Sorry, you can't have it both ways. Establish a hierarchy with a very obvious delineation and then say we're all in this together. I understand the need for moderators, but added levels of authority? Human nature I guess.

This reminds me of the old "Animal Farm" phrase......

"We're all equal, but some are just more equal than others"

Or as they used to say in the South where I was raised...
"Separate but equal" right...............


I can operate with the obvious segregation into different classes on this site but I don't have to like it.


I just thought of a new classification for some of us members...

Malcontents



Some in the higher echelons are probably adding

whiner and crybaby

But hey, not only can I dish it out, I can take it.....












[edit on 16-5-2009 by whaaa]

I think it is a good idea. Virtually every forum has some similar sort of ranking system.

On forums devoted to informative topics it DOES matter. For example I frequent forums devoted to specific types of companion animals (their care and health issues etc...).

When someone asks a question they get many replies, and yes the rank of the replying member often DOES factor in, Senior members often reflect more experience, compared to a newbie that has made 5 posts before.

With the influx of newbie posters on ATS I do find it annoying sometimes. The belief that "every opinion has equal merrit" even when some have NO knowledge of the topic, and are not willing to do ANY research, or post any sources to back up their arguments. But see, since every opinion is equal then it is just opinion right?

I feel sorry for the long time members that are getting labeled as Novice as that is not fair, but overall i think it is a good system.

I would suggest (and this may be a scripting nightmare) but perhaps there should be TWO of the first category. Novice for people that don't post much and have been on the forum for less than a year, and another title for those that don't post much but have been on the forum for a year or more.

[edit on 16-5-2009 by Sonya610]

reply to post by waynos


Another prime example 5700 posts, almost 500 stars 88 applause's and your still JUST a novice???

How about like someone suggested that this type of poster gets this type of badge
"Veteran Contributor", get them off novice, it make them look worse than no title at all, that's how I read it.

Here is the problem you have made some of your senior posters look like noobs/newbs(I know I know you don't like that word around here, but it is what it is)

As for myself, I repeat I am happy, with my label. I just have a keen sense of justice, and some of these senior people are getting ripped off by this.

I will say this is huge improvement over the little mystery bar or even that 250 system.

Owners of ATS in all honesty it just needs this little tweak and it will be perfect

Originally posted by whaaa
reply to post by questioningall

 

I just thought of a new classification for some of us members...

Malcontents

[edit on 16-5-2009 by whaaa]

Heh. I might have to buy another line under my name and add that!

I can only imagine that thats how I appear to all the staff reading my replies in this thread, especially the one on the last page...

reply to post by Blue_Jay33


Novice sounds just as bad as noobs in my book.

There's no question that novice is a demeaning term.

It's for posters "getting their feet wet." It's an insult.

From reading back in this thread, it's pretty obvious that almost no posters label as such, likes the term "Novice". It appears the only ones defending it are "Solid"s or above.

[edit on 16/5/09 by ConspiracyNut23]

reply to post by Blue_Jay33


I do agree those who have been on ATS for years should be recognized as such! Especially since many of the rest of us, have only woken up and become aware over the last year once the melt down began to happen. Where as there are members who have been here for years who have been aware and they should be recognized as those who are "Veteran Aware Members"!

Other than that - I already said what I am going to in my other post, no matter what is posted to counter it. I am not going to argue back and forth - there are much more important things to do and read and learn about than "status' situations - which have NO REAL MEANING in reality and the whole scheme of life and what is REALLY going on in the world!

Originally posted by ConspiracyNut23
From reading back in this thread, it's pretty obvious that almost no posters label as such, likes the term "Novice". It appears the only ones defending it are "Solid"s or above.

So none of them like it, so what! Virtually EVERY FORUM OUT THERE has a term for Newbies. No one likes it but ALL start off in that category. That is just reality! You contribute to that forum and you move beyond that title. That is normal.

The only issue here is that the long time members should NOT be labeled Novice, if they have been around for years they should have a different title, and I believe everyone agrees with that.

Usually the ranking system starts early on, when the board is young. In this case the forum has been around for many years, and they have posters that have been members for many years, and that is where the issue lies.



[edit on 16-5-2009 by Sonya610]

reply to post by Sonya610

The only issue here is that the long time members should NOT be labeled Novice, if they have been around for years they should have a different title, and I believe everyone agrees with that.

yes, thank you. I do hope the issue is looked into.

EDIT: I became a student as I was typing this. A lot better I think.

EDIT: Apprentice now. Feeling dizzy...

[edit on 16/5/09 by ConspiracyNut23]

Ok, maybe im missing the point here..

I thought this was about admin saying "thanks" to the people that post here on their site and showing a little recognition to those who post more than others.

But no we have to argue / complain about this too. Just for once it would be nice for us to say "Thank you" leave it at that and move on.

You dont have to have a label for me to appreciate your work... im just saying.

Anyway, thanks for the colour tags.

Boy, we do make this hard work sometimes lol.

JQ.

Originally posted by John Q
Boy, we do make this hard work sometimes lol.

Well that is the nature of this forum. People see conspiracies and unfairness is just about everything. The owner/admins start second guessing everything and trying to please everyone (else they fear they will be labeled an evil power).

It is really a catch 22!

It is good to see that a lot of members here feel that it is unfair to those long standing members being labeled as novice. I'm sure all of us thank you for saying something in our behalf. I don't speak for all the long standing members, but I believe that it is the labeling and separation that this system creates that will cause a lot of problems for the community.

I'm not one that is going to say yes or no and leave that as the final conclusion to the matter. I believe that if this is the system that the community wants, it should be one that reflects what we all came here for, and that is knowledge. Why not use distinctions based on educational degrees and merits?

The reason I believe that bringing educational degrees into the mix is that we are all learning, and willing to not only share what we know, but also open up our minds to what others know.

I sort of have a formula regarding how to reward members with these honors, mainly through applauses from the mods and years on the board, due to the abuse of posts and favoritism.

Student - New Member
Certificate - 1 year or ...
Associate - 2 years or ...
Bachelor's - 4 years or ...
Master's - 6 years or ...
Doctorate - 8 years or ...
Professor - 10 years+ or ...


[edit on 16-5-2009 by IKnowNothing]

[edit on 16-5-2009 by IKnowNothing]

Apprentice (kudos for the change SO) certainly sounds nicer than novice, and I would be in greater agreement with the system if it was implimented day one, but it still doesn;t address the longer term issue of people who were around years before the systems (flags and stars).

I like the idea people have mentioned about some form of 'Veteran' badge, but I can only imagine that actually being a nightmare of logisitics to put inplace along side the current system...

Hey they just changed it to Apprentice contributor, much better
Reminds me of a Jedi Apprentice nothing wrong with that.

Well done ATS, you listened to your members once again.

reply to post by IKnowNothing


I actually rather like that idea. Consider yourself starred for posting it (I have no idea why people can't star on this particular part of the board. It's obviously a conspiracy to make sure the staff don;t have to see people agreeing with us 'malcontents'. CONSPIRACY! Ahem )...

If I had a special manwife tag, seriously, it would be amazing

Originally posted by IKnowNothingThe reason I believe that bringing educational degrees into the mix is that we are all learning, and willing to not only share what we know, but also open up our minds to what others know.

Yes it is a good idea. However keep in mind the ultimate PURPOSE is to encourage quality postings and traffic to the site.

It is not all about "fairness" it is about rewarding those that contribute a lot and contribute quality.

I think it is an overall good idea, and a long time coming, they just need to fix the glitch that puts old school posters in the "newbie" category.

[edit on 16-5-2009 by Sonya610]

In all honesty, I like this new system and I do believe it will encourage quality over quantity(says the member with 18,000 posts)

However, seriously, I do understand what the administration is aiming for via the new system. It will make members think before being blinded by the urge to accumulate stars.

Quality.

Now I can say "You have much to learn my young Padawan learner"

Just joking.

But I think sooner or later a Star Wars fan who is above Apprentice will say it.

Originally posted by Vector J
but it still doesn;t address the longer term issue of people who were around years before the systems (flags and stars).

Actually, it now does to the best of our ability.

Since flagging started, I calculated the average number of flags-per thread, and flags-per-replies on popular threads. As it worked out, threads with more than 20 replies received an average of 0.112 flags per-reply. Certain many threads are stand-outs, but this is a level-set site-wide average.

So I erred on the side of caution, and ran a script this morning that did the following...

(1) Reviewed all threads prior to the beginning of flagging

(2) Found all those older threads with 30 or more replies

(3) Assigned 0.0625 flags-per-reply for replies, beginning with the 21st reply

(4) Thread flag totals were rounded-down to the nearest integer

(5) The thread author was credited with the newly calculated aged flags

This should help the level things for our longer-term members who authored lots of popular threads before flagging began.