If You Could Gift Your Own Flags for a Worthy Thread....Would You?

Before I explain:

Requirements

* You must have a minimum of 1000 flags to qualify.
* You can only "Gift" up to 4 additional flags from flags
that you have earned previously. For each thread,
in addition to the one flag every ATS Member is allotted,
a qualifying ATS Member could give a total of 5 flags
for a worthy thread started by any ATS Member.

Explanation

In my short time here on ATS I have come across some threads that were spectacularly composed. They were well researched, well thought out, easy on the eyes, super informative, the list goes on. I personally took this standard that many ATS Members have set and have tried my best to mirror it in the same respect in all the threads I have posted.

I have had my fair share of flops don't get me wrong

However, in attempting to keep with this standard I have accumulated quite a bit of flags along the way as have many other ATS Members. I know that some people see the "S&F" system as a glorified popularity contest. I on the other hand see it for what ATS intended per the ATS Tutorials and the like. I think that the system works great and would be willing to give up flags that I have earned if a thread I read by another Member was "that good!". I have seen plenty that would qualify.

I don't want to single anyone out and risk any heads getting big Not that I would need to because their contributions are widely known throughout for the most part I presume. The combined knowledge that makes this site up is unprecedented in my eyes. The aforementioned requirements that I suggested, I feel, would be sufficient if the ability to do so were ever brought to fruition.

I can attest, that I would be more than happy to "Gift" up to 4 of my own flags on a worthy thread.

How do you feel about that ATS?

[edit on 6/2/2010 by UberL33t]

I like it, sometimes, one flag truly isn't enough.

In those moments I usually send a U2U as well. In some ways that's why mods and FSMEs are lucky, they can "applause" too.

But I have to say I like it.

However, would it reduce the importance of the "single" flags from newer members, or less "thread happy" ones? Would it make create another tier of members, more elitism? I dunno, lets see what everyone thinks mate!

All the best, Kiwi

Oooops, Oh, I'm sorry, I though you had posted a worthy CAUSE.

A really good thread might be a worthy cause, but, if flags were equal to dollars, and while I don't have a 1,000, I'd still donate them for an equal amount of money, to a worthy cause. Even if I had a thousand, if they were equal to say a thousand dollars, yep, I'd donate them.

However, flags are recognition by our peers for the fine work we do on ATS, which can be both informative, and entertaining.

It's part of the fun, and uniquiness of ATS, that we can recognize our peers for the work that a lot of us as members do.

Now, if managment wants to talk about us donating our flags for dollars to a worthy cause, I'm all in!

reply to post by Blanca Rose

Now, if managment wants to talk about us donating our flags for dollars to a worthy cause, I'm all in!

That's a really good idea as well!!

Actually, we use to able to flag our own threads, all of them.

It was removed by staff for some reason. I don't really see the point of strocking your own ego. The membership at large decide what kind of worth a thread deserves.

Besides, it's just 1 flag more right?

It's not going to make a difference really...

~Keeper

[edit on 6/2/2010 by tothetenthpower]

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
Actually, we use to able to flag our own threads, all of them.

It was removed by staff for some reason. I don't really see the point of strocking your own ego. The membership at large decide what kind of worth a thread deserves.

Besides, it's just 1 flag more right?

It's not going to make a difference really...

~Keeper

[edit on 6/2/2010 by tothetenthpower]

I agree and I disagree. I'd flag my own threads/stroke my ego because sadly no one else is.

The way I see it.
Flags are not awarded to you or to members. Flags are awarded to threads and topics that members find interesting or important. A thread may receive flags, no matter who made it, or whether the member made a good post or not, as long as the topic is important or worthy of notice. Stars however, are awarded to posts that members find "worthy" of receiving a star. Kind of like an applause. Flags are like applauding a topic (or to signal its importance), while stars are like applauding a post. Neither flags nor stars are like applauding "a member" as I see it, although flags and stars do get added to members' stats.

reply to post by tothetenthpower

It's not going to make a difference really...

In the grand scheme no, but to the OP that worked diligently on the thread it might make a lot of difference, especially if 5 came from a single prominent Member.

I see why they took away the "S&F yourself" option, makes perfect sense to me. Personally, the flags aren't necessarily an ego thing per se. More of a "I am glad that other members enjoyed what I brought to the forum" sort of feeling. I would still continue to do so, flags or not.

[edit on 6/2/2010 by UberL33t]

reply to post by UberL33t



I flagged this thread. What's that tell you?

reply to post by Hellmutt

If You Could Gift Your Own Flags for a Worthy Thread....Would You?

I agree, this is why I titled it the way I did. I have read plenty of worthy threads by many members that I personally feel would qualify. I share your sentiment that it shouldn't be about the poster at all and absolutely about the content of the thread itself.

This is my personal, selfish opinion:

I don't like the idea.

That's coming from a member who is not a thread-starter and therefore doesn't have nearly enough flags to qualify for participation in the program (at my current rate it would take me another 27+ years to get to 1000 flags).

I think the importance of flags lies in their use to gauge how important the overall ATS membership thinks a topic or thread is and that any system that unequalized members' abilities to "vote" in this way would undermine that value.

Nice idea but 1000 flags. I don't know many who are even near that. Why not anyone?
If someone wants to give an extra one and they have it then why not? Personally I don't look at the flags on a thread or a members flag contribution bar. I have found some really good threads that only got a couple flags and then got lost in ATS thread land I have also seen some threads get a ton of flags and it's not even a well presented thread or topic imo. It usually just seems like a popularity contest to me.


I would like to be able to give more stars and I liked having stars in BTS!

reply to post by americandingbat

I don't like the idea.

I think the importance of flags lies in their use to gauge how important the overall ATS membership thinks a topic or thread is and that any system that unequalized members' abilities to "vote" in this way would undermine that value.

I appreciate your view 100%. It would be unequalized this is true, just as it is unequalized that a new member has to post 20 times before they can create their own thread.

Granted this idea would take a member a significant amount of time to achieve. However, I feel it would inspire more quality posts by members so they could have the honor of gifting their own flags to other newer members that may be inspired by them and so on done the line. Which in the long run would perhaps contribute to the over-all quality of threads on ATS.

reply to post by UberL33t

It would be unequalized this is true, just as it is unequalized that a new member has to post 20 times before they can create their own thread.

It's less the idea that some members would gain a privilege that others would not have that I'm bothered by, than that the flag system would be skewed by that.

If the flag system has any value at all, in my opinion, it is that it's a way to see which threads ATS members overall think are of value. Whether or not they start threads themselves, or even post at all. It can be used as a metric to highlight certain topics on the front page, etc., based on their appeal to all members. Its very simplicity is part of what makes this work, I think -- one member, one flag.

I understand where you're coming from with this idea, and it has often frustrated me for instance that I can't somehow differentiate flagging between an OP that posts some really interesting new video that I feel is worthy of attention but doesn't have a lot more to offer and one that is obviously the product of days if not weeks or months of research and piecing together information (well, I would add a star to the second but not the first, and there's always the option of actually saying something in a reply to the thread or in a u2u). It does sometimes feel like a thread deserves more than just one of my flags, but I console myself with the notion that others will likely also find it flag-worthy.

Because in a way, I sometimes find the ATS flag system to be an exercise in humility. I always think I know what's worth attention -- the whole point of the flag system is that my opinion on that matter is no more nor less valuable than the member who will indiscriminately flag any anti-(insert name or issue here) OP.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think the flag system works as a sort of rough-and-ready democratic measure of how much interest there is on a thread. What I might like to see for a more nuanced/elitist perspective (depending on how you view these things) would be a section of the home page with something like "editor's picks" of threads -- perhaps each week one mod/supermod and one gold/cosmic content contributor could be asked to highlight one recent thread that caught their attention (not one of their own, obviously) to be featured.

reply to post by americandingbat

perhaps each week one mod/supermod and one gold/cosmic content contributor could be asked to highlight one recent thread that caught their attention (not one of their own, obviously) to be featured.

That, or something fairly close to that is coming with the release of ATS 2010. The W.A.T.S section is being reimplemented. Oh look at that, you have a U2U

I probably flag more threads I disagree with than agree with. Mostly it's for the reasons you mention...some members have a real talent for presentation. Others have put a lot of time into the text formatting. Several dozen have actively changed my mind, thinking, perspective and life to a degree.

Like it's been said already, it's not the member, it's the thread. There are even members that hate my posts who I've flagged. That would probably bug the hell out of them! There's a lot of 'personality validation' around here, but who cares? People get starred or flagged if I like what they wrote.

I'd happily give away flags to a good thread. There's a better way. It's a little known feature of the site...Submit Suggestion Form. If a thread or post is truly excellent, members can 'suggest' an applause. If the Mod/Mods agree, they get an applause and never know who inspired it. Cool, huh!?

reply to post by Kandinsky

Cool, huh!?

That is cool, thanks, I book marked it

reply to post by UberL33t


I am ashamed to admit this,I am too greedy
to donate any of my flags.I have worked hard
for them and they are not easily gotten.

reply to post by UberL33t
After getting an applause last year, I thought it might be a good idea if we normal members could do something similar. Rather than donating flags, it'd be pretty positive to send people ATS points.

Mods and FSMEs can hit you with 500 points. Maybe if members could send up to 250 points?

As a member of the 'skeptic spectrum,' I'd never profit from the idea, but I'd definitely use it lol. Encouraging bright new members is a good thing. When I joined up, a couple of applause made the difference between leaving and staying.