Another Rep Question

I am one of the "regular" users of the reputation system. Don't know why... I just like using it, and giving "rewards" for good posts.. etc..

I was just muttering around a bit, and saw a really good post, and tried to give good rep points to the person who posted it... But I can't cause I have to spread it around a bit first.. (I don't even remember giving that person rep points in the past... EVER.. I'm sure I did.. but it was so long ago) So, in order to get that person the good rep points... I went searching... searching for more posts that I could give good rep to.. I clicked on about 10 different user names, and I couldn't give it to ANY OF THEM (still had to spread it around before giving it to them again).

I did a search and found this post by a fairly well "rep'd" user on this forum..

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...0&postcount=17

He said:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I think that some of the problem with the reputation system is the way it makes you "spread around" reputation points. If you give someone points, there seems to be some number of other people that you must give points to before you can go back and give points to the original person. I don't know if we have a large enough group of regular posters to meet the requirment of the "spread around number" for lack of the technical term. That group of regular posters is further limited because many of them are mods/admins that aren't allowed to receive rep points (or can receive them, but they don't count).

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And I can't agree more. We all know there are a bunch of members here. Lots are lurkers.. few are regular posters.

So my question is (yes, there is one if you can last through all that) how many people do you have to "spread it around" to before you can give it to the same person again. If you read Adam's orriginal post in it's entirety, he has a really good example. And I'm going to use HIM as one this time:

Lets say I get on here at 4 in the morning (my regular time).. there's 40 new posts to sift through. Out of those 40, almost a quarter of them are "Help me with my BP" type questions.. and Adam's usually someone that will take the time to write a VERY complete response... as well as Jo. So I read 40 new threads/or threads with new replies.. and I can only give Adam and Jo props for two of their posts.... if I don't find anything else rewarding.. now the next day I can't give them more rep points until I give it to... how many more people??

I know no system is perfect... and I agree with the other threads on this repuation system being better than a post count system.. but if the system is going to make you reward people just to be able to reward the people that really deserve it, I don't think it makes a lot of sense... It encourages people to "spread it around" where it's really not deserved... or maybe deserved, but the only reason you're giving it is because you'd like to give it to the same person you did last week..

Is there maybe a way to put some kind of time limit on it instead of having to spread it around... or reduce the number of people you have to give rep to before being able to give it to the same again?

Sorry for the novel... just have lots of questions... :)

As I pointed out earlier Ken, I certainly agree. It's definitely a point of frustration here too. I LOVE the reputation system although I find myself not wanting to use is because the "spread it around" thing is such a pain in the a$$.

My "theory" is that the "default" values for the reputation system in vbPort (or vBulletin, I get confused) are designed for a much larger community. I know the last thing that anyone here (*cough* smulkin *cough*) needs is another pile of poop stacked up on their plate, but has anyone (*cough* smulkin *cough*) looked at the default settings to see if they are tweakable?

Guys (*cough* admin council *cough*), please don't take this as a complaint ... just some real feedback from someone that wants to make the site better. :D


-adam

15 ppl spread before you can hit a person again.

My p00p plate is overflowing.

The reutation system is so ripe for abuse I am hesitant to tweak it at all. I agree - more people use it than I would have thought - and some of the things I have seen it used for left me with some reservations about its efficacy.

Yes - I have seen the default page - and yes there are variable fields.

We're not using the default values.

Spreading it around may be a pain - and reducing it can be discussed - but it's not there merely as a roadblock or to provide inconvenience.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

15 ppl spread before you can hit a person again.

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Thanks, Matt... that pretty much answers my question...

Just trying to think of 15 people that routinely give good advice on this forum would be difficult though... (off the top of my head) Thinking of about 6 or 7 that give good advice EVERY DAY is simple... to hinder giving them rep points two days in a row because we still need 8 more people to post something insightful or witty, or worthy... that's a different story.

Like Adam said... I'm not complaining.. and know you have your hands full with updates, etc.. Just trying to understand better.

Thanks for the quick reply.

It can be revisited, surely.

You can always use it to welcome new members - reward a first post, etc - brand new members don't have full ability to +/- right off the bat. They need lubbin' too you know ;)

Chuck it on the pile here!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

You can always use it to welcome new members - reward a first post, etc - brand new members don't have full ability to +/- right off the bat. They need lubbin' too you know ;)

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That's exactly what I do... for anyone that posts an intro in the appropriate forum, they get a +... that seems to help spread it around a little... :)

Sweet.

I mention those caveats I gave above with a little hesitation - I certainly didn't mean to imply it was a hornet's nest or anything of the sort. WIth very few exceptions this is a most rocking community. "well behaved" sounds pedantic and "polite" sounds kind of smarmy -having suffered through several boards (on several subjects) the norm seems more to be a kind of exclusive cronyism - you guys do a good job at making new folks here feel welcome and respecting folks opinions.

"OK now I'm gettign a little verklempt - tawk amongst yourselves"

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Originally Posted by ddbjdealer

That's exactly what I do... for anyone that posts an intro in the appropriate forum, they get a +... that seems to help spread it around a little... :)

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I like it, but for me, it's a high price to pay in order to give positive points to an exceptional post.

Many days I only have time to read threads that are of specific interest ... the market, morphs, breeding, etc ... generally more advanced stuff than just "hi I'm new" .... When I come across an excellent post in an advanced topic I'd love to be able to give kudos via the rep system but since it's the same 5 or 6 people that continually give that info I am must often "needing to spread it around" .... I end up not having the time to go and find x number of people to give rep points to and just move on.

It's frustrating because I would like to be more active on the rep system, but it's hard enough trying to manage time to post on some days .... and "going back" to old posts to give points in the future is a luxury that I'll probably never have.

Maybe we could "tweak" the number down a little bit at a time until we find a "sweet spot" that works well, but isn't abusible?? :D

Since the number of “I need help/have a question” posts seem to outnumber the “really solid/good advice posts” by about 20 to 1, 15 seems a bit high.

-adam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ddbjdealer

I went searching... searching for more posts that I could give good rep to..

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I think I got some of those "spread the wealth" rep points from you today! :P

Sorry! Couldn't help myself!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I think I got some of those "spread the wealth" rep points from you today! :P

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Yes, and you're one of the regular posters that supplies good pics, good info, personal experiences and not just "what you've heard"... It would be nice to give you more... but I can't.. as I've given out too much reputation in the past 24 hours.. :(

this is a subject that i've wanted to discuss for a little while. although i understand the admins don't want us to give points to one person all the time, i find it disappointing when i see a post that i soooo want to give points to and it won't allow me to.

wouldn't it be great if the system allowed us to give reputation points whenever we want and IF we abuse the system then our ability is limited?

(smulkin has it been long enough for this to be revisited?)

cause i would much rather get reputation points for good/great posts rather than getting them cause someone wants to give someone else points and needs to 'spread em around' first. i'd like to know my points are realllly meant to tell me i'm being curtious and helpful rather than wondering if it's just the 'spread'.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

cause i would much rather get reputation points for good/great posts rather than getting them cause someone wants to give someone else points and needs to 'spread em around' first. i'd like to know my points are realllly meant to tell me i'm being curtious and helpful rather than wondering if it's just the 'spread'.

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I actually ran into this problem YESTERDAY... with one of YOUR posts! It was so helpful, and I couldn't give you rep points because I had already done so earlier that day or the previous day.

It's not a perfect system... but could you imagine all the PM's and emails Matt would get if he just opened it up with people claiming abuse? Not a perfect system, but certainly A system....

heehee, yup you did on the 15th (and thank you very much :) )

i'm not saying to open it right up... but perhaps loosen the purse strings just a tad? my suggestion would be 3 reps between - so people like me who don't give HUGE amounts of rep points could still give them out when i see a great post!

To begin with, I'd like to just compliment the community here. I've been active (to some extent or another) on a variety of different online forums about a number of different topics and BP.net is, quite honestly, one of the best I've seen. Most communities are poorly managed, while those that start out well often seem to fall apart (particularly as the number of members increases). Congratulations (and thank you!) for providing a wonderful place full of useful information and polite discourse on an interesting subject.

I'm relatively new here and haven't really used the rep system -- in fact, I only found out about it by accident while tweaking my options a bit. Having said that, I think it would be a good idea to decrease the "spread" number. I've been following the forum pretty actively since I joined and I can only think of 8 or sopeople who I've noticed regularly posting really good information -- actually, those are probably the only users whose names I can think of, simply because they're the ones consistently, actively contributing quality material.

Lowering the spread any further is not feasible for a couple of reasons, unfortunately.

First - since it would slant the rate points can be accrued some of the rep-based promotions etc would have to be reworked. Not a problem in itself but someone who has for example just come up on a promotion would be effectively demoted.

Second - there has been some accrual of points which is unwarranted - folks just giving each other points because they can, or are bored or have a group of folks who just pass them back and forth for the sheer purpose of helping each other accrue them - this would tilt that more out of control.

It is an imperfect system to be sure though in rare occasions proves itself immesely valuable.

fair enough :) thanks for explaining it!

Thanks for the explanation. Anyway, the site seems to be working quite well the way it is....so no complaints from me!