Can we have the "badges" as an option, please?

[Puffling]

9 hours ago, zenataomm said:

I don't care either way, but I am convinced that if ever there were a bunch that would reject their State Pension because it just suddenly appeared, then they're here on this forum.

I've been on several forums over the years and I've seen members who are resistant to change of any sort, objecting to any alteration in the way a website looks or functions.

Like the State Pension, you don't have to excel at your job in order to secure a badge on this forum. Simply hanging in, year after year, and posting weary ripostes or quips will suffice. A true specialist who attends infrequently will not be "badged" as appropriate to their status.

Yet your metaphor breaks down when we look at how the State Pension was secured. It was the product of a democratic process made through parliament, reflecting the will of the people. It also has real value - if a recipient feels they don't desire the extra income they are free to donate it to a charity, or their favourite nephew. Having a pension in later years meant a massive change to society, all beneficial.

These tiny graphics overlaid onto an avatar have no value since the regulars here all have the 'highest' rank in any case, with no means to distinguish between them. They were imposed without consultation (apparently without that of the webmaster, even) and are arbitrary and a distraction.

[TheBiscuits]

50 minutes ago, Puffling said:

These tiny graphics overlaid onto an avatar have no value since the regulars here all have the 'highest' rank in any case, with no means to distinguish between them.

 

That's a very good point. Inherited status from earlier posts means nearly all the noisier posters are "Grand Master Debaters" ...

 

Reset all the badges to zero, exclude the Virtual Pub - especially the Politics snakepit - from the reckoning and let's see how they work out.

 

[RichM]

3 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

That's a very good point. Inherited status from earlier posts means nearly all the noisier posters are "Grand Master Debaters" ...

 

Reset all the badges to zero, exclude the Virtual Pub - especially the Politics snakepit - from the reckoning and let's see how they work out.

 

 

The reset badges to zero idea may not go down too well. Reluctant to mess about with it too much but based on feedback I have excluded Virtual Pub & Politics from the rule set. As such, points won't be awarded going forward for activity in those forums.

 

If we decide to keep this (up to Dan) we will probably need to get the forum to recalculate the points awarded based on the current "rule set" which excludes VP and Political & Current affairs forums as mentioned. The "rule set" defines where & when points are given. This will ensure they're awarded consistently and thus fairly. However, I suspect doing this may take the achievements offline for a few days while the forum recalculates. Will hold fire on this for the moment. 

[Ray T]

On 11/02/2023 at 12:37, MtB said:

 

Isn't it? 

 

A better metric which doesn't penalise the less prolific posters would be the ratio of greenies to posts. 

 

Still not perfect though, as playing to the crowd tends to garner large numbers of greenies while carefully thought out technical posts often get none. 

 

 

 

Don't like Metric, I still work in feet and inches. 😁

[MtB]

25 minutes ago, Ray T said:

 

Don't like Metric, I still work in feet and inches. 😁

 

So do I, as a rule. 

[Tony1]

My first reaction was 'we dont need no stinking badges'. Because obviously. 

But, maybe if you make them more specific to a person's specialist area? 

Like if you had 'grand vizier of cassette toilets', or 'supreme overlord of blacking'. That kind of thing. 

Or maybe even 'grandmaster of lithium batteries'. 

I'm not one- clearly- but it would give me something to aim for.

Anyway, I'm just a humble 'veteran', so I should probably wind my neck in. 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Tony1

[TheBiscuits]

9 hours ago, RichM said:

The reset badges to zero idea may not go down too well. 

 

Not sure why you'd think that - none of us had any badges last week, so it's not like we've worked hard for them - and having 90% of the regular posters on the highest rank makes a mockery of the system.  It may also be off-putting to new members, although this could also happen further down the line if you reset them all to zero.

 

9 hours ago, RichM said:

I have excluded Virtual Pub & Politics from the rule set. As such, points won't be awarded going forward for activity in those forums.

 

Good call, thanks.

 

9 hours ago, RichM said:

If we decide to keep this (up to Dan) we will probably need to get the forum to recalculate the points awarded based on the current "rule set" which excludes VP and Political & Current affairs forums as mentioned.

 

I'd still prefer to see all badges zeroed and it only calculate going forward not looking backwards.

 

Mind you, I'd also like to see "greenies" not be available at all or not be counted in the virtual pub or the political sections.

 

It does seem counterproductive that someone who sticks to good, informative posts on a boating topic can not possibly "win" the day.  It is nearly always political pointscoring from one faction or another - in a section that many members never even visit - that decides the leaderboard, so again this feature seems pointless to me if it's not scored only from the main forum.

 

 

[TheBiscuits]

 

As an afterthought, if you really don't like the idea of zeroing all the badge scores, at least consider altering the thresholds for each level - perhaps multiply the defaults by 10 or even by 100 to spread out the badges more.  If nearly everyone has the same highest possible level it's meaningless.

[David Mack]

I see Mike's crown has fallen over.

[Higgs]

I'm easy-going. Don't care, one way or the other. 

 

 

[IanD]

10 hours ago, David Mack said:

I see Mike's crown has fallen over.

 

That's not a crown, Mike has bells on his underpants... 😉

[Ray T]

Yay, "Made it Ma! Top of the world."

Arthur "Cody" Jarrett, White Heat.

 

Grand Master Nerd

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Ray T

[rusty69]

Got a bum education, double-digit inflation
Can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station
Neon King Kong standing on my back
Can't stop to turn around, broke my sacroiliac

 

 

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

[MtB]

9 hours ago, IanD said:

 

That's not a crown, Mike has bells on his underpants... 😉

 

 

Hey, you PROMISED not to tell anyone bout that....

 

 

 

[Puffling]

Badges gone!

 

Good riddance, I say

 

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, Puffling said:

Badges gone!

 

Good riddance, I say

 

Only temporary. They are being recalculated.

[Puffling]

1 minute ago, rusty69 said:

Only temporary. They are being recalculated.

recalculated, rejigged, rerouted - I don't mind which. Just keep them offa my lawn 😡

[MtB]

10 minutes ago, Puffling said:

Badges gone!

 

Good riddance, I say

 

 

Mine's still there!

 

[Hudds Lad]

Waaaaaaaah! i want my badgey back! 😭👶

[system 4-50]

Is the ranking influenced by the number of people who have chosen to ignore that member's posts?  If not, could it?

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

Is the ranking influenced by the number of people who have chosen to ignore that member's posts?  If not, could it?

 

What an excellent idea!!! 

 

 

[howardang]

On 16/02/2023 at 10:51, MtB said:

 

Mine's still there!

 

They are also still showing on my PC.

 

Howard

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

What an excellent idea!!! 

 

 

 

Well I would say you of all people need to be careful of what you wish for..