Something to consider: TalkBass User Reputation System

**paul** · #1 01-11-2006, 01:14 PM

Our forum software has a very robust 'reputation system' built in. I've always had it disabled, but I never stop pondering it....

The potential benefits, I believe would be huge. Here's how it works: Admins and mods have the initial power to grant 'reputation points' to worthy users. All users would have a progress-bar-like icon next to their post count etc. that would display their reputation status. If a user gathers enough positive reputation points, he/she is given the power to award a limited number of points to other users, etc etc.

I know there are some disadvantages to having such a user ranking system in place... but would the benefits outweigh them? Hmm.

Blueszilla · #2 01-11-2006, 01:35 PM

Might be a good idea, but how do you make sure the points are awarded objectively? Can points be deducted?

SnoMan · #3 01-11-2006, 01:55 PM

I like this idea.

I want to write on about pros and cons, but don't have time or desire at this moment(I'm at work).

In short, I think most of the downsides can be filtered out by the strength of our community.

zac2944 · #4 01-11-2006, 02:07 PM

What are some of the reasons one would consider another TBer a reputable member?

Our feedback forum does a good job of describing a TBer's sales reputation, but that is different than the overall reputation of a TBer.

What is a good reputation and what is a bad reputation?

When it comes to TBer's reputation, I just know that some people post good informative posts, some post silly things, some get political, and some new or young members have many questions that could be answered with a quick search. I don't feel that any of these members have a good or a bad reputation.

Bushfire · #5 01-11-2006, 02:27 PM

I think it's a good idea; because I already do this in my head: "Ooh, he's given me good ideas and advice in the past, so I'll value his opinions over X" To my mind, this just gives it a broader range, so yes I think it is worthwhile.

-Bernard.

Mark Latimour · #6 01-11-2006, 02:30 PM

I don't think its a great idea. The feedback system works well for buyer / seller reputation, but what is a user reputation if not just another way for some members to be "more elite" than other members?

Also, there are some pretty strong "cliques" here on TB that would only be intensified by other users giving points to their friends. Finally, lets face it, some of the most well known and informative posters also have less than amazing reputations when it comes to things like interpersonal communications and reputations with mods etc.

I'd say no.

Ed Fuqua · #7 01-11-2006, 02:41 PM

I, on the other hand, was greatly looking forward to seeing what the "smartass" reputation icon looked like....

**Vorago** · #8 01-11-2006, 02:43 PM

Maybe an idea to use in TPA only?

Too many bad posts = bye bye, no more TPA for you

CoolHat · #9 01-11-2006, 02:45 PM

What would the actual benefits be? Is there going to be some kind of incentive or reward for having a high reputation, other than the reputation itself?

I´m not against the idea (wouldn´t hurt to try it IMO), but I´m not sure how effective it would be. I was a member on another forum that used some sort of rating system. I don´t remember the details, but I think it was somewhat similar to the system you are talking about. Anyhow, it didn´t really work, because very few people actually cared about their own rating. Some trolls were even proud of their low ratings (talk about being a keyboard warrior

). In the end, insightful posters remained insightful, and spammers kept on spamming, regardless of rating or reputation.

Of course that board was a totally different from TB, so maybe it could work here. Only one way to find out really...

Bushfire · #10 01-11-2006, 02:46 PM

At the very least, we could trial it for a few months, then get everybodys opinions on it, no?

Mark Latimour · #11 01-11-2006, 02:53 PM

Can someone explain what the benefits of this reputation system are?

Does it give you quasi-mod powers if you have a good reputation? Would mods take you more seriously?

Ray-man · #12 01-11-2006, 03:09 PM

Run the place any way you see fit. It's your site. This is not public domain - we are in your house where we're here.

Ray-man · #13 01-11-2006, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Can someone explain what the benefits of this reputation system are?

Does it give you quasi-mod powers if you have a good reputation? Would mods take you more seriously?

It's a nebulous way to get rid of you if the mods don't like you or disagree with you.

lbanks · #14 01-11-2006, 05:13 PM

All the rep systems I've seen caused more trouble than they are worth.

Bruce Lindfield · #15 01-12-2006, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueszilla

Might be a good idea, but how do you make sure the points are awarded objectively?

I agree with this and don't think it's a good idea - I think reputations should be based on people's experience in the real world of music and playing the instrument - not on some spurious and arbitrary notion of
"good behaviour" in an internet forum!!

So what often happens around here is that inexperienced newcomers want easy answers and tricks to impress their friends - when they are given good answers - but not what they want to hear, there are often complaints and arguments.

On many occasions I've seen there have been threads which are full of misadvice - reinforced by others - like the Blind leading the Blind - but then when a more experiecned player stumbles into this - then they get abuse and complaints to moderators!!

I think this kind of thing works in "general discussion" where the "real world" has no real relevance and one person knows no more or less than any other.

On a Bass Playing forum , I believe that I would take more from a few harsh words given by somebody who actually knows what they're talking about - than hundreds of polite posts from somebody who started playing bass last week and doesn't know one end from the other!!

OK - fine for TPA

Big NO for anything related to bass playing, musical knowledge etc.

Bassic83 · #16 01-12-2006, 10:11 AM

It's a toss-up for me. I've made my share of wisecracks and silly posts in the past, but overall I like the fact that I can help out my fellow bass players out there, be they young, inexperienced noobs like we all were at one time, or seasoned veterans. I don't expect any extra credit for this, but I do like knowing that my reputation here is fairly good. But, like anything else these strange days, there is potential for abuse. There are cliques here, as in all societies (it's a human nature thing), but overall, I feel that just about everyone here on the boards are, at a minimum, approachable. Some are downright friendly, some are wiseasses that mean no harm, and the few that I have seen that are hardcore ***holes usually get dealt with in a swift and severe manner. Most everyone here is civil, polite, and actually helpful. That's one of the reasons I hang out here so much. The knowledge transfer here is pretty healthy, people don't seem too paranoid, and senses of humor abound. All that said, I don't want to feel like I'm being "graded" on my posts, or have to put up with someone's whining that they didn't get points for some obscure fix they came up with in Luthier's Corner, or someone just getting twisted over losing points on a wise-cracking thread. So, I'm for it, but against it. Maybe for supporting members? Not for the infrequent posters? Perhaps setting a threshhold value on minimum number of posts? Anyone who has made more than, say, 150 posts? That way, if they were a complete tool, the TB community would have flushed them out, or at the very least, exposed them for the tool that they are. Criteria on posts? The usefulness of each thread is too subjective, and only a raw post count is too objective. There would have to be some sort of mechanism to perhaps have a set of bylaws...oh, wait, we have the TB Users Agreement!!! I don't know...I'm so confused...

Bruce Lindfield · #17 01-12-2006, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Also, there are some pretty strong "cliques" here on TB that would only be intensified by other users giving points to their friends.

Having read through Paul's initial post again - I think what Mark said here is the big downfall of it - it just sounds like "Teacher's Pet" or rather "Moderator's Pet" being rewarded...

And what for....

?

What would merit this?

I think it sounds too much like school and hard work - things that most of us left behind long ago!!

I suppose what I'm trying to say, is that it sounds "patronising"....?

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #18 01-12-2006, 02:39 PM

I think that it sounds like a good idea in principle, but if you want to see how it can go horribly, horribly wrong, go check out the Rep Point wasteland over at homerecording.com - it used to be a pretty decent site, but is now a wasteland of cliques and utter retardation; the whole "Rep Point" phenomenon was a part of the reason why.

Edwcdc · #19 01-12-2006, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

I think that it sounds like a good idea in principle, but if you want to see how it can go horribly, horribly wrong, go check out the Rep Point wasteland over at homerecording.com - it used to be a pretty decent site, but is now a wasteland of cliques and utter retardation; the whole "Rep Point" phenomenon was a part of the reason why.

As I was reading each post in this thread I was reminded of the mess that Homerecording.com has turned into. I was going to see if Paul would go there and check out how "out of hand the rep point situation is. There are entire threads devoted to jacking up rep points.
IMO it is a waste of time and I don't see where it would help.
I think each member can form his or her opinion of their fellow members.

Bassic83 · #20 01-12-2006, 03:11 PM

I think by now, most denizens of this board pretty much know who is reputable, and who is not. For the most part, I know of only a couple people I would not deal with, and even those people I can stand to banter with. It's one thing to not agree with someone, but quite another to find out they are a complete fraud...

The people I disagree with, or even just don't care too much for, are people I can ignore, people who actively try to rip people off are rare around here, and if anybody does this, they are quickly exposed. As far as advice, I am experienced enough in the real world of music to know what's sensible, and what is hype, or even flat-out wrong. I have no compunctions to calling someone on the carpet if they are trying to get someone to do something foolish, dangerous, or detrimental to their health. Or if they are trying to blatantly rip someone off...I feel I owe it to my fellow bassists to alert them to someone of this ilk, so we're somewhat self-policing anyway, in that realm...

Just my opinions, anyway.