Member Rank Images

[chrisj]

Hi. I'm obviously new here but I've been an admin on a couple of other forum sites, both of them phpBB like this one. I have read a few posts about the fact that some people post none or very little. I found that a great way to get posts up was to set ranks for each member based on the number of posts made. Of course many forums have this already in place, and it gives members a little incentive when they see those stars or other images that indicate their longevity and contributions to the site.

Just a thought.

[Mr Blue Sky]

Hi. I'm obviously new here but I've been an admin on a couple of other forum sites, both of them phpBB like this one. I have read a few posts about the fact that some people post none or very little. I found that a great way to get posts up was to set ranks for each member based on the number of posts made. Of course many forums have this already in place, and it gives members a little incentive when they see those stars or other images that indicate their longevity and contributions to the site.

Just a thought.

Interesting thught, but personally I'm against any sort of hierarchical structure that indicates one person's opinion is more or less vaild than anyone else's. I was actually against post counts being shown under the usernames for the same reason but there wasn't any way to remove it when Stu upgraded the forum software.

[Moon-Crane]

Fair enough, but I don't see the point, to be honest. You can see how long a person has been a member of the board and how many posts they've made.

You can ramp up the number of posts you've made on any boards to gain a 'high rank' by simply playing word games all day, or whatever. I don't think it proves anything. People post if they want to and don't if they don't.

[Dorset Girl]

Sorry, I seem to have an opinion on everything today! Personally, I wouldn't mind at all either way, it doesn't bother me if post counts are shown or not. If we were given categories, then I would have to be in the 'posts all day and does bugger all else, lazy sod!' bracket.

I do admit, it's nice to hit a milestone and have a few 'congrats', but I wouldn't be fussed if they weren't shown, and I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to boost them deliberately.

[Moon-Crane]

If we were given categories, then I would have to be in the 'posts all day and does bugger all else, lazy sod!' bracket.

we all have times like that

[Dorset Girl]

If we were given categories, then I would have to be in the 'posts all day and does bugger all else, lazy sod!' bracket.

we all have times like that

Hehe, yeah, but mine started on 10th May and is showing no signs of abating!

[chrisj]

Thanks for the replies. I suppose "ranking" might be a bad word for it, but it would show who the biggest contributors are. I mean, they don't have to be given gold stars or anything, just an indicator of where they stand post-wise. It was just a thought, and honestly I have seen certain people sit around posting nonsense, especially if they are close to a new ranking.

[Stratman]

I think we are all just a bit worried that it will turn into Frasier Mania situation.

[Dorset Girl]

Thanks for the replies. I suppose "ranking" might be a bad word for it, but it would show who the biggest contributors are. I mean, they don't have to be given gold stars or anything, just an indicator of where they stand post-wise. It was just a thought, and honestly I have seen certain people sit around posting nonsense, especially if they are close to a new ranking.

Yeah, that's the other thing that I was thinking about - would it encourage people to post any old crap just to get a new ranking? Mind you, I know most of my posts are a waste of time and pretty pointless, so I'll be quiet before I get called a hypocrite!

[Patty Ann]

I know from experience that this can get out of hand. Some will write like crazy just to get a number.

[CatNamedRudy]

My high post count here actually embarrasses me a bit! I don't need anything else to show how often I post!

I have however reached the rank of "Frasier Regular" at FM!

[chrisj]

Well, the whole idea when I setup member ranks was to set them so far apart that people would quickly tire of just posting for posting's sake. I mean, if you reach one rank at 1,000 posts and don't see another until 2,000, you tend to forget about scurrying around to get to that next level. That would be a lot of nonsense postings!

[Dorset Girl]

Actually, I do like the eBay system of having different colour stars according to the amount of feedback you have. However, they have obviously set that up because it can't fail to work in their interest.

As far as eBay is concerned, the more things people buy and sell, the more money they make. I doubt they have much interest in the quality of the goods being sold, just as long as the transactions are legit. Someone buying or selling crap just to get a different colour star would actually be doing eBay a favour, if that makes sense!

[chrisj]

As anyone could see, I would have very little to gain with a member ranking system with my measly 120-odd posts!

[Dorset Girl]

:lol: As anyone could see, I would have very little to gain with a member ranking system with my measly 120-odd posts!

LOL, it's quality, not quantity, that counts! (... I say, making yet another pointless posting...)

[chrisj]

I've a question! Is it customary on this site to "quote" other posts when making a reply? I ask this because I see it a lot, and was just wondering. I know this isn't on the England topic, but...

[CatNamedRudy]

I've a question! Is it customary on this site to "quote" other posts when making a reply? I ask this because I see it a lot, and was just wondering. I know this isn't on the England topic, but...

Yep!

It does make it easier to follow a conversation. Although sometimes posts get really long if you're quoting several people at once.

[Dorset Girl]

I dunno, I've just got in the habit of doing it because quite often someone else is typing a reply at the same time as I am, then if we both post together it can be confusing what's referring to what.

And now I've realised I've got some OCD thing going on about this, because I deliberately haven't quoted your post in this one, and it's making me antsy!

[Dorset Girl]

Wargh! See? Cat and I posted together! Now it feels all wrong because I didn't quote you!

[chrisj]

My God, I just noticed I put something about the England post in this post! Argh!

[chrisj]

Re: post counts, get this. On a small family site with 6 members I have over 2,300 posts! What could I possibly have to talk about with my immediate family on a website that would require that much posting?

[Stratman]

It does make it easier to follow a conversation. Although sometimes posts get really long if you're quoting several people at once.

That's why I usually delete the everything but the actual comment I'm replying to. I've seen some ridiculously long quote posts in my time.

[chrisj]

That's why I usually delete the everything but the actual comment I'm replying to. I've seen some ridiculously long quote posts in my time.

Yes, now I see!

[welshben23]

I think we are all just a bit worried that it will turn into Frasier Mania situation.

I agree. I think its a good thing on that site, but to be honest I wouldnt want ranks or anything like that on Frasier Online. Its nice to post on two very different forums. I'm a Rabid Frasier Maniac on FM

[Mr Blue Sky]

I think we are all just a bit worried that it will turn into Frasier Mania situation.

I agree. I think its a good thing on that site, but to be honest I wouldnt want ranks or anything like that on Frasier Online. Its nice to post on two very different forums. I'm a Rabid Frasier Maniac on FM

I know. I'm all for encouraging people to post, but not to post bollocks just to attain some daft 'rank'! I'm sure you've seen that happen on FM. They also have about 20 Mods and 4 Administrators to encourage the regular members to keep logging on to the site, which seems a bit OTT when there's only 50 or so posts a day to keep an eye on! As MC said, people will either keep posting if they want to or stop if they don't. Trying to artificially manufacture interest by awarding members tokenistic titles is a route I'm very pleased Stu chose not to go down with this site. Hopefully it will stay the same for a long time yet, the site's had more posts in the last year than it had in the previous three combined. No need to change a thing!