Can we have badges for 1000/2500/5000 insightfuls, agrees and likes, please?
JuliusBorisov
Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,758
Several times on this forum, here and there, I've met requests and propositions about creating additional badges to those that this forum already proposes.
For those interested, here (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/4247/forum-badges-and-points/p1) you can find information about current system.
It turns out while there're badges for 1000/2500/5000/10000/25000 and even 50000 comments, there're no badges for more than 500 insightfuls, agrees and likes.
I find this system somewhat strange. Getting 1000 (or more) in any kind of reactions is an achievement, no doubt it. Theoretically you can post hollow comments and get a badge for nothing while reactions after 500 are not regarded as something this forum sees as a badge.
It would be a pleasant addition to the system. It will allow such great lads as @Dee, @Jalily, @LadyRhian, @AndreaColombo, @CamDawg, @mlnevese, @elminster, @booinyoureyes, @Quartz and so on to get a little bit more recognition and will make them even more special.
It goes without saying that getting 1000 (or more) in any kind of reactions means the person has been really useful here, the person has contributed a lot and has helped many users in some way.
So, I dare ask for new forum badges. Maybe not only those I've pointed out, but also some funny ones, such as an existing Hyperchiken badge?
In the past @Nathan used to be responsible for the new badges. But according to his wall, he was Last Active on the 3rd of April. So maybe someone else is responsible for badges now?
For those interested, here (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/4247/forum-badges-and-points/p1) you can find information about current system.
It turns out while there're badges for 1000/2500/5000/10000/25000 and even 50000 comments, there're no badges for more than 500 insightfuls, agrees and likes.
I find this system somewhat strange. Getting 1000 (or more) in any kind of reactions is an achievement, no doubt it. Theoretically you can post hollow comments and get a badge for nothing while reactions after 500 are not regarded as something this forum sees as a badge.
It would be a pleasant addition to the system. It will allow such great lads as @Dee, @Jalily, @LadyRhian, @AndreaColombo, @CamDawg, @mlnevese, @elminster, @booinyoureyes, @Quartz and so on to get a little bit more recognition and will make them even more special.
It goes without saying that getting 1000 (or more) in any kind of reactions means the person has been really useful here, the person has contributed a lot and has helped many users in some way.
So, I dare ask for new forum badges. Maybe not only those I've pointed out, but also some funny ones, such as an existing Hyperchiken badge?
In the past @Nathan used to be responsible for the new badges. But according to his wall, he was Last Active on the 3rd of April. So maybe someone else is responsible for badges now?
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Comments
I mean, if there are badges for that many comments, I think it makes sense for there to be badges for the same number of likes/agrees/insightfuls.
Badges for the extremly fun guys!
The single likes/agrees/insightfuls I can understand as they are an efficient way to provide feedback to someone comment, but the badges ?
Also, I gather that this whole voting system is meant to increase the overall quality of posts, but sometimes it fails, especially when people try too hard to get positive reactions. An example would be someone posting something funny but totally useless (e.g. a video of a puppy, or a farting cat, etc., I'm exaggerating a bit on purpose here to make my point). An even worse example would be someone posting not his real opinion, but what he thinks it would give him more positive reactions. So, my general advice (to all users here) would be focus less on getting badges and more on writing high quality content.
...
Do I like badgers. Yes.
Do I want more badgers. Yes.
The above are personal opinions I carry. A question that would carry more weight is an inclusive one.
Will it make the forum better. Uhm. Not sure.
I think the only people who would benefit are the forum heroes. And I will go on a limb here and say they post for the love of the game mostly. Not for badgers.
If many people are hitting the 1k. Then... maybe... All 23 of them should get a badger...
*Anduin stares at his screen... has he talked himself out of obtaining a shiny badger*
As @Quartz said above more badges are a double edged sword. As much as it promotes participation and a sense of satisfaction when you get a brand new badge, it also promotes bad behavior such as power playing the badge system by systematically giving positive reactions to posts and expecting them back.
Actually we had to banish two people for creating multiple accounts just to add positive reactions to a main account.
I also agree that those who contribute to the forum wouldn't stop contributing even if the badge system was completely removed. I really hope nobody is posting in the forum just for badges.
Badges also have an utilitarian purpose. Badges such as the moderator and team member badges help those new to the forum who do not know about the different background colors in posts to quickly identify moderators and team member for what they are.
Anyway I think the gap between the 500 to 5000 whatever is too big. Maybe an extra badge at 2500 as we have with comments would be enough to fill the gap, although I can understand why people would like an extra badge at 1000.
That said I would like a thousand likes badge.
That said I view that number in at most a very small minority of people (basically like 10% tops).
917 people (or accounts if you prefer) have gotten the 25 likes badge, 839 have gotten 25 agrees, and 345 with 25 insightfuls.
but only 97 people who have 500 likes, 64 people with 500 agrees, and 19 people with 500 insightfuls.
It seems to me (especially since the forum has been active for almost two years) if there was a big problem with people vying to get the most agrees (or whatever) then those numbers would be higher. Especially since all we are basically talking about here is increasing the max threshold there is when it comes to badges. So the numbers are obviously going to be much lower when we talk about people currently with anywhere near 1000 likes/agrees/insightfuls.
BADGES...
As a mummy the auto correct could have changed it to bandages... but meh...
@mlnevese I'm with you... I was quite upset with the multiple account people (person!) when it came apparent...
To the broader topic, I've mentioned before how I hate the whole point/reward/badge system on the forums. (I'll set aside the broader issue of how worthless I find 'gamification', as that's a whole other can of worms.) It rewards posters for happy, funny, let's-all-hold-hands posts and does little to promote honest and open discussion. Not to say that the meme thread isn't funny as hell, it's just that, say, participation in resolving a bug or a roleplaying discussion doesn't get nearly the attention and 'reward' they should compared to something like the meme thread. If you look at the top-10 point leaders, they don't necessarily reflect who probably make the most meaningful contributions to the forums.
Especially when it comes to open and honest discussions, sadly the only thing the current system rewards well is groupthink through the use of agree/like. The only post tag that's actually somewhat useful is insightful, and it's usefulness is limited without a counterpoint tag such as 'self-evident' or 'mundane'. Popular is not always right, and the current system offers no way to reward right-but-unpopular, or to ding popular-but-wrong.
@meagloth I would say "Promotes are the worst," but then, if someone were to call me biased I would have a hard time proving them wrong.
Personally I'm not very outspoken on the system. It has its pros (promoting meaninful posts) and cons (turning the forums into a beauty contest). As most people I suppose, I do like to get Likes, Agrees and Insightfuls as it's nice to know that people appreciate one's input. But I wouldn't change my posting behavior if the badges system were to be repealed or anything.
The fundamental question IMO is do we like the badge system or don't we? If a badge system is used than I see little reason to stop giving badges at a certain point. I don't see why e.g. 500 Agrees would merit a badge, and 1000 badges wouldn't. So for me it would be all or nothing really. (Maybe with exceptions for Moderators, Testers et al.
So I tend to view it as a system that results in false-positives. People making valuable contributions will usually (but not always) have many upvotes, but having many upvotes does not necessarily mean that someone is making valuable contributions.
It's not that discussion isn't rewarded, it's that it's not rewarded consistently or in proportion to other stuff that grabs a ton of points (e.g. meme thread). And while I've certainly received 'points' for both agreeing and disagreeing with popular opinion, I don't think it's a stretch to say the former scores higher than the latter. I'd rather people read, understand, and above all engage in a thread, and I don't think the current system encourages that.
Hell, this thread is a good example--@Quartz, @Blackraven, and @TJ_Hooker's responses to my post have contributed to this thread far more than my joke about @Erg, but that post is (currently at least) scored higher.
Ultimately, a game is as much fun as people have playing it, and social games like a forum will tend to create their own values and aspirations. As the forum owner, you have control over the field of play, and the tools we have to play with, but you cannot dictate the game
As for me, I still miss the old-school days of NNTP where reputation was earned and recognized simply by putting time in, and building a history of useful contributions. All this new fangled web technology is just a fad I am hoping to see pass…
(still love the idea of more badgers though, I think Anduin was onto a winner there, typo-correction or no)
Nice
I got five badges yesterday, between 6:58 PM and 11:59 PM, but I didn't get the Combo Breaker badge...