Karma ReminderFollow

Hello everyone! I want to talk to you today about the Karma system. If people start to use it, it should solve many of the complaints we see about anon posting. If you have received Scholar status or higher, you in effect become a limited forum admin. Please take advantage of this.

As you read through a thread, rate the best posts up and the worst posts down. Then when you get to the end, hit the rate posts button to enter your ratings. It only takes a couple people rating through a thread like that to move the dumb posts below the default viewing threshold and move the better posts up, which will eventually make those making the good posts able to rate as well.

Now just make sure you have your filter settings at "default" and not at "Never Filter". The default filter means that when you are on the main thread page, any thread where the lead is below 1.5 isn't even listed, and within a thread any post below that rating also disappears. If you choose to set your filter to "Never Filter", then I have to assume you want to see those types of posts.

We do moderate the forum as well, but only to get rid of the most outrageous posts. If people want to carry on a below the threshold flame war, then we won't interfere until it becomes indecent.

Karma is a double edged sword. It can be abused, but used right it can do a lot to promote a healthy forum environment.

The only advice I could give is rate up more than you rate down. If I disagree with someone I will argue my point, going to the rate down button to voice my disapproval is weaksauce. Trolls, flamers, all round nuiscances can and will be rated down (more likely I will just ignore them). The guy that I am having a heated argument about game mechanics with, will not.

A side note - Tamat is just encouraging rating people in order to introduce y'all to the system. Any new allakhazam forum with a lack of people who can rate usually depends on the few that can passing the ability along to others.

Edited, Jan 6th 2007 3:44pm by bodhisattva

I can see why you might get worked up over it, however once you have some practical experience with the system and how it works you might find that a number of your worries are unfounded.

I found that I could set it to "Never Filter". I do not like user rating systems either, so the Never Filter option means I can ignore ratings!

I think it is a good Idea.