Where are the stars.

[Islandmike]

I love the new forum, but was working on going to 1 1/2 stars. Now they are gone, I kind of liked them.

Regardless, this is one of the best forums on line, thanks for keeping it going. I guess I will have to live without the stars.

Mike & Paula
S/V Tivoli

HMMM? Good point. I too am a fan of the stars. Like to see them back.

[sneuman]

As I mentioned in another post, the stars have been washed out by urban light pollution! Bring back the night sky!

[CaptainK]

Hey guys!!

Check the top of the thread posts. You'll see rate this thread button!!

[GordMay]

The absent stars Mike & Kai was missing, were those each member accumulated by posting messages.
The stars, at the top of the thread, that Kevin pointed out, are members quality rating of the thread itself.

[CaptainK]

I dunno Gord.

I was wondering what stars they where talking about?

Hey Gord. Maybe Mike & Kai, were seeing stars. Cause the both of them had been hit on the head too many times by their girlfriends and wives?

[Jim H]

I was showing this site to someone a few weeks ago, who cracked up over the "stars" and "senior cruiser" designations. Pretty cute little social engineering tools-- based on the supposition that number of posts suggests knowledge or seniority.

"Must lead to a lot of trash posts," my friend commented.

[CaptainK]

Jim.

Your friend is right about his comment.

To a certain point, any member can post to their heart's content. But that doesn't make that member a expert on sailing.

Look at me for example. I am miles from being an expert. I am still learning. And I haven't even sailed my boat yet!!

But in time, I will be more of an expert. Like the old saying goes. Time and patience is a good teacher.

[Andy R]

Can you all post how the stars were configured? I will put them back but need to know how many posts for each star...

[capt lar]

I think we are better off without them. They suggest rank. Who needs it ?
Larry

[GordMay]

I think the members’ “Stars” may have been awarded on the basis of (approximately):
½ Star - 10 Posts
1 Star - 50 Posts
2 Stars - 100 Posts
3 Stars - 250 Posts
4 Stars - 500 Posts
5 Stars - 1000 Posts

Like capt lar, I also find the star system redundant (exact no. of posts is listed numerically), and insignificant (as in useless).
If anything (and I’m not certain ‘anything’ is needed), I’d find a “reputation rating” system more useful, wherein members can assign a grade to the perceived value of a member’s contribution(s). This would be similar to the rating we can already assign to a thread.

FWIW,
Gord

GORD, I would agree, but looking back at the very LONG time I sat there and watched for that last half star to go away, I got a kick out of it. It is a hook. I very definitely noticed when the first star started to fill. Then when I went from junior to senoir cruiser, and by this time I had a feel for how it worked, but still I watched the stars fill up. Sort of a Pavlovian thing maybe? As for the junk posts, yea, it happens, but all in all, I think the members on this site are posting because they have something to say, not just to see more stars.

[Andy R]

Ok, I found two sets of stars. I have setup one set as follows.

0 - all white (no stars)
10 - 1 star
50 - 2 star
100 - 3 star
250 - 4 star
1,000 - 5 star

If these are the wrong stars, let me know...

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by GordMay

If anything (and I’m not certain ‘anything’ is needed), I’d find a “reputation rating” system more useful, wherein members can assign a grade to the perceived value of a member’s contribution(s). This would be similar to the rating we can already assign to a thread.

FWIW,
Gord

So, if one were to screw up a few times, does that mean one would loose their "reputation"???

This is starting to sound like social security. I spent all this time building up my value and then the goverment takes it away.

[Andy R]

I will be turning on the member reputation/karma system after we get settled down. It is quite complex to setup and train everyone. But basically is a new feature that allows members to give karma to each other for good posts. It uses an algorithm that takes into consideration the karma givers tenure on the forums, total post count and their own reputation/karma score and then give the other member credit based on how influential the karma giver is.

It's kind of confusing but ends up being a nice way to thank each other for making quality posts.

Later lets look at a system where members can rank their expertise in certain areas and then I can make an interface that shows us all of our experts in those areas....