My opinion on the new site update.

[Freyja]

I've said this already in chat but I'll say it here too: I'm not sure about this. In this community, "thanks" doesn't mean "thanks for this useful post" nearly as much as it means "haha this post made me laugh". So rank won't be based on how helpful you are, it'll be based mostly on how often you post in the Steam convo thread.

The most thanked posts are still the really useful ones like guides and models and textures and stuff. It's still a far better system than going off post count like it is now, it has it's flaws but it is a better measure of the quality of someone's content than raw post count.

 

[Bunbun]

In my opinion, the forums now feel like walking through a dark lane filled with shiny and bright neon signs.

And right at the end of the road, lies a dark red painted building with a bright-ish dark-ish circular orange sign , inside the building were many geeks planning out new ideas, some of them were playing a "word game", some of them were complaining to the shop owners about the building's new look.

 

[Zed]

The more pressing matter is, "Why the hell is my avatar aligned to the right?!"

 

[Geit]

The more pressing matter is, "Why the hell is my avatar aligned to the right?!"

That change is already rolled back, I just haven't done a style purge. Hit ctrl+f5 to get the new style.

 

[Zed]

That change is already rolled back, I just haven't done a style purge. Hit ctrl+f5 to get the new style.

Oh hey.

 

[HQDefault]

Okay, turns out it WAS the borders causing the issue, because it makes the medal look better.

For some reason.

Also, I am in fact a fan of the new site logo. Looks cool, and doesn't stray from the norm of the site.

 

[Crash]

The most thanked posts are still the really useful ones like guides and models and textures and stuff. It's still a far better system than going off post count like it is now, it has it's flaws but it is a better measure of the quality of someone's content than raw post count.

Yeah, it's not the most perfect system, but it's a loooot better than by posts.

 

[A Boojum Snark]

Does the posts/thanks thing even matter? The built in forum "ranks" don't mean anything here really. The only milestone we have is for becoming a veteran, which is of dubious meaning or worth.

 

[worMatty]

I consider myself knowledgeable and I like to help people but I don't often see the need to post because there isn't often anything I can add. The 'rank' system is vaguely designed to reward forumites for their service but both measures, post count and thanks, don't hit the mark accurately. One alternative is to move away from numbers and employ a bunch of people to highlight good forum members based on a kind of code. That code is something that would have to be discussed. Such a system would require active forum staff.

Thanks could be separated from Likes, but then that would probably necessitate resetting all the thanks. Or we could just rename Thanks Likes.

I didn't want to discuss forum system reform in this thread because it's not the topic. While I have the opportunity I'd like to express my concern about placing too much pressure on iiboharz and co. to change things to suit personal preferences. If it really causes some folks to lose sleep, I suggest they be allowed to put their ideas in to their own forum skin. IIRC the vBulletin license allows you to create a second forum for testing, as long as it's kept private, but it's been a long time since I administrated my own board. I have an owners license that I have not used in years. EDIT: When I ran a community forum for a kids' internet radio station I hid post count because I didn't want it to influence the kids to pad it.

I like the new logo.

 

[Idolon]

Does the posts/thanks thing even matter? The built in forum "ranks" don't mean anything here really. The only milestone we have is for becoming a veteran, which is of dubious meaning or worth.

Having a banner under your name is inherently going to be worth something, whether it's ego stroking or implied reputation to new members. We decided that going by post count alone kinda diminished that value, so we're making it a little harder to get.

One alternative is to move away from numbers and employ a bunch of people to highlight good forum members based on a kind of code. That code is something that would have to be discussed. Such a system would require active forum staff.

We're implementing a separate rank, Expert, which is somewhat like that. Experts will be appointed by a select group of people.

 

[ibex]

I'll reserve my full opinion on the design for after you've updated whatever. But, I hope for some consistency with your design. I mean you've got the donator plate with no border and white stars, but veteran and staff have a border and a tf2 item? (I think the items look a bit clipart-y, and you can't tell very well what the wrenches are at first glance) Are you guys going to revamp the whole theme or just update odd pieces here and there?

 

[iiboharz]

But, I hope for some consistency with your design. I mean you've got the donator plate with no border and white stars, but veteran and staff have a border and a tf2 item?

Just your cache, SHIFT/CTRL+F5 and they should be consistent.

 

[LeSwordfish]

I've said this already in chat but I'll say it here too: I'm not sure about this. In this community, "thanks" doesn't mean "thanks for this useful post" nearly as much as it means "haha this post made me laugh". So rank won't be based on how helpful you are, it'll be based mostly on how often you post in the Steam convo thread.

There's also no reason we couldnt make it so thanks in the "off topic" forum don't count.

 

[A Boojum Snark]

Posts already don't count here, right?

edit: yup

 

[Zed]

So they don't.

 

[Muddy]

rip (most of the) veteran users

I guess I've changed my mind on users becoming Veterans based on thanks count - it certainly is better than basing it on post count.

 

[HQDefault]

rip (most of the) veteran users

I guess I've changed my mind on users becoming Veterans based on thanks count - it certainly is better than basing it on post count.

There's just one problem with that...

I got the rug pulled out from under me. That's not fun, and it's not fair.

Honestly, I've been a veteran for a while now, and shoving me off of that status just feels like a slap in the face. It really SOULDN'T matter, but it's like pluto not being considered a planet anymore. If you were pluto, and you were a planet for a while, and then someone just came up and said: "New ordinance, you don't meet the requirements for a planet anymore" how would you feel?

 

[Crash]

There's just one problem with that...

I got the rug pulled out from under me. That's not fun, and it's not fair.

Do you consider yourself a veteran mapper or veteran to the site, even?

 

[HQDefault]

Do you consider yourself a veteran mapper or veteran to the site, even?

Well, not really, but when I got that banner, I felt really proud of myself, and I felt I got far. Saying I'm NOT that far anymore and taking it off is just plain annoying, and offputting.

Edit: Bottom line, the banner made me feel better about myself, and now I've been stripped of it. I'm gonna be pissed off.

 

[Another Bad Pun]

I've been here since 2011 (barely) and I'm not a veteran.
Nor should I be