So our posts become redundant once we hit a certain rank? We might not need them to move up a rank, but we may in the future if theymos implements another rank which requires x amount of merit, so stop being so self-centred. Merit is another way to see who are making the greatest contributions here, and that shouldn't stop being counted or become irrelevant once someone has achieved a certain rank.


Maybe because this is one of the only boards where anything productive gets discussed and is largely free of spam.


So? Neither do Politics and Society or Serious Discussion. Doesn't mean we shouldn't be meriting quality posts in there.



Or maybe there's only a handful of people actually making posts that are worth meriting. Lots of lower ranks get merited in here as well, that just isn't convenient for you.


Lol. It's not.

It's not the worst advice. You're certainly free to use "sir" and I'm sure many appreciate it or don't care either way, but most of the people I know on here actually don't like it when people use it. It seems more fake and sycophantic to me, and it's usually used when people are trying to suck up or apologise for something they've done wrong. You really don't need to use it. Just call people by their username and show politeness or respect in other ways if you wish.

Also, why are you assuming everyone is a sir? There are over 42 different genders and you are assuming we're one of two. #triggered.

Got a couple bets on today. Took Skybet's Price boost as I usually do of Man United, Palace and Leeds to win at 13/2. Put my free £5 bet on Leicester, Man City and Liverpool to win and both Fulham and Burnley games to end in draws. Not expecting it to come in but I like getting a bit risky with my free bets especially at good odds.


By headlines he probably means some idiot he saw post some baseless speculation somewhere. Wish people would stop calling or speculating for managers to be sacked after they lose a couple of games. Poch is going nowhere win or lose their next game. Spurs could easily win the league within a couple of years and Poch is probably the man to do it with them.

People whinged and whined like buthhurt babies and requested the same thing when ranks and even the merit system was first introduced, and things calmed down after a few weeks. The same thing will happen here and they'll need a while to calm down from their temper tantrums and dry their eyes, but after that and their rage has subsided the threads about merit will become less and less. I think the info and rules should be shown to Newbies upon sign up though like I proposed with the Newbie Welcome message. I think that will help and stop a lot of needless questions and threads asking the same stuff when the info can already be found. People just need to be directed to it.

Depends what you're asking. I think it's fair enough to go from Newbie to Junior Member (though I wouldn't be against it being five or even ten merit), but I don't think Junior's should be able to get a signature from a solitary merit, especially when it is so easy to just beg or buy or trade a single merit. I personally think signatures should be removed from Juniors and to get one you need ten merit and to become a Member. That would cut down on a lot of abuse and make it ten times harder to be able to earn via signatures here and hopefully it's something theymos will consider. I don't think anything is set in stone here either and it would be simple to require more merit and maybe that will happen if it becomes clear over time that abuse is rife and not really stopping many spammers.

Of course people are going to give merit to posts they agree with, but there are numerous factors that are involved in that decision. If someone makes me laugh or has entertained me then I might give them one for that because at least they've put some effort in, but spammers shouldn't be getting merit for utter shitposts and as long as that isn't happening then good, but I'm not going to not merit a post because someone might have an issue with it for whatever reason. Give them to whoever you want for whatever you want especially if they stand out to you for whatever reason and of course that is always going to be subjective.

People are just trying to nit pick things that are complete non-issues here. Big deal if you give a Legendary Member a merit for telling a shitposter to fuck off or for a meme that made you laugh. Legendaries don't even need the merits and if you're a merit source it's not like you've wasted a precious resource, but we're letting them know we enjoyed or appreciated the post amongst the mountains of mindless drivel and trash that are being spewed all over the forum. What about the hundreds of other merits we give for the hundreds of other quality posts? You're acting like this isn't happening and the merit system isn't working because we gave a couple of solitary merits for some memes or jokes to users we appreciate. Please. There are bigger issues here than this.

To be honest, it is kind of pointless having that sticky as it stands right now because neither admins are responding to these requests so all it's causing is just more PM spam to them and more frustrations to the members who are being ignored time after time. I get messages almost every day containing something along the lines of "I messaged both theymos and cyrus and didn't get a response" and it's annoying for me to have to respond to that as well. When I ignore them I get thrown under the same bus but there's nothing I can do about it and they ignore my messages about the situation too.

It's a similar situation with the ban email contact. I don't think that is being monitored at all, so it probably should be changed to say something like create a thread in Meta about it or someone should actually be employed to monitor the email address and respond to the people who need responses. It's pointless giving someone an address to contact when it's not even being looked into and mailing it isn't going to work. It's just wasting their time and giving therm false hope and causing more animosity towards both the forum and staff.
 


What is going to happen to those that can't prove ownership via a bitcoin address but an alt one, or those that can provide neither but can show plenty of other evidence to prove ownership? With or without the automatic system there's still going to be a lot of accounts that need manually reviewing, and this is why someone should probably be given the power to look into accounts now because someone is still probably going to need to do it with or without the automatic system.

I agree. One merit is a small baby-step in the right direction but it doesn't go far enough. I think one merit to move from Newbie to Junior is fine, but Juniors still shouldn't be able to have a signature at all. As I originally proposed with the one-merit Jnr requirement, Juniors should also have their signatures removed completely and to get one you need to become a Member with ten merit. It's far too easy to beg, borrow, steal or trade a solitary merit and requiring ten is obviously ten times more difficulty. I think we should probably make changes to the Copper Membership as well as it's far too cheap at $10-$20 or whatever it is. A farmer who is making thousands upon thousands will just cough up for it as it's a small price to pay for them and is only a small spanner in their works. Copper Membership should just be some sort of basic whitelisting feature which allows you to post images and post a little faster, and that's about it. As I've suggest before though I wouldn't be against more expensive ranks like Silver and Gold Member that give you the benefits of say a Full Member and Hero, but just as long as they're not so cheap that any farmer can afford them on their hundred accounts. I would say something like $100 for Silver and maybe $500 for Gold. At the moment one merit or $10-20 is just too cheap and easy for spammers to bypass in whatever way they can.

I'm not sure about a probationary system, but I don't think one merit is enough to be able to earn from posting here. It's fine for moving up from Newbie to Junior Member, but I think we should require ten merit and to become a Member before you can get a signature and start earning from posting. Getting one merit is far too easy and you can pretty much beg, borrow, buy, trade or even steal a merit (copy a great post, hope someone merits it, then remove post). Job done. When one is all you need people will just try their damnedest to get it in whatever which way they can then revert back to their previous ways of shitposting. Trying to beg or buy ten merit is significantly harder, especially for a shitposter, but not really for a great poster. A great poster could get that with a great post or two. A bot or the worst of the worst of posters has no chance and would be quite expensive to purchase and ten times more difficult to abuse. We also still need to punish ICO campaigns who will continue to pay Junior Members for spam, because one merit certainly isn't going to stop them from spamming once they've achieved it and campaigns are still going to keep on paying spammers the as long as we tolerate it.

I'm confused about what point you're trying to make here. Are those your threads? Are you complaining that neither of them were merited? The English one is barely coherent and looks like it's just been auto-translated or even plagiarised from somewhere.


It doesn't matter how much you divide something up when your English is so poor that nobody can tell what point you're trying to make exactly. I'm sure you could have got your point across in a sentence or two instead of needlessly waffling on.

Tell me how close I am with my translation: "I'm a bounty farmer and I now can't claim bounties because of the god damn merit system", or have I missed the point completely?


A newbie can post in the exact same way a Legendary account can. The only difference is the time limit between posts, but there's nothing stopping a Newbie making an exemplary post. The problem is they rarely do or at least are drowned out by the thousands of Newbie/Junior shitposters who come here every day just to make some spam to get paid and that's what we need to try curb.


No, it almost certainly is. What else has changed since September 17 other than you now need one merit to get a signature? Nothing. And that's why you're mad. You now have to make the strenuous task of getting one solitary merit over god knows how many accounts you have and that's why you're annoyed.



It sucks for the bounty abusers like you. What other system do you propose to stop all the abuse? I'd love a better system to be proposed as the one merit one doesn't got far enough.


I take it this is op's alt account too? Funny how Julia instantly turns up in here to back you up and you both talk barely coherent nonsense and say "cooper-member" in the exact same way:



Julia also turns up in that thread you linked to in the op.

I'm guessing you have a shit load of accounts and the merit system has fucked you over from being able to get paid to post, right?

Is this another of your alts:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2043707 absenter87

It received four merits. Send two of them to the Uesly_Future account, then he merits him one back. I'm sure this is just the tip of the shitberg here.

I would guess because it's a very tasty Member account that was luckily airdropped ten merit and is now very valuable to him.


That's not what it is. The account is permabanned. I don't know why. Probably because the posts are pretty much exclusively generic bot-like 'good project' posts:



You we're told to stop multiposting, not to stop from posting all together.


The forum can be very ugly and scams, spams and lies are rife. There's a very shady side to this forum because a lot of people are greedy and come here to abuse the system. We're being sceptical of your claims because we've heard this exact same thing numerous times before and they've often been found out to be lying. Nobody is saying for a fact that you are lying about it being your father's account but we have no reason to believe you either. Us being naive and believing everything everyone ever said or the excuses we hear time after time would make this forum a much worse place. Sure, you can call us cynical and harsh and it certainly sucks for you if you're telling the truth but we're just being realistic and calling it like we see it.

Merit doesn't matter at all unless you're only here to earn via a signature. You don't need any merits to be able to post and if you contribute something worthwhile then you will get them anyway. People should be less concerned about actual merit but the quality of their posts. If a quality post doesn't get merited then so what. Keep making them and your chances will increase and you will get them eventually.


I agree with this. I was wondering why the op's post got merited when I saw it and I don't think it's a good idea to do. If you're going to merit them at least merit their merit-worthy post, because it's clear people are just creating these sorts of threads 'agreeing' with the merit system just to try get a merit. Then once they have; job done as they've got what they need. Others then see this then they try their hand at it.

What email address? It's already hidden on your profile. Or do you mean email addresses you have posted elsewhere?

Some people buy their university degrees off the internet. Others earn them legitimately through hard work. How about you earn your merit legitimately and don't concern yourself with those nefarious individuals who may try bend or break the rules to get ahead?

Report them to me. I'll leave them appropriate feedback.

Bump. Don't let merit ruin lives. Think of the kids.

Re: Not Fan of Merit Point System

We're not a fan of the thousands of people that have destroyed the forum by coming here just to spam on dozens of alt accounts each which I'm sure you are one of. One merit is barely anything, but it is probably a big something is when you've got dozens-hundreds-thousands of accounts. That pretty much means you're screwed.





You haven't wrote over 800 posts. They're mostly bounty reports. Maybe if you actually put some effort into contributing here then you would get some merit. Maybe give that a go instead of whining.


But what about all the excellent posts they made before the merit system that they didn't get the chance to be merited for? That is even more unfair. I wouldn't be against everyone starting at zero either, but why don't you concern yourself with your own posts rather than others as moaning at them to be demoted still won't help you or get you anywhere. One day I hope that all signatures are removed completely until you have earned something like 500-1000 merit. Then users like you really would be screwed. Would that make you happy? Of course not. You'd be back here in Meta hysterically crying.


I wouldn't have merited that post but I see nothing wrong with other doing so either. The irony here is that user didn't need the merit as he purchased the copper account anyway and also actually wrote something better than what you currently have.

I know what the consequences are. I know what the consequences of drinking or doing drugs can be as do most people. That's why most people enjoy these things in moderation, also like gambling, but that's up to the individual. What facts are you backing up exactly? Show me the facts that prove gambling is immoral. You are either not actually reading anything I'm saying or are incapable of understanding any opinion or argument to your own. None of what you're saying is relevant to the argument I'm making here at all. Nobody has said you can't get addicted to gambling so what exactly are you trying to prove? The argument is that gambling is not immoral nor does everyone get addicted to gambling. Most people do not get addicted to gambling. Most people do not get addicted to alcohol. The fact that some do is completely irrelevant.



I know why people enjoy gambling. It's the same reason why people like drugs, sex and chocolate. That doesn't mean people can't enjoy them responsibly. Again, you're trying to disprove an argument I'm not making.

Anyway, since you are incapable of actually making a valid point based on the arguments I'm making and I've said all I needed to say on the matter, I'll leave you with the answer to your question:

[is] Gambling is okay?

Yes. Yes it is. Get over it.

No, the garbage is coming from you again. Gambling by itself isn't an addiction. It's a game/entertainment. Is drinking alcohol and having sex an addiction too? No, not by itself, but some people can get addicted to them both and lose lots of money and ruins their lives in the process. Your point is fundamentally flawed and based on pure ignorance.

You're the one who is acting high and mighty but you're too naive and blinded by your own ignorance to see this. You're acting as if gambling is a crime when in the vast majority of places it isn't (and it certainly shouldn't be). You should have zero authority to tell people what they can and can't do with their own money.


No. I think you're a child because you're behaving like one and are making arguments from a very childish/ignorant and misinformed mindset. You can oppose gambling all you want. You can oppose drugs as well, but I think you have zero right to tell anyone else what they can and can't do with their own money or body.


I know the consequences, but you don't know the facts and are making very faulty arguments based on opinion rather than facts. Most people can gamble or drink or have sex or eat chocolate or take painkillers without it becoming a problem. I can do all those things without them becoming an issue. Some can't. That's their responsibility to handle. You look after yourself and lets others look after themselves but just because some people can't handle their drink, drugs, or gambling habits doesn't mean everyone else can't and shouldn't be able to enjoy those things responsibly and it certainly isn't immoral of them to do so.


Your rank is irrelevant here, but your flawed morals and opinions are what we're judging you on.

Highly educated moran.

He's showing the flaws in your infantile logic. You are clearly a child with a very immature opinion if you think Gambling is one of the 'worst sins' and the only person who is ignorant here is you. Everybody else is being completely rational and logical except you.


Gambling is just entertainment for most people. I know many people who gamble very occasionally and it's just a bit of fun for them. Sometimes people win and sometimes they lose but they know what they're doing. I know a lot of people who drink alcohol occasionally and have met very few people who have ever had a problem with it. Some people might ruin their lives with gambling/drinking/smoking/drugs/eating/sexing/driving, but that's their own issue to deal with and people are responsible for their own habits and addictions and I think that should be none of your concern.


How about you practice what you preach and stop being a huge hypocrite? Some people believe in the choice of freedom so stop trying to push your own opinions and beliefs down the throat of others. Nobody cares what you personally think is a sin. People should be able to do what they want with their own money and that includes gamble, buy drugs, sex or whatever else you might think is sinful. Nobody is forcing you or anyone else to gamble and people have a choice and nobody else is responsible for that. The people who's personal details are on that email list you're trying to sell that is probably compiled illegally and likely without their consent have no say in the matter of who buys their personal info, so yes, that is more immoral and shady than advertising a gambling site in my opinion.