Merit & new rank requirements

[MadZ]

I decided that the previous allocation was too unfair in this area, so everyone with activity >= 775 got 500 more merit if they didn't already have 1000 merit (and also Lutpin). No extra sMerit, though.

Any chance you could extend this to those of us with potential activity >=775 Legendary just got a lot lot further after this update...

[mithrim]

Well, while I appreciate the effort of improving the quality, I wonder if those changes are based on research or the pious wish that this will work. It doesn't matter how you call it, every form of ranking systems that are based on user-rating incentivizes trading and any kind of cheating whether by paying people making it a requirement in an airdrop etc.
Making it a commodity is a joke, sorry. It reeks of greed, an elite making their accounts even more valuable.

Another question: Why is the initial merit score equal to the minimum required to your rank? Why not proportionally to the actual activity?
Hope this will work, but I doubt it. Newbies will be disregarded and won't get merit, while known members will give themselves merit back and forth...

You should run for president!!! This is the best thing I have read on this thread all damn day!!!

Even if my grammar is horrible in this post, it's what I think. I mean, there is absolutely no reason to make the rank dependant on merit. Merit could've been an extra indicator for an account, like trust. Something like 'post quality' with a second ranking system. That way everybody could have started at 0 Merit. That would've been fair and everybody would've been equal. To assume that a Hero or Legendary Member always creates valuable posts is just nonsense. But that is basically what the conversion did.

Let's assume an average user posts 100 posts with 30% low-quality, 60% medium-quality and 10% high-quality posts, then he maybe gets merit for 15% of his posts. Now you need to take into account that the actual number of merit points highly depends on where he posts (how many are reading the post) and whose opinion he shares. This means at leas 7 merit per valuable post is needed.
The best example is this post https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2828014.0 where many gave merit points. But ask yourself, is this a valuable post? It took time to make it, sure, but what makes it valuable. It purely reflects an opinion. It doesn't discriminate or list pros and cons, there is no contrast. It tells the supporters of this new system what they want to hear and of course, they merited it, ridiculously high if I might add.
There are hundreds of posts in this forum that have more value than this post, I wonder if all of them get 61+ merit.

The same post, advocating for the exact opposite or a different solution, wouldn't have gotten nearly the same amount of merit. Because even if there was an equal amount of people who don't support the system, they wouldn't have used said system.

So now it's basically finding topics that Hero/Legendary Members support or like because they are the ones who have the most merit to give and the more you have of something, the easier it is for you to part with a small amount of it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against a system that improves the posting quality, I'm merely hinting at some of the flaws this implementation has  

[YuTü.Co.in]

Well, while I appreciate the effort of improving the quality, I wonder if those changes are based on research or the pious wish that this will work. It doesn't matter how you call it, every form of ranking systems that are based on user-rating incentivizes trading and any kind of cheating whether by paying people making it a requirement in an airdrop etc.
Making it a commodity is a joke, sorry. It reeks of greed, an elite making their accounts even more valuable.

Another question: Why is the initial merit score equal to the minimum required to your rank? Why not proportionally to the actual activity?
Hope this will work, but I doubt it. Newbies will be disregarded and won't get merit, while known members will give themselves merit back and forth...

You should run for president!!! This is the best thing I have read on this thread all damn day!!!

Even if my grammar is horrible in this post, it's what I think. I mean, there is absolutely no reason to make the rank dependant on merit. Merit could've been an extra indicator for an account, like trust. Something like 'post quality' with a second ranking system. That way everybody could have started at 0 Merit. That would've been fair and everybody would've been equal. To assume that a Hero or Legendary Member always create valuable posts is just nonsense. But that is basically what the conversion did.

Let's assume an average user posts 100 posts with 30% low-quality, 60% medium-quality and 10% high-quality posts, then he maybe gets merit for 15% of his posts. Now you need to take into account that the actual number of merit points highly depends on where he posts (how many are reading the post) and whose opinion he shares. The best example is this post https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2828014.0 where many gave merit points. But ask yourself, is this a valuable post? It took time to make it, sure, but what makes it valuable. It purely reflects an opinion. It doesn't discriminate or list pros and cons, there is no contrast. It tells the supporters of this new system what they want to hear and of course, they merit it, ridiculously high if I might add.
There are hundreds of posts in this forum that have more value than this post, I wonder if all of them get 61+ merit.

The same post, advocating for the exact opposite or a different solution, wouldn't have gotten nearly the same amount of merit. Because even if there was an equal amount of people who don't support the system, they wouldn't have used said system.

So now it's basically finding topics that Hero/Legendary Members support or like because they are the ones who have the most merit to give and the more you have of something, the easier it is for you to part with a small amount of it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against a system that improves the posting quality, I'm merely hinting at some of the flaws this implementation has  

Your grammar is not that bad, bud. As far as the example post you offered up not warranting sM, I'm betting that the rewards were based on the entire thread and its creation, not JUST for the OP of said thread.

In case you missed it, I +1 sM your post because that's the type of guy I'm.

[mithrim]

Your grammar is not that bad, bud. As far as the example post you offered up not warranting sM, I'm betting that the rewards were based on the entire thread and its creation, not JUST for the OP of said thread.

In case you missed it, I +1 sM your post because that's the type of guy I'm.

Yea, it is bad, but thanks for the nice words

I'm not saying that the post doesn't warrant merit but 61 is just ludicrous. I'm pretty sure that this is all just this post, not the thread because you can sum up the merit points listed and they equal the total merit points of that member and it's just noise and sugarcoating. I'm not jealous if that's what you think, I'm just pointing out that this system is flawed. Truth is, I applaud this member, he/she did everything right and made the best out of this new situation.

There you go, I'm also not stingy

[suchmoon]

So now it's basically finding topics that Hero/Legendary Members support or like because they are the ones who have the most merit to give and the more you have of something, the easier it is for you to part with a small amount of it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against a system that improves the posting quality, I'm merely hinting at some of the flaws this implementation has  

Hero/Legendary members have more sMerits just in this initial airdrop. We already spent 20k+ of the 600k sMerits, so it will be gone before too long. Your own example shows a Jr. Member getting 30 sMerits. Sucking up to Hero/Legendary members is probably not such a good long-term strategy.

[baileym]

What if we ignored the activity level and used the merit alone for ranking purposes?

Give everyone merit equal to their current activity.  Which solves the problem of those who were close to ranking up.
Posting would not be done just to meet minimum requirements to rank up.  Which would cut down on the crap or unnecessary posts.

Thoughts?

[OWZ1337]

i gave my first spendable meritcoin to satoshi! :-D ~he deserves it!!

[vanillalatte]

You have to earn it through other members. Otherwise, this merit system wouldn't do what it's suppose to do as several members would be able to bypass the merit system by just waiting long enough.

[athanz88]

What if we ignored the activity level and used the merit alone for ranking purposes?

Give everyone merit equal to their current activity.  Which solves the problem of those who were close to ranking up.
Posting would not be done just to meet minimum requirements to rank up.  Which would cut down on the crap or unnecessary posts.

Thoughts?

I guess it is not a good idea. Because merits can be obtained spontaneously if people decide to spam their merits on you, and in a day you will be a legendary member if that happens. If your idea is to be applied, it could destroy rank system if that happens.

I guess, If you re a person worthy of higher ranks, I guess you will and can make a great post, then will get merits. When you have enough merits, it is just matter of time for your activity to catch up to the upper rank requirement, and it is worth the wait.

[baileym]

What if we ignored the activity level and used the merit alone for ranking purposes?

Give everyone merit equal to their current activity.  Which solves the problem of those who were close to ranking up.
Posting would not be done just to meet minimum requirements to rank up.  Which would cut down on the crap or unnecessary posts.

Thoughts?

I guess it is not a good idea. Because merits can be obtained spontaneously if people decide to spam their merits on you, and in a day you will be a legendary member if that happens. If your idea is to be applied, it could destroy rank system if that happens.

I guess, If you re a person worthy of higher ranks, I guess you will and can make a great post, then will get merits. When you have enough merits, it is just matter of time for your activity to catch up to the upper rank requirement, and it is worth the wait.

True.  The time factor is connected to the activity which needs to stay.  Guess I didn't think it through far enough.

[Vod]

In case you missed it, I +1 sM your post because that's the type of guy I'm.

And he +1ed you back.  That's the reason you announced it, right?

[YuTü.Co.in]

In case you missed it, I +1 sM your post because that's the type of guy I'm.

And he +1ed you back.  That's the reason you announced it, right?

Dude, I don't want the sonabitch back. Here: +1 sM  

Actually, I didn't check the timelines as to when sM was sent or received. I'm just doling them out as I feel. Wait, is that even allowed? I suggest there should be a litmus test AND a psychological evaluation given to users prior to entrusting them with sM. For that matter, the same for the person who's dolin' them out to the dolers - STARTING AT THE TOP.  

[Vod]

In case you missed it, I +1 sM your post because that's the type of guy I'm.

And he +1ed you back.  That's the reason you announced it, right?

Dude, I don't want the sonabitch back. Here: +1 sM  

Actually, I didn't check the timelines as to when sM was sent or received. I'm just doling them out as I feel. Wait, is that even allowed? I suggest there should be a litmus test AND a psychological evaluation given to users prior to entrusting them with sM. For that matter, the same for the person who's dolin' them out to the dolers - STARTING AT THE TOP.  

I just don't want everyone to start announcing when they leave sM.  The only reason to do that is the hope of reciprocation.   

[SM23031997]

In case you missed it, I +1 sM your post because that's the type of guy I'm.

And he +1ed you back.  That's the reason you announced it, right?

Dude, I don't want the sonabitch back. Here: +1 sM  

Actually, I didn't check the timelines as to when sM was sent or received. I'm just doling them out as I feel. Wait, is that even allowed? I suggest there should be a litmus test AND a psychological evaluation given to users prior to entrusting them with sM. For that matter, the same for the person who's dolin' them out to the dolers - STARTING AT THE TOP.  

I just don't want everyone to start announcing when they leave sM.  The only reason to do that is the hope of reciprocation.    

Why people would leave me for reciprocation? What? WTF? Why everyone is talking about me today? Can't you guys stop posting about me?  

and that +1 is for that signature you have.

[MrLitex]

In local board a sad problem. Many users with high rank (Legendary - Hero) send their sMerit into the void (for example, send sMerit theymos-satoshi or other inactive users with old messages), thereby leading sMerit out of circulation.

Example:



Original message:

вoт жaль чтo мoжнo тoлькo 50 мepитoв мoжнo oтпpaвить xoтeл вce мepиты oтпpaвить тeймocy a пoлyчилocь тoлькo 50  ( дpyзьям я oтпpaвлял пo 20 )  coвeтyю вceм лeгeндapи cдeлaть тoжe caмoe oтпpaвить вce мepиты eмy

Translate:

it's a pity that you can only send 50 merits you want to send all merits send theymosand it turned out only 50 (friends I sent to 20) I advise all the legendaries to do the same thing to send all merits to him

[tambenile]

In local board a sad problem. Many users with high rank (Legendary - Hero) send their sMerit into the void (for example, send sMerit theymos-satoshi or other inactive users with old messages), thereby leading sMerit out of circulation.

Example:



Original message:

вoт жaль чтo мoжнo тoлькo 50 мepитoв мoжнo oтпpaвить xoтeл вce мepиты oтпpaвить тeймocy a пoлyчилocь тoлькo 50  ( дpyзьям я oтпpaвлял пo 20 )  coвeтyю вceм лeгeндapи cдeлaть тoжe caмoe oтпpaвить вce мepиты eмy

Translate:

it's a pity that you can only send 50 merits you want to send all merits send theymosand it turned out only 50 (friends I sent to 20) I advise all the legendaries to do the same thing to send all merits to him

Welcome to the "Legendaries and Friends Age".

[krishnaverma]

Welcome to the "Legendaries and Friends Age".

Why are you all ignoring the merits given by these Legendaries to new members. The purpose of merit system is to reward quality posts, it does not matter whether it is from a legendary member or a newbie.

[YuTü.Co.in]

In local board a sad problem. Many users with high rank (Legendary - Hero) send their sMerit into the void (for example, send sMerit theymos-satoshi or other inactive users with old messages), thereby leading sMerit out of circulation.

Mr. King of the Hill hasn't logged in for years, yet ...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=merit;u=3

What next! Sending the dude bitcoin to his unused wallet addresses? Oh, wait! We've already did that to the tune of ~U$.250M atop the original reward of over half a million dollars: https://blockchain.info/address/1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa

FWIW, at least I discovered on my own what sM are really good for ...

... Memes!  

[Flying Hellfish]

I haven't seen it mentioned or requested.  Would it be of interest to anyone to have some kind of indication of topics/threads with lots of merited posts/points awarded in them?  Something similar to the hot topic, very hot topic indicators in the left columns of the topic pages?  Maybe highlight one of the pages with different colours for different levels of merited posts or points awarded in the topic?  

If it wasn't to hard to implement it might be cool to be able to see threads that people feel are merit worthy! If I saw a thread with lots of merited posts/points awarded I might be inclined to check it out instead of blowing it off.

[Serious475]

This new "merit system" is good to improve the posts of the members in this forum. But I don't like this because what if someone creates a good, quality post and didn't get any merits at all?  The one who has many merits will be benefited because they can earn money from this. Is there any moderator who will secure that the one who merited is worthy? This system will give more negative impact than a positive impact in this forum. I wish this system should be changed or fix because it is not fair to some members.