Merit & new rank requirements

[Biomech]

When everybody was bearish, I made this call.
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/BTCUSD/vL6glC1s-BTC-bullish-flag/

Can I get merit for it?  

regards

Nope... for 2 good reasons,

1st reason: Your TL* ignores 3 daily closes. The general idea is correct but you drew it half-right! Try draw it on the Bitfinex's chart though, the trend seems to follow the TLs more accurately with their price chart. Check this one for example; I made it for fun though so don't give it much though! LINK
2nd reason: I can't merit you even if I wanted too!

*TL = Trend Line

3rd reason... who gives a ratt's ass if you are correct or not, and you are bragging about your supposed ability to predict

4th reason... comes off as merit begging...

5th reason ... there are decent ways to actually earn merit without begging... for instance, go out there and have fun with your posts,  post on subjects that you like, genuinely interact with other posters in the thread, and provide meaningful information and merits will likely follow without any need for outright begging

Yeah, that.

I have never sought rank here, ever. I had some fun with it when I achieved Hero Member, but it was just that: Fun. Then people started asking me how I got there.

Best answer I had was I spend too much time on this forum.

Then I was gone for a year, due to a great many personal issues. When I come back I'm Legendary

Honestly, if you're trying for it, I doubt you'll get it. Go out, learn, post, participate. Learn to be someone who is respected for their opinion, humour, or something that gets you noticed, but do it for the right reasons.

I came here to learn. And learn I have. I was, despite my age, an infant when I came to this forum. The main reason I got anywhere is that I pretty quickly learned the magic: Watch, and Ask.

When I totally had no clue, I'd search the forum and read. And read, and then read some more. Then when I thought I knew something, I'd open my mouth and prove I was wrong. But I caught the attention of some of the people here who did know, and were not averse to helping a new guy as long as I wasn't being a dick. Then I really started learning, and got to the point, organically, where I was the guy helping newbies.

No matter how good you are, or how good you get, at one point you were a rank newbie. In 2009, we all were. If you're just here for a quick buck, you won't be here long. If you're here to learn some really interesting things from a wide array of people in all walks of life throughout the world, the rank and merit will come and you won't notice, or care, because you'll be too busy interacting with a very eclectic and interesting group of people. And a large number of assholes. The signal to noise ratio can be very high here...

But that's true in life, isn't it?

EDIT: Typos. I hate laptop keyboards!

[YuTü.Co.in]

Code:

You do not have enough sendable merit.

Somebody fetch me a strong rope, a three-legged chair, and a solid beam.

Goodbye, cruel world, I'm off to join my maker.

[Vod]

Goodbye, cruel world, I'm off to join my maker.

I told you there is no room to crash right now...

[YuTü.Co.in]

Goodbye, cruel world, I'm off to join my maker.

I told you there is no room to crash right now...

GREAT! I bled away my sM and you're pourin' salt in the wounds.   Are you stalkin' me? 

[Somz1]

What's the point of this merit thing?
Is it fair to new members to require minimum merit to lvl up while older members are already up there?
Is it now a requirement to get minimum merit to level up for new members?

[TreXzar]

What's the point of this merit thing?
Is it fair to new members to require minimum merit to lvl up while older members are already up there?
Is it now a requirement to get minimum merit to level up for new members?

It is a bit unfair, but understandable why it had to happen.
I think it would be more fair to start everyone on 0 merit, and old members can keep the rank, this way merit actually has some meaning as intended, of number of useful posts rather than just length of time since signup + activity.

[athanz88]

What's the point of this merit thing?
Is it fair to new members to require minimum merit to lvl up while older members are already up there?
Is it now a requirement to get minimum merit to level up for new members?

It is a bit unfair, but understandable why it had to happen.
I think it would be more fair to start everyone on 0 merit, and old members can keep the rank, this way merit actually has some meaning as intended, of number of useful posts rather than just length of time since signup + activity.

If all people starts from zero, there will be not enough merits to send to all people if we only counts the merit sources' merit, thus it will be more hard for lower rank members to rank up faster, as for now it is already slow, it can be more slower if you propose everyone has 0 merits. We all know that each rank have their own default merit, so just see that default merit as 0, like my campaign now, it requires merits point now based on their rank, and it is quite high even for the high rank members as the default merit is not giving them any privilege upon this campaign.

[Bittoshi]

What's the point of this merit thing?
Is it fair to new members to require minimum merit to lvl up while older members are already up there?
Is it now a requirement to get minimum merit to level up for new members?

I agree with that! Since the new merit system is active, even active members have a hard time to rank up. I participate almost daily in discussions and try to share as constructive and useful opinion as possible but no one gives a damn to send me a merit and (to be honest) until now I just sent merit one time to a guy just to see how it works and if it costs me my own merit points.

This system has the advantage that scammers cannot rank up easily but the disadvantages are clear:

1. Active members without much friends will have a hard time to gather merit points. It seems to be almost impossible for them.
2. Members with a lot of friends will share their merit points with each other, no matter how good or bad their posts are. They rank up finally even when they only post trash while constructive lonesome wolfs stay at low ranks forever and finally give up.
3. People may lose motivation to be very active here because they know that the chances to ever rank up are very low. Many useful, constructive posts will stay unwritten.

This is just my personal opinion. Thank you!

[JohnHero]

In addition to activity, everyone now has a merit score, and you need both a certain activity level and a certain merit score in order to reach higher member ranks. The required scores are:

Rank	Required activity	Required merit
Brand new	0	0
Newbie	1	0
Jr Member	30	0
Member	60	10
Full Member	120	100
Sr. Member	240	250
Hero Member	480	500
Legendary	Random in the range 775-1030	1000

You get merit points when someone sends you some for one of your posts. Additionally, when someone sends you merit points, half of those points can be sent by you to other people.

Certain users are designated as "merit sources". They can create new merit out of nothing, up to a limited number per month (which differs per source). I will not be posting a definitive list of merit sources (so that people don't bug them too much), though you'll soon figure out who they are if you pay attention.

There is currently no such thing as a "demerit". I'm hoping that the positive merits alone will be fine. I could add demerits pretty easily later on if necessary, though.

I'm hoping that this system will increase post quality by:
 - Forcing people to post high-quality stuff in order to rank up. If you just post garbage, you will never get even 1 merit point, and you will therefore never be able to put links in your signature, etc.
 - Highlighting good posts with the "Merited by" line.

While we will not be directly moderating this, I encourage people to give merit to posts that are objectively high-quality, not just posts that you agree with.

Do not beg for merit excessively.

Useful infographics

Forum users have helpfully created some infographics to explain the merit system:
paxmao's infographic
ibminer's infographic
8Habits's infographic
JetSet11's infographic
zentdex's infographic
alia_armelle's infographic

If you want to be a merit source:

 1. Be a somewhat established member.
 2. Collect TEN posts written in the last couple of months by other people that have not received nearly enough merit for how good they are, and post quotes for them all in a new Meta thread. The point of this is to demonstrate your ability to give out merit usefully.
 3. We will take a look at your history and maybe make you a source.

I am especially eager to have merit sources in sub-communities such as the local sections.

Trivia:

For current members, your initial merit score is equal to the minimum required to your rank. Of that, a certain amount (less than the usual half) is spendable. The spendable amount was calculated based on your current rank and the number of activity points you earned in the last year. A Legendary member who hasn't posted in the last year would still be Legendary, but would not have any spendable merit.

If someone sends you 1 merit, the 0.5 sMerit is not wasted; it is just not shown until you get another merit point.

There are stats here, and you can find someone's merit summary by clicking the "merit" link on their profile.

If only I was a forum moderator, I could've had as much merit as theymos.

[RivAngE]

What's the point of this merit thing?
Is it fair to new members to require minimum merit to lvl up while older members are already up there?
Is it now a requirement to get minimum merit to level up for new members?

I agree with that! Since the new merit system is active, even active members have a hard time to rank up. I participate almost daily in discussions and try to share as constructive and useful opinion as possible but no one gives a damn to send me a merit and (to be honest) until now I just sent merit one time to a guy just to see how it works and if it costs me my own merit points.

This system has the advantage that scammers cannot rank up easily but the disadvantages are clear:

1. Active members without much friends will have a hard time to gather merit points. It seems to be almost impossible for them.
2. Members with a lot of friends will share their merit points with each other, no matter how good or bad their posts are. They rank up finally even when they only post trash while constructive lonesome wolfs stay at low ranks forever and finally give up.
3. People may lose motivation to be very active here because they know that the chances to ever rank up are very low. Many useful, constructive posts will stay unwritten.

This is just my personal opinion. Thank you!

I was also wondering about this part, does sending a merit costs you your own merit? Also, I don't think it's hard for a scammer to PM a member with many merit points and offer a trade... merit points for some BTC.

[anakrea]

I was also wondering about this part, does sending a merit costs you your own merit?

If you would read the first post in this thread (yes, the infographics explain this) you would know, that you don't loose any Merit points by sending Merit to another user (Difference between Merit & sMerit)

[TheQuin]

If you would read the first post in this thread

There you have step 1 in earning merit. Always read the OP of a thread before posting in it.

[TMAN]

If you would read the first post in this thread

There you have step 1 in earning merit. Always read the OP of a thread before posting in it.

I really do not understand the mentality of people just blindly posting in a thread that is over 100 pages long? just read the fucking OP for starters...

[jimmywh]

If you would read the first post in this thread

There you have step 1 in earning merit. Always read the OP of a thread before posting in it.

I really do not understand the mentality of people just blindly posting in a thread that is over 100 pages long? just read the fucking OP for starters...

It is because the millennial generation of kids are spoiled and lazy. They have been told by everyone that they are special and therefore should be treated as such. Maybe the merit system is just as much a tool for upbringing quality-oriented kids as it is a tool to get rid of spam.

My my.. who would have guessed.

[RivAngE]

I was also wondering about this part, does sending a merit costs you your own merit?

If you would read the first post in this thread (yes, the infographics explain this) you would know, that you don't loose any Merit points by sending Merit to another user (Difference between Merit & sMerit)

Ah you're right, the infographics helped. I tried to open the first 2 infographics but they were listed in imgur, which is blocked from the office computer I'm using at the moment. But I logged in from the phone and checked them out, thanks for points it out.

[conex]

When everybody was bearish, I made this call.
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/BTCUSD/vL6glC1s-BTC-bullish-flag/

Can I get merit for it?  

regards

Nope... for 2 good reasons,

1st reason: Your TL* ignores 3 daily closes. The general idea is correct but you drew it half-right! Try draw it on the Bitfinex's chart though, the trend seems to follow the TLs more accurately with their price chart. Check this one for example; I made it for fun though so don't give it much though! LINK
2nd reason: I can't merit you even if I wanted too!

*TL = Trend Line

3rd reason... who gives a ratt's ass if you are correct or not, and you are bragging about your supposed ability to predict

4th reason... comes off as merit begging...

5th reason ... there are decent ways to actually earn merit without begging... for instance, go out there and have fun with your posts,  post on subjects that you like, genuinely interact with other posters in the thread, and provide meaningful information and merits will likely follow without any need for outright begging

OK, easy big guy.

It was a joke, because all this topic is about begging.

I dont give a f**k about merit points, really. What is the point of that? And also it shows no life personas here, who cherish their interet ranks, instead of being trully helpful with the community.

Please, stop being such arrogant, if you don't have something nice to say, than don't.

.....

[Kwame Genius]

tl;dr explanation as long as there is no infographic:

You have Merits, those you cannot send.
You also have sMerits, those you can only send, they have no other purpose.

When someone gives Merit to you they lose sMerit of the amount transfered and you gain Merit as well as sMerit (which in case you can send again).

Example: Should I send 10 Merit to you for a post, my sMerit would decrease by 10.
Your Merit would increase by 10 and your sMerit would increase by 5.


Merits are exclusively earned, but the sMerit part you also get keeps the circulation flowing.

(Ignoring merit sources here, for the sake of making an easy example.)

If you want to be a merit source:

Collect TEN posts that have not received nearly enough merit for how good they are, and post quotes for them all in a new Meta thread.

Does that mean all merit sources are hand selected? Is there a list of currently active merit sources? Sorry, I was lazy, should have read in full first.

The forum ranking system is a bit complicated now... It'd be nice if someone made an infographic explaining activity and merit.

I'll try this.

That is good explanation. For now my level of understanding of merit reward is OK. Then I must wait or write good post to earn merit by the legendary, hero's and full members . Lol

[JayJuanGee]

When everybody was bearish, I made this call.
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/BTCUSD/vL6glC1s-BTC-bullish-flag/

Can I get merit for it?  

regards

Nope... for 2 good reasons,

1st reason: Your TL* ignores 3 daily closes. The general idea is correct but you drew it half-right! Try draw it on the Bitfinex's chart though, the trend seems to follow the TLs more accurately with their price chart. Check this one for example; I made it for fun though so don't give it much though! LINK
2nd reason: I can't merit you even if I wanted too!

*TL = Trend Line

3rd reason... who gives a ratt's ass if you are correct or not, and you are bragging about your supposed ability to predict

4th reason... comes off as merit begging...

5th reason ... there are decent ways to actually earn merit without begging... for instance, go out there and have fun with your posts,  post on subjects that you like, genuinely interact with other posters in the thread, and provide meaningful information and merits will likely follow without any need for outright begging

OK, easy big guy.

It was a joke, because all this topic is about begging.

Interesting that you want to talk out of both sides of your ass on this one?  O.k... sure you may have started out as a joke, but the combination of my response and RivAngE's response were attempts to genuinely respond to the substance of the matter, and giving your content a fair interpretation of what was thought to be intended, with your misunderstood supposed sense of humor.

I dont give a f**k about merit points, really.

Good for you; however, this forum and this thread are not just about you, so when you make a post on a public thread, then you are taking a chance that someone might respond and sometimes the responses might go in a direction that were outside of your expectations, and that is how the world works, especially when it comes to dealing with other people.

What is the point of that?

This sounds like a rhetorical question, yet if you really wanted to know you could read through the thread or merely the OP, and likely you should be able to figure out part of the point.   

And also it shows no life personas here, who cherish their interet ranks, instead of being trully helpful with the community.

It shows something about forum rank, and sometimes real life activities will come into play through time and interaction, perhaps?

Please, stop being such arrogant, if you don't have something nice to say, than don't.

.....

Did someone die and put you in charge of my word choices or my tone?  Hm? 

I did not get that memo, and generally, I tend to decide within my own complete discretion regarding my word choices and tone, and surely you cannot expect quasi-anonymous personas on the interwebs to treat you with kid gloves, amirite?   I have determined that so far I have used a more than reasonable amount of courtesy and politeness with you, even though such courtesy and politeness might not be warranted.

[conex]

Ok, thank you for your wisdom, I apreciate that.

I tried to merit you, but forum rules does not allow me to do that, because my merit is to weak lol

And.. I don't want any special treatement, you turned that in the way, showing how adult and superior member you are. I just found that topic, and made a joke.
I'll leave that toy tool for you, and I go play somewhere else, ok jefe?

regards

[darklus123]

It is really hard to do some backreading sorry. I just want to ask if how does the system goes. Is it doing good or not?, well obviously there are some abuse no doubt but is there any given statistics for it? Like the total number of merits given. Who is currently leading in giving or receiving merits. I am most likely can understand it xD