A description of the Bitcoin Talk merit system

[Jet Cash]

Apologies for starting yet another merit thread, but I have yet to see a comprehensive description, and i hope I have created one on my blog.
This is the teaser.

The Bitcoin Talk merit system was introduced to help combat spam and inferior posting, and during the few months that it hs been in operation, it is having some success. I have read numerous posts and threads discussing the merit system, but I have yet to see a comprehensive description of its elements and operation. I hope that this article will help my readers to understand the merit structure. I am Jet Cash, and I am a merit source, I am in the list of top awarders of merit, and the list of top receivers.

Part of the confusions arises from the interchangeable use of the words 'merit' and 'sMerit', and I have replaced those with the words 'medal' and 'credit'. I feel that this makes the description of the system a far easier task. I have used some other words to describe components of the system, and these words are my creations, and they are not part of the official Bitcoin talk description.

https://talkmerit.com/the-source/index.php/articles/the-bitcoin-talk-merit-system

Any comments will be appreciated. I can post the final version in this forum if members think that it will be of benefit to others.

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[hilariousandco]

The Bitcoin Talk merit system was introduced to ruin lives and make the rich get richer.

Fixed that for you.

[Jet Cash]

Where did that come from? I have never said that anywhere.

Actually, it's a really stupid thing to say, and the sort of thing that some underworld prick would make. I don't have a paid signature, and merits don't affect my earning potential positively. what they do is to tie up a lot of time that i could spend selling domain names to make money. I support the merit system because I believe it is important to 'drain the swamp', so that Bitcoin Talk can become the top forum to discuss the new digital currencies that will be introduced by the bankers and governments in the future.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Where did that come from? I have never said that anywhere.

LOL.  I can't tell if you're joking or not.  If not, maybe we need a protocol on "FTFY" posts.

I don't like the credit and medal substitutions, as I think it confuses the issue even further.  sMerits aren't confused as much as you probably think--people just use sMerit and merit interchangeably, including myself.  Plus I don't think those two new terms are any clearer, unless you've provided more explanation than you've given here.

Still, I'm looking forward to your blog. 

[seoincorporation]

Maybe using words as "wallet" and "credits"   can be tricky, for many newbies already believe that the merit system is a kind of money, so they can just buy them. The reference to the "medals", can be misunderstood by newbies, as well.
Maybe this is easy to talk about how the merit system works if there is only explained the merits, instead of the merits and the medals. I think the part we need to highlight the more is related to how to earn merits, how the system works on the social plane, meaning how a post can become a merit receiver.
The medal and credit part can be confusing, for it gives the idea of seniors members sending some kind of money to others.
But that's just my opinion, trying to be in a newbie's shoes here.

[Jet Cash]

I wasn't sure how to describe the two types of merit. I have seen quite a lot of posters asking about the air drops, and why they can't award merits. It's really a first draft, and I'll see what comments I get before I do a rework.
Am I on the right track with it in general?

[hilariousetc]

Where did that come from? I have never said that anywhere.

Actually, it's a really stupid thing to say, and the sort of thing that some underworld prick would make. I don't have a paid signature, and merits don't affect my earning potential positively. what they do is to tie up a lot of time that i could spend selling domain names to make money. I support the merit system because I believe it is important to 'drain the swamp', so that Bitcoin Talk can become the top forum to discuss the new digital currencies that will be introduced by the bankers and governments in the future.

Lol. It's called satire. I'm parodying all the butthurt babies that continually cry about the merit system that it "broke their life" or the numerous accusations by conspiracytards that the merit system was only put in place so higher ranked members can earn money and stop newer ones from getting their piece of the pie from them.

I am an underworld prick though  . *skulks back to lair*

[Jet Cash]

>..<

Earning and receiving merits is a different topic. I've started to cover that in " The Walk "

I used 'medals' and 'credits' to try to get away from the concept of money. Unfortunately a lot of sci-fi films use credits as a form of money, so it does blur the issue. Perhaps someone could suggest some alternative words. I feel that there is definite confusion between merits and sMerits, especially amongst the newer members, and that's why I didn't use the word 'merit'

btw - has anyone noticed any factual errors?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Am I on the right track with it in general?

Yeah, that should break it down for anyone with two brain cells, but as I said I don't think using new terms is appropriate, because anyone who reads your article will never see them used again in this context--and that will confuse them even further.  It just makes people have to do another mental conversion step when committing this info to memory. 

I would just use the terms merit and smerit, with a good explanation of what smerit is.  I don't think it's all that confusing for people.  As I said, I often use the two terms interchangeably but I understood the difference on the day of the merit system rollout.

What is an "upranking cron job"?  I've never heard that phrase before.  I understand what you meant from the context in which you used it, but I've never heard these words used together and I don't even know what a "cron" is.

Otherwise, you're doing a bang up job as usual.  I admire your type A personality and your drive.  May you always find a good wi-fi signal.

[Jet Cash]

I am an underworld prick though  . *skulks back to lair*

Whoops! I didn't realise that came from you. I guess I'm a bit oversensitive about some things.

I think you are a long way from the netherworld, so don't go hiding from us, we need you.

[Astargath]

You are still farming merits? Jeez, some people are really bored.

[Jet Cash]

You are still farming merits? Jeez, some people are really bored.

What on earth is the relevance of that post? Do Bitvest have some special selection process to find their spammers to make these eccentric posts?

[Geraldo]

Peoples will easily understand when you explain the merits system on visual illustrations (such as Whiteboard animation) instead of giving the alias to "merits" and "sMerit" (your blog readers need to remember the alias for those both when reading your blog post  ).

But that was a nice try! thumb up for Jet Cash 

[seoincorporation]

btw - has anyone noticed any factual errors?

Yep, I found one incomplete word in here: "These credits are rather special, as they are replaced 30 days after they have been awarded, and the replcement is added to his pouch."

Maybe you can make just two separates topics, one to describe just the merit system and another one to fully describe the coins and ranks.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

I knew Lamborghini member hilariousandco was joking, .

Merit system is pretty clear, and the difference between merit and smerit as well. “Smerit” is an abbreviation of “sendable merit”, if you think about that every time you see the “s” you are not going to get confused.

It took no more than a week or two for most of us, non-spammers, since the merit system was implemented to understand how it works. So, I don’t think a deep explanation is needed, because we don’t need it, spammers won’t care about it and some people who have difficulties understanding it will understand it if they put some effort, and while they are at it, they will be training to put some effort in general, so they will get merit more easily in the future.

[Jet Cash]

@seo - thanks, I'll fix that

@Don Pedro -It didn't take me too long for me to understand the basics, well maybe a bit longer to confirm the source generator, as there is a minor software error in it. However, I've spent a fair bit of time on the junior boards, and there is a fair bit of confusion about the system, and this is true of some of the posts on Steemit. The purpose of the article was to help those people, rather than the senior members, who seem to have a fairly good understanding of the system.

I've just realised that i didn't discuss the +merit button, and I'll add that to the explanation. I might include a copy of the merit sourcs text as well.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

Ok, so maybe this thread would be better placed on those boards, then.

[Jet Cash]

Ok, so maybe this thread would be better placed on those boards, then.

I might throw up a link or two later. I wanted to make sure that i hadn't made any errors, or had any misunderstandings first. There is enough confusion about merits already, without me adding to it.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

so that Bitcoin Talk can become the top forum to discuss the new digital currencies that will be introduced by the bankers and governments in the future.

Bitcointalk is becoming more of a cryptocurrency forum rather than a bitcoin forum. It's pretty difficult to find a good thread in Altcoin Board and it would be really difficult for a good discussion to take place.
Unless the spam present in the Altcoin Discussion is not cleaned up or prevented, we cannot discuss anything new. Merit didn't stop the spammers to post in the frog pond. May be we can have a new board like Serious Discussion for discussing Altcoin related stuff which is restricted to Newbies - Members and the posts made there doesn't count or add to their activity.

[coolcoinz]

Whoops! I didn't realise that came from you. I guess I'm a bit oversensitive about some things.

I think you are a long way from the netherworld, so don't go hiding from us, we need you.

Don't worry about it, he didn't put a happy face in his post, it's his fault

Peoples will easily understand when you explain the merits system on visual illustrations (such as Whiteboard animation) instead of giving the alias to "merits" and "sMerit"

Please no, last thing we need here is a series of graphics about merit. What audience would that be targeting? Primary school children? Illiterate morons? What if they actually came and answered the thread with drawings of little merit fairies leaving gifts under the pillow?