So much negativity, so I'm going to be positive.

[Jet Cash]

I'm fed up with ignore lists, reporting, blocked boards and all those negative technique that we seem to be forced into using here. They are necessary if one want to stay sane when looking for meritable posts.

I'm going to build a list of favourite posters with a rank of member or lower, and I'll check their latest posts on a regular basis, and award merits if they are deserved. Don't spam me, or request to be added to the list, as that is tantamount to begging.

Do any other merit sources do this? I might make the list public to encourage some of the new members. After all, ignore lists can be made public, so why not list the good members.

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[Bttzed03]

I started checking some topics on this section a few days ago and I've read many complains about bans and merits.
Your initiative should be able to motivate users of this forum.
I must say, that it's going to take time for you to make a list and monitor. 

[S_Therapist]

I believe QuestionAuthority is a merit source and he is doing quite same. He is sending 20 sMerits to Full member and above only though. Here is the link of his thread and you may find some good posters from this thread. I have personally read some posts from that thread and got some interesting and qualitative posts which really deserve to be merited.

[Jet Cash]

I hope it won't take any more time to find good posters than it takes to find ones to ignore. I thought I had lost the domain name SnowEagle.com , but I see it is still in my portfolio, and unused. I'm going to call my selected members "Snow Eagles", and you have to be a newbie, junior or member to get on it. This is just for the initial membership, if you get promoted, I'll probably still leave the entry on the site.

I've set up the hosting for the name, and now I will have to find a template for the site. I like the name as so many newer members complain that they are left out in the cold here, and there are certainly some eagles amongst them. Hopefull I can bring them some sunshine.

[Findingnemo]

I believe QuestionAuthority is a merit source and he is doing quite same. He is sending 20 sMerits to Full member and above only though. Here is the link of his thread and you may find some good posters from this thread. I have personally read some posts from that thread and got some interesting and qualitative posts which really deserve to be merited.

@JC mentioned that he is going to create a favourite list of posters of member and below rank so if can start a thread for giveaway like QuestionAuthority doing for full member and above ranks then he may fins dome of the best posters with lower ranks as well.

[Jet Cash]

I don't seem to have the same standards as many other merit awarders, so I'll only add posters that I find in my travels. I'll also ignore any suggestions or recommendation to try to cut down on spamming. The list will be off-site as well, as this avoids spamming and begging.

I'll probably make Sweetstar78 the first member, this is based on today's posting trawl.

[athanz88]

Do any other merit sources do this? I might make the list public to encourage some of the new members. After all, ignore lists can be made public, so why not list the good members.

This is one good perspective to be applied in here because it will give some impact for the goodness of the great posters in this forum, but how does it differ from the popularity list of members that is made by (im sorry i forgot who made it) ?

[Jet Cash]

It differs because they will be posters that fit my standards, and these aren't the same as those of many other members. For example, I won't be including posters who use full quotes redundantly, especially when the quote is of the opening post. Also, I will be checking the posts made by the Snow Eagles on a regular basis for meritability, and I hope this will discourage the "one shot wonders" who just want their single upranking merit, and reward the quality discussion builders. They may be caught in the frozen wastelands of the new member snow fields, but let us help the eagles soar up into the sunshine here.

[Marshall14]

This is so much for being positive, for a while now it's been backlash from backlash, noobs like myself complaining about being unfairly treated and trampled upon,its normal though, as the new system has been hard on many and it seems impossible to rank up

@Jetcash, this will go a long way to encourage more users, as a few more users will rank up, and also help the forum to cut down on crap

Shrewd plan,really well played,cant wait for this one to start

[Jet Cash]

Designing the site is a nice diversion. I know I should be doing some other stuff, but I like finding good uses for some of my unused domain names.

I've found some great images by a photographer blogging as "birds as art", and I need to email him to see if I can use some of his pictures if I give him a credit. This is one of them.
http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/baa/wp-content/gallery/alaska/dynamic/bald-eagle-take-off-blur-in-snow-bpn-_y9c7047-homer-ak.jpg-nggid041638-ngg0dyn-800x800x100-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg

[Marshall14]

The eagle kinda looks blur,probably because its souring high up in the sky and with the snow pouring down..

It looks good though

[Jet Cash]

It's been blurred deliberately by the photographer. It's a bit like looking at posts through the opacity of the bounty spammers here.

Here are a couple of newbies -

https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/PublishingImages/Bald_Eagle_Nesting4.jpg

[Marshall14]

Their eyes look more like they're begging or pleading, I though we frown against all that  

Give us a bolder look; Lol

[Theb]

One way to look at the brighter side of the forum, as long as the merits is being sent to meritable posts I don't see anything wrong with the way you will distribute your merit, also I know it is a big responsibility on being a merit source in the forum and and that is why a lot of merit sources have their own technique/style on distributing their sMerits. My only question is why limit your list to forum members that are rank member or lower? Is it because you think that lower ranked members are the ones who needs to be encouraged with merits?

[Jet Cash]

why limit your list to forum members that are rank member or lower?

I don't really consider rank when awarding merits, and I find that I often award to seniors and higher, although I haven't been as active as I should be recently. The more senior members tend to be committed to the forum, and their posts seem to rise to the top. I want to try to encourage the newer members, and perhaps save them from giving up their memberships if they become discouraged.

I hope that other merit awarders can adopt a similar approach, as I seem to be interested in the political and economic uses of Bitcoin and crypto-currencies, rather than the more technical aspects.

[Bttzed03]

https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BaldEagles/PublishingImages/Bald_Eagle_Nesting4.jpg

I had a good laugh when I saw your newbie eagle photos. There should be better images available on the internet. If you cannot find one, maybe use an animated baby eagle.

[mexxer-2]

I'm fed up with ignore lists, reporting, blocked boards and all those negative technique-

Nearly no one use, do or try those so you're not special in that regard. And if you frequent the forum often enough you should have quite a lot of good people/posts you can distribute merits to, just treat it as a (limited no. of)upvote on reddit and not a wand you can touch an account to power-up it up as nearly everyone here seems to do

[Jet Cash]

I'm really pleased I started this, I'm having fun playing with the HTML and CSS, and I found a CD with a Brahms violin concerto on it.

The only downside is that I've just received a McDonalds signature burger with fries.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

And if you frequent the forum often enough you should have quite a lot of good people/posts you can distribute merits to

Holy crap, mexxer-2 is back--didn't think I was ever going to see him again. 

I would argue that I spend more time on the forum than I really should and I still have trouble finding posts that truly deserve merits, at least ones made by low-ranked members.  Most of the really worthy posts are made by Sr. Member rank or higher, though there are some exceptions.

Jet Cash, good on you for doing something positive.  I may have to take a look at your list when I've got some merit to hand out.  Trying to find merit-worthy members by the old fashioned method of reading through threads takes too much time and is usually just frustrating.

[chokomenia]

I think a good way to find a merit-able post is to always check out the thread you are most interested in regularly or you can create an engaging topic in any section and watch how members will engage on the topic, I think merit should not only be given to people who make good post but also to people who offer solutions to member that have one problem or the other or those helping to police the forum.