Why it's so hard to rank-up?

[Iroh]

Is it really?
First off, I don’t think ranks should be that much of a priority or a big deal. Although, it’s only natural to want to increase and grow on here and everywhere else. I think we should be working hard to grow or “rank up” in our lives and be better humans and not bothering about ranks on a forum on the web.
Besides, I’ve observed that to a newbie or a low ranking member, the higher up’s tend to give their honest thoughts and opinions on questions asked without putting the person down irrespective of how dumb and stupid the questions may seem.
Back to your question; i have gone through the rules of the forum and the requirements needed to rank up and I don’t think it’s difficult to climb through the ranks. Every legendary member on here was once a newbie.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Is it really?
First off, I don’t think ranks should be that much of a priority or a big deal.

To some who only goal is to lurk here and learn then its clearly not a big deal. But for some who wanted to make money using the ranking system its pretty much big deal cause it can give them money or profit. So they do everything to receive or gain merits.

Besides, I’ve observed that to a newbie or a low ranking member, the higher up’s tend to give their honest thoughts and opinions on questions asked without putting the person down irrespective of how dumb and stupid the questions may seem.

Yes thats true. A literal higher rank doesnt need to br rude when guiding a newbie and only think of themselves as a hierarchy here do that which isnt good model to some newbies. Every proven newbies inquriing muat be treated as such and dont be criticitize for their lack of knowledge.

[libert19]

'expecting nothing' is necessary part, as the saying goes - no expectation, no disappointment.

Most merits I have accumulated are from topics which were spontaneous ideas and barely took few minutes to come to fruition.

The less you give a fuck, the better.

[jamyr]

Higher rank means good opportunities here in the forum, but why its so hard to rank up?
Here's what I realized for almost 5 years here in the forum and still at a lower rank.

1. You can't please everybody here - Even if you create a good topic, you can't expect everyone to appreciate your work and probably will receive little to none merit since we all have different standards and qualifications before we gave out merit.

2. Being Inactive - Don't expect to rank up if you are not active especially on making good contents. I have my busy days and really not active but when I do have a task here, I always make sure to qualify for that but again, that's not enough.

3. Limited Knowledge - You can't share what you don't have, and making good topics here requires a good knowledge especially topics about helping people or a guidelines.


To cut this story short, if you really want to rank up and have a good reputation just do the opposite, stay active, learn more and expect nothing.
These are my mistakes, and I hope you won't do the same so you can be more successful here. Right now, I'm only learning with my experience and hopefully I can give something more helpful in the future.

Hey. Look at it this way.
Once you reach legendary, you will never have that feeling of ranking up ever again.

Like you, I have onky received less than 100merits, I only got Sr. Member because I have more than 250 activities by the time merit system was introduced.

[Daniel91]

OP, if you have been on this forum and in the crypto for so long, then you surely have some knowledge and experience that you can share with others and thus contribute to the community.
You can always explore new crypto projects and share information here.
If I understood you correctly, you are unhappy that after several years you still haven't reached the desired forum rank, which I assume you need to be able to participate in better paid signature campaigns.
If I were you, I would first focus on how I can contribute to this forum and help other members, and everything else will come naturally.

[taufik123]

'expecting nothing' is necessary part, as the saying goes - no expectation, no disappointment.

Most merits I have accumulated are from topics which were spontaneous ideas and barely took few minutes to come to fruition.

The less you give a fuck, the better.

Spontaneous ideas that suddenly appear but must also be in accordance with the topic to be discussed. If you get the merit of your spontaneous comments without taking too much time, that's great. But I don't agree with the "don't care, the better" part. Concern for what will be discussed is very important and this will be a reference for how you can digest the topic being discussed.

some of the threads that i create even take a few days and some research, and for some of the responses i also need to analyze and understand what is being discussed, so i give a response that fits the thread.

[_BlackStar]

Higher rank means good opportunities here in the forum, but why its so hard to rank up?
Here's what I realized for almost 5 years here in the forum and still at a lower rank.

1. You can't please everybody here - Even if you create a good topic, you can't expect everyone to appreciate your work and probably will receive little to none merit since we all have different standards and qualifications before we gave out merit.

Report to the merit source here ^{[especially if you feel the post is worthy]}: [self-moderated] Report unmerited good posts to Merit Source. After all, not all posts have to be rewarded with merit because that's highly unlikely, but you might be able to get 1 merit per day if your posts appear to be of high quality. That's much better than expecting your per post merit ratio to appear 1:1.

2. Being Inactive - Don't expect to rank up if you are not active especially on making good contents. I have my busy days and really not active but when I do have a task here, I always make sure to qualify for that but again, that's not enough.

Do the opposite and don't give up, one more thing - Don't complain.

3. Limited Knowledge - You can't share what you don't have, and making good topics here requires a good knowledge especially topics about helping people or a guidelines.

Remember this suggestions, that suggestions should be useful to all users hoping to rank up. Just like you, everyone who cares about rank will try their best. Sooner or later you reach rank depends on your ability and consistency to be active, learn and share your knowledge here.

Helpful suggestions:

• Firstly, just put some actual thought into your posts. Actually read the thread and the replies already posted. Often-times people will just read the title of the thread and post without fully understanding the topic or issue and make either irrelevant posts or say the same thing that has been said numerous times before.

• If somebody asks a specific question and it gets answered adequately within the first post or two nobody needs to read another ten replies saying the same thing just reworded slightly. If you cannot offer any additional info or clarify/correct something then you probably don't need to post it.

• If you struggle with English it's probably best to try stick to your Local boards. Your English does not need to be anywhere near perfect and you will not be penalised for this but if people generally can't understand what you're saying then it will likely be considered unsubstantial or spam.

• Short replies are not always bad and long ones are not always good. Sometimes all that is required is a simple one word yes or no response, but stretching out an answer just to appear constructive usually has the opposite effect.

[Dunamisx]

Higher rank means good opportunities here in the forum, but why its so hard to rank up?

Just take example in business enterprise, you will discover that some were making it while others aren't all because their mentality is different and the approach adopted as well are different, but the fact remains that you can't give less and expect much, the forum has the several advantages you could make good use of, ask me how? There are laid down forum rules and regulations for guiding you on how you're expected to use the forum with your posts being a quality one that could benefit someone with a touch, if they find it interesting they may wish to merit you and you begin to rank up whenever you meet up with the required activities and merits, simple.

[Mpamaegbu]

Here's what I realized for almost 5 years here in the forum and still at a lower rank.

Honestly, I didn't realise you've been here that long. I know I've bumped into this account a few times but didn't know it's nearly as old as mine. I think you should snap out of inactivity and spend some more time here if it won't disrupt your other schedules.

1. You can't please everybody here -

That would even be a very difficult thing to do in real life let alone in a pseudo setting such as this. You better keep your sanity intact by being yourself.

To cut this story short, if you really want to rank up and have a good reputation just do the opposite, stay active, learn more and expect nothing.

Far from it, ranking up doesn't bestow any reputation on an account. It's what you do in the forum and how credibly or incredibly your interactions are that can do that. Don't blindly trust any high ranking user.

[Ultegra134]

I joined the forum in 2014, had two large periods of inactivity (approximately 3 years away in 2018) while I wasn't active in the first place when I signed up. The merit requirement hadn't taken place back then and managed to rank up till Sr. Member somewhere in 2016 or 2017 if I remember correctly. I re-entered the forum in January 2021, having the 250 base merit due to the Sr. Member rank.

So far, within approximately a year and a half, I've gained exactly 200 merit, requiring only 50 merit for Hero. I agree, ranking up is not an easy purpose, while merit isn't the perfect system by any means, it has successfully got rid of spammers who were unable to rank up and join signature campaigns.

[libert19]

~

Spontaneous ideas that suddenly appear but must also be in accordance with the topic to be discussed.

It was about creating topics, but ok.

If you get the merit of your spontaneous comments without taking too much time, that's great. But I don't agree with the "don't care, the better" part. Concern for what will be discussed is very important and this will be a reference for how you can digest the topic being discussed.

If something relevant arises in the mind while reading the topic/comment then I comment otherwise move on.

[Daniel91]

I joined the forum in 2014, had two large periods of inactivity (approximately 3 years away in 2018) while I wasn't active in the first place when I signed up. The merit requirement hadn't taken place back then and managed to rank up till Sr. Member somewhere in 2016 or 2017 if I remember correctly. I re-entered the forum in January 2021, having the 250 base merit due to the Sr. Member rank.

So far, within approximately a year and a half, I've gained exactly 200 merit, requiring only 50 merit for Hero. I agree, ranking up is not an easy purpose, while merit isn't the perfect system by any means, it has successfully got rid of spammers who were unable to rank up and join signature campaigns.

Yes, there are a lot of older members who may not have earned their forum rank due to the quality of their posts and their contributions to the forum, but they was lucky to have become members before the merits system started and thanks to that they got a higher forum rank, while new members have to work much harder for higher forum ranks.
Because of this, it could be said that the merit system is not fair to the younger members, who joined this forum much later, but on the other hand, thanks to the merits, we were able to separate the quality members from the spammers on this forum, as you said.
No system is obviously perfect, but it is obvious that merits have benefited this forum.

[Cryptodebjoe]

I  as a newbie may not be in the best position to educate another person on how to rank up but every passing week my impression about this forum evolves i gain more knowledge from the system and it helps me to modify how i put out post constructively, also another thing that has helped me to keep comin back is when i see how my mentor made 40USD and keeps telling me about campaigns it motivates me to keep improving, when i asked him how he grew to the level he is he told me he creates 4 hours every early morning hours and he works in the night too to put out posts whether they merited or not he keeps going...  think if i apply same grit i would get similar result if not better

[cheezcarls]

Like in all aspects of life, success is not a straight line. There are no shortcuts to success. It's not something that's handed to you on a silver platter, but rather earn it.

There's no easy journey to it. When you begin your journey, it's like you're in a dark tunnel which you may get lost due to uncertainties, obstacles, trials, difficulties, etc., and even experiencing the worst of the worst that may tempt you the most to give up on your goal. It's up to you if you want to keep going or not.

So when it comes to ranking up, you must be willing to grind without any expectations or get something in return like merits, etc. You can't please everybody here. Not everyone will merit your high quality or helpful post. Treat rank and merits as bonus perks or blessings instead. What matters is that when you've finally built your reputation and keep learning from your mistakes and getting better, eventually you'll get there.

Before we're all becoming high-ranked members, we're also like you before who started from scratch. But we grinded, keep giving value to the community without expecting anything in return. Be passionate on what you do. There's always opportunity within the opportunity, if you know how to discover it.

Hope this helps you a bit and good luck!

[taufik123]

]If you get the merit of your spontaneous comments without taking too much time, that's great. But I don't agree with the "don't care, the better" part. Concern for what will be discussed is very important and this will be a reference for how you can digest the topic being discussed.

If something relevant arises in the mind while reading the topic/comment then I comment otherwise move on.

it will only apply to the general topics being discussed, but for some technical topics that require a little more knowledge there will of course be some little research done.

Relevant spontaneous comments are good, they will only emerge when we have the ability to discuss them.

-snip-
Before we're all becoming high-ranked members, we're also like you before who started from scratch. But we grinded, keep giving value to the community without expecting anything in return. Be passionate on what you do. There's always opportunity within the opportunity, if you know how to discover it.

Starting from scratch when this forum wasn't as crowded as it is now and the signature campaign wasn't very productive.
I remember the first time I was on this forum, I didn't know what to do. Many Bounties I started working on but didn't give any results. Spamming may be unavoidable, due to lack of education from the start. Everything requires a process until I can be like now. Nothing is easy and instant. Everyone has a chance as long as they are willing to try.

[PrivacyG]

Even inactive accounts can get a Merit.  Even three-line replies can.  I do not reckon me ever checking activity an account before sending Merits for a post, nor do I remember giving them based on how long a reply was.  Very often you can put as much bull shit in a wall style reply as you could in a three-liner.

I think the secret is just being yourself and abstaining from posting in threads where you lack any knowledge besides the very basic common sense and well known information, unless the situation or thread requests this information specifically.  If the topic is about how bad KYC is and you reply saying KYC is bad but with other words, you will not get a Merit and most likely everyone will skip your post.  If you come up with very well structured arguments, I believe your chances increase.

What surprises me is how after so long you are still stuck at a smaller rank than I am and I have been here for just over an year.  From my own experience, I feel like lower ranks are also more incentivized through Merits and the closer you get to Legendary, the harder it will get to earn a Merit and the more original you will have to be.

This is however not the 'recipe of success'.  There is no sure way of how to get a Merit but I personally think that even with a very well structured post per month containing substantial information you can get out of your Member rank in a relatively short span of time.  This requires you taking your time to learn, read and then share your knowledge and thoughts in the relevant threads.

-
Regards,
PrivacyG

[Mate2237]

Higher rank means good opportunities here in the forum, but why its so hard to rank up?
Here's what I realized for almost 5 years here in the forum and still at a lower rank.

1. You can't please everybody here - Even if you create a good topic, you can't expect everyone to appreciate your work and probably will receive little to none merit since we all have different standards and qualifications before we gave out merit.

2. Being Inactive - Don't expect to rank up if you are not active especially on making good contents. I have my busy days and really not active but when I do have a task here, I always make sure to qualify for that but again, that's not enough.

3. Limited Knowledge - You can't share what you don't have, and making good topics here requires a good knowledge especially topics about helping people or a guidelines.


To cut this story short, if you really want to rank up and have a good reputation just do the opposite, stay active, learn more and expect nothing.
These are my mistakes, and I hope you won't do the same so you can be more successful here. Right now, I'm only learning with my experience and hopefully I can give something more helpful in the future.

As for me to rank up is simple but the only thing that I can consider that is difficult in the forum to rank up is inactive, when you are not active then nobody will know you, at that you can not rank. I saw some persons that registered with me in the same month of April and today some of them are Jr. member and Member. And the OP you registered in since 2017 and you are still a member. I can say 2 things on you. You were not active or you were a Bounty hunter.

[Ultegra134]

I joined the forum in 2014, had two large periods of inactivity (approximately 3 years away in 2018) while I wasn't active in the first place when I signed up. The merit requirement hadn't taken place back then and managed to rank up till Sr. Member somewhere in 2016 or 2017 if I remember correctly. I re-entered the forum in January 2021, having the 250 base merit due to the Sr. Member rank.

So far, within approximately a year and a half, I've gained exactly 200 merit, requiring only 50 merit for Hero. I agree, ranking up is not an easy purpose, while merit isn't the perfect system by any means, it has successfully got rid of spammers who were unable to rank up and join signature campaigns.

Yes, there are a lot of older members who may not have earned their forum rank due to the quality of their posts and their contributions to the forum, but they was lucky to have become members before the merits system started and thanks to that they got a higher forum rank, while new members have to work much harder for higher forum ranks.
Because of this, it could be said that the merit system is not fair to the younger members, who joined this forum much later, but on the other hand, thanks to the merits, we were able to separate the quality members from the spammers on this forum, as you said.
No system is obviously perfect, but it is obvious that merits have benefited this forum.

Older members, myself included, got a head start, but it couldn't be done otherwise. I understand OP's frustration, but I remember the forum back then had plenty of spammers, using terrible English and often posting irrelevant one-liners just to gain activity and rank up. Let me also point out that signature campaigns were much more popular back then, there was an abundance of smaller campaigns, paying significantly less than major competitors, but were still pursued by users who often couldn't get into better campaigns either because of their post quality or due to the limited available slots in major campaigns.

[DdmrDdmr]

Just to give some numeric content to how many accounts have managed to rank-up under the shine of the Merit System, the following table summarized the numbers to date:


See: https://public.tableau.com/views/BitcointalkMeritDashboard/Ranked-up

Both tables are interesting:

The left-hand table shows ho many accounts have managed to rank-up needing Merits from a given initial rank at the time the Merit System was introduced, to their current rank. For example, out of the 204 Legendries that required Merits to rank-up, 57 were Hero Members when the Merit System was introduced, 36 were Sr. Members, and so forth.

The right-hand table indicated how many accounts are still at a given rank, having complied with the Activity counter but not with the Merit counter, and how many complied with both requirements. So for example, out of the 1.813 accounts that reached Sr. Member (needing Merits to do so), 183 have made it to Hero Member, which is 10,09% of the potential set of merited Sr. Member accounts.

It goes without saying that the numbers lack the context of the content being generated by these accounts, the boards where they are posting and so forth, which are fundamentals factors.

Note: Unmerited accounts are not present in the above data.

[The Cryptovator]

Rank up isn't hard for everyone at all. You have to think about contributions to the forum, not to the rank-up. If you concentrate only rank up then it won't happen. Then it will be a hard task for you. You have to spend enough time on the forum and engage in constructive discussion. Anyone shouldn't expect merits in every topic even if it's good for you. The post wouldn't good for all merit senders. So concentrate only on the contributions to the forum.