Abolish the Merit system and bounty threads

[stoat]

The laughable state of this forum, I've been reading this website since at least 2014, most active during 2015-2016 and the website is just unreadable at this point. 99% of the posts are from bounty hunter spammers

Too many Legendary accounts!
There seem to be hundreds of legendary accounts and they have all got there through some sort of merit cartel as far as I can see. just spam enough pointless repetitive posts to get to legendary status? Back when I first started reading, legendary status used to mean something, it meant that poster had something useful to contribute. Now it just means they merited themselves with an alt or they bought sMErits online and they spammed the forum enough times.

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that there are legendary accounts with a join date of less than a year ago, and here's my account which is operated by a normal user, who has contributed to actual discussion about actual real issues since 2015 with a Senior member level LOL!

the site admin should abolish all this corrupt nonsense and just have ads, that means its a level playing field and no corruption. You still make money. You think having thousands of beggars making pointless posts will make the forum better? this is now a low quality forum with low quality users.

[Rikafip]

Back when I first started reading, legendary status used to mean something, it meant that poster had something useful to contribute. Now it just means they merited themselves with an alt or they bought sMErits online and they spammed the forum enough times.

What are you talking about? "Back in your day" before implementtation of merit system it was exactly the opposite, as all you had to is post 1 meaningless oneliner shitpost post per day for ~3 years in order to reach Legendary rank, while now you actually have to write meaningful (to some degree) post in order to reach higher ranks.

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that there are legendary accounts with a join date of less than a year ago

Impossible to happen as you still need to meet activity requirement, no matter how many merits you have.

and here's my account which is operated by a normal user, who has contributed to actual discussion about actual real issues since 2015 with a Senior member level LOL!

Since your activity is below Legendary requirement (775), first thing that you would have to change is to post more consistently and you might reach Legendary rank, evenbtually.

[stoat]

Back when I first started reading, legendary status used to mean something, it meant that poster had something useful to contribute. Now it just means they merited themselves with an alt or they bought sMErits online and they spammed the forum enough times.

What are you talking about? "Back in your day" before implementtation of merit system it was exactly the opposite, as all you had to is post 1 meaningless oneliner shitpost post per day for ~3 years in order to reach Legendary rank, while now you actually have to write meaningful (to some degree) post in order to reach higher ranks.

Posting in Altcoin discussion didn't qualify for increased merit as far as I remember, and that's where I mainly posted.
Posting meaningless 1 liner shitposts is what people do here NOW. in those days it would have got you laughed out of the room. And what is your problem with 1 liner shitposts? some of the best posts are 1 liner shitposts. the only problem you have with it is that it doesn't fulfill your silly bounty campaign requirements

Since your activity is below Legendary requirement (775), first thing that you would have to change is to post more consistently and you might reach Legendary rank, evenbtually.

Why not just abolish all these ranks entirely and have reputation based on, you know, actual reputation not a "reputation system" which exists just to be gamed by a cartel

[Charles-Tim]

Rule number 32:

32. Posting multiple posts in a row (excluding bumps and reserved posts by the thread starter) is not allowed.

The laughable state of this forum, I've been reading this website since at least 2014, most active during 2015-2016 and the website is just unreadable at this point. 99% of the posts are from bounty hunter spammers

Which means you have not been following what is happening on this forum. Also you have only earned just 6 merits before, how can you tell if you are reading posts of a bounty hunters (but I mean low quality posts specially) when your account do not have the qualities to do so?

There seem to be hundreds of legendary accounts and they have all got there through some sort of merit cartel as far as I can see. just spam enough pointless repetitive posts to get to legendary status? Back when I first started reading, legendary status used to mean something, it meant that poster had something useful to contribute. Now it just means they merited themselves with an alt or they bought sMErits online and they spammed the forum enough times.

Back then, there were legendaries that supposed to be newbies, there were heros, senior members, full members and even newbies that supposed not to rank up, but thanks to theymos for introducing merit system that is helping against spams and more low quality posters on this forum.

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that there are legendary accounts with a join date of less than a year ago, and here's my account which is operated by a normal user, who has contributed to actual discussion about actual real issues since 2015 with a Senior member level LOL!

Legendary accounts achieved within a year? You are absolutely very wrong. You do not even know how ranking up and activities are on this forum, but you only just want to post nonsense.

the site admin should abolish all this corrupt nonsense and just have ads, that means its a level playing field and no corruption. You still make money. You think having thousands of beggars making pointless posts will make the forum better? this is now a low quality forum with low quality users.

Bitcointalk remain one of the best bitcoin forum, but people like you will not want to learn or contribute. The reason you do not know.

[stoat]

poop
 

You appear to be exactly the type of account I'm talking about

Position:    Legendary
Date Registered:    March 07, 2020, 12:51:25 AM

please point me to some legendary activity of yours so I can take back what I said. as far as I can see you're either a newbie, or an alt account of an experienced cartel merit farmer

[Rikafip]

Posting in Altcoin discussion didn't qualify for increased merit as far as I remember, and that's where I mainly posted.

There is a lack of merit sources that are active in altcoin section so that's why it is indeed hard to rank up if you mainly post here. That's how it is at the moment and if you wanna change it, you are free to apply for a merit source status and help the fellow forum members who mainly post there, and that way you will help yourself as well.

Posting meaningless 1 liner shitposts is what people do here NOW. in those days it would have got you laughed out of the room.

If you see meaningless one liner shitpost, you can always report it to mods and in most cases it will be deleted.

And what is your problem with 1 liner shitposts? some of the best posts are 1 liner shitposts. the only problem you have with it is that it doesn't fulfill your silly bounty campaign requirements

Good post can be of course written in one short sentence (and yes there's bunch of bloated garbage posts written for the purpose of looking better to managers), but I was talking specifically about meaningless one-liner shitposts.

This forum has its problems of course, but none would be sorted by removing merit system.

[stoat]

*fart*

Name:    Rikafip
Posts:    5012
Activity:    1190
Merit:    3976
Position:    Legendary
Date Registered:    August 03, 2019, 04:13:31 PM

LOL at this point I'll only accept discussion with accounts aged 2015 or earlier. i don't think post 2019 newbies even know how much of a disgrace this forum has become from what it once was. SATOSHI HIMSELF posted here regularly. you are shitting on his memory.

[Charles-Tim]

This forum has its problems of course, but none would be sorted by removing merit system.

I think we should better not waste time with stoat, he is only trolling. As we know, we can not expect this from a good poster. Or maybe he probably only just want the merit system to be cancelled and join a campaign.

[Rikafip]

...

I think we should better not waste time with stoat, he is only trolling.

Yep, I have no plans of playing pigeon chess with that dude. I don't think that he is trolling though, he seems genuinely upset. 

[hilariousetc]

The laughable state of this forum, I've been reading this website since at least 2014, most active during 2015-2016 and the website is just unreadable at this point. 99% of the posts are from bounty hunter spammers

Too many Legendary accounts!
There seem to be hundreds of legendary accounts and they have all got there through some sort of merit cartel as far as I can see. just spam enough pointless repetitive posts to get to legendary status? Back when I first started reading, legendary status used to mean something, it meant that poster had something useful to contribute. Now it just means they merited themselves with an alt or they bought sMErits online and they spammed the forum enough times.

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that there are legendary accounts with a join date of less than a year ago, and here's my account which is operated by a normal user, who has contributed to actual discussion about actual real issues since 2015 with a Senior member level LOL!

A lot of what you said is just factually incorrect. Back when you first started reading all the Legendary rank meant was that that person had made at least one post every two weeks for two years. The merit system was introduced to stop people just farming accounts by logging on once a fortnight to make a mere shitpost just to collect the activity. Today, it's very unlikely you would be able to achieve Legendary rank by merely shitposting. You actually have to have a lot of posts that are worthy of meriting to get the 1000 merit needed. It's actually a fairly decent system as it means you don't move up the ranks by merely posting rubbish. Of course, like any system or preventative measure it isn't perfect but it does its job for the most part.

I would agree that there are too many shitposters and legendary accounts though. A higher post-Legendary rank should be implemented that requires a very large amount of merit to really sort the wheat from the chaff.

Since your activity is below Legendary requirement (775), first thing that you would have to change is to post more consistently and you might reach Legendary rank, evenbtually.

Why not just abolish all these ranks entirely and have reputation based on, you know, actual reputation not a "reputation system" which exists just to be gamed by a cartel

What makes you think that also wouldn't be gamed? Anything that can be abused will be. All you will have is people then farming reputation. People already do that by doing deals or taking out loans with the right people they otherwise don't want or need just to repay it and collect a nice green feedback. Rinse and repeat. The merit system is already somewhat reputational based as it means that a decent amount of people have thought your posts were worthy of meriting.

the site admin should abolish all this corrupt nonsense and just have ads, that means its a level playing field and no corruption. You still make money. You think having thousands of beggars making pointless posts will make the forum better? this is now a low quality forum with low quality users.

If there's money involved then there will be corruption involved somewhere down the line. It's also not a level playing field as those with the most money and deeper pockets get to advertise whilst others are potentially priced out. I do agree something should be done about all the shitposters though and there should be repercussions for those people who make low quality posts and for the campaign mangers who don't do their job properly and pay for it. The forum would be a much better place very quickly if poor campaign managers were held accountable.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Too many Legendary accounts!
There seem to be hundreds of legendary accounts and they have all got there through some sort of merit cartel as far as I can see. just spam enough pointless repetitive posts to get to legendary status?

I detect an overriding sense of jealousy here, apart from the legitimate complaints you have (and you do have some).  If you've been here since 2014, it's obvious why you haven't reached Legendary yet, i.e., you just didn't post enough before the merit system was implemented.  I know you know that, so I'm not sure why you brought it up--though again, I think it's jealousy and/or a feeling of being left behind because of your own inaction.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with you that there are too many Legendary members, but the prestige of that rank has definitely lost a lot of what made it such a thing to shoot for.  On the other hand, for the vast majority of newcomers it's still nearly unattainable.  It'd be nice if Theymos added at least one more rank if not several, but he doesn't seem inclined to do that, so there's not much the community can do.

The state of the forum is truly bad, but I'd say only in certain sections and only if you're not using your ignore list to alleviate some of the frustration.  But I'd also argue that (at least for me) I find it much more tolerable than it was prior to the merit system.  You remember what it was like back then, hopefully.  There were so many blatant account farmers spread out through so many sections it was unreal, and they were the lowest kind of shitposters imaginable.  Right now the quality isn't even close to being as bad as it was back then.

Anything that can be abused will be. All you will have is people then farming reputation.

Yep.  I've been saying the former for years, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.  This forum is proof of it--and there have already been quite a few members who have tried to or successfully have farmed reputation to nefarious ends.  Luckily that isn't a widespread problem right now and typical members are skeptical enough to see through those attempts before they come to anything.

[NotATether]

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that there are legendary accounts with a join date of less than a year ago, and here's my account which is operated by a normal user, who has contributed to actual discussion about actual real issues since 2015 with a Senior member level LOL!

That is technically not possible due to activity requirements making the rank happen after 2-3 years.

Rank has never really meant anything to me, as I can instantly detect the kind of person writing a message just by looking at a few messages (spammer? Technically gifted person? Researcher? Newbie? Etc...)

[tranthidung]

The laughable state of this forum, I've been reading this website since at least 2014, most active during 2015-2016 and the website is just unreadable at this point. 99% of the posts are from bounty hunter spammers

I am not sure what you experienced but I am sure this information is not correct.

According to data as well as the bear - bull cycle of cryptocurrency market, 2015 and 2016 is in a bear market that likely caused a drop of activities in the forum

• Time Series on monthly statistics of forum (new users, new topics, new posts)
• Forum's 2020-year-end report

I only quoted two charts here, if you want more details, please visit these topics and get more details.

From available data, fact is the forum was flooded with massive spam in 2017 and 2018 which is why forum members requested and theymos made a tough decision to launch the merit system and months late, adjust it to demote Junior members who can not earn at least 1 merit.

Chronological flow of improving post quality in the forum, reducing spam

• Ideas for improving post quality?
• Two new no-signature boards
• Rules for Serious Discussion and Ivory Tower
• Merit & new rank requirements
• Enhanced newbie restrictions & requirements

Too many Legendary accounts!

In the past, without merit system, every member can become a legendary member. They just need enough time and activity point to get the Legendary member rank. It's easy honestly and many grandfather Legendary members are spammers.

[stoat]

I am not sure what you experienced but I am sure this information is not correct.

Evidence lacking for "this information is not correct." statement

[aysg76]

I think we should better not waste time with stoat, he is only trolling. As we know, we can not expect this from a good poster. Or maybe he probably only just want the merit system to be cancelled and join a campaign.

Yeah he is just having irrelevant discussion with no base and just trying to have some attention on the forum from users with this merit abolish agenda while he is trying himself to get some but all will went in vain.On the one hand he is saying to remove bounty threads and merits while trying to provide his service on forum and renting his signature with no reply so he is trying to gain some attention with these kind of posts.So ignore him if you can.

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that there are legendary accounts with a join date of less than a year ago, and here's my account which is operated by a normal user, who has contributed to actual discussion about actual real issues since 2015 with a Senior member level LOL!

So what do you mean exactly by this statement? Like they have been favoured with those merits or you completely ignore the useful posts they have made on the forum on which they have got merits? They have attained the same rank after the merit system implementation so do you think it's easy to do so without making any contribution and have merits from sources on normal posts? Speaking about you then you have managed to gain only 6 merits that also in 2019 and 3 from @Pharamacist while your main posting area is altcoin discussion which don't have any merit worthy posts so how you see this fair one? We know what your intentions are exactly and your forum analysis is also not going up to the mark as there are members registered on the forum back in 2015 who are legendary now like LoyceV with 12340 merits so how you justify it? Stop this thing as it will not help you gain what you want.

[Little Mouse]

just spam enough pointless repetitive posts to get to legendary status?

No one would disagree with you if you would point out some by name, and quote some of their post with facts. I have seen a few too, same as you said who have been Legendary after the merit system is introduced but you can't say this for everyone. Maybe you got engaged with some of the spammers at a first impression.

Back when I first started reading, legendary status used to mean something, it meant that poster had something useful to contribute.

I wasn't there but it was true until 2016/17 if I'm correct as at the beginning of 2018, merit system was introduced.

Now it just means they merited themselves with an alt or they bought sMErits online and they spammed the forum enough times.

Not really possible. If someone abuses merit with a huge amount, it will definitely be noticed. And it's not that easy to buy merit I think as it has risk involved both financially and getting tagged if noticed.

Take it easy. Ignore people who spam in your eyes.

[dkbit98]

Too many Legendary accounts!

So you are bitching about legendary accounts and making baseless accusations how they ranked up, while in the same you are time complaining how you didn't rank up while being inactive  

The thing that grinds my gears the most is that there are legendary accounts with a join date of less than a year ago, and here's my account which is operated by a normal user, who has contributed to actual discussion about actual real issues since 2015 with a Senior member level LOL!

You contributed jack shit, with most of your posts being made in shitcoins and shitcoin speculation, you are basically inactive since 2020, and there is a chance your account changed hands.
Total of 34 posts made in Bitcoin discussion, and everything else is related to shitcoinery, that is around 1240 useless posts.

the site admin should abolish all this corrupt nonsense and just have ads, that means its a level playing field and no corruption. You still make money. You think having thousands of beggars making pointless posts will make the forum better? this is now a low quality forum with low quality users.

Should we really start digging up your useless posts, or you are the only one in this forum with useful posts  
Let's make you a king of the forum, and everyone else should be below you and without ranks, I think that would make you happy.
Your next suggestion is probably to stop using Bitcoin and switch to your fake frEeD0mReZerve...

[LoyceV]

I detect an overriding sense of jealousy here

like LoyceV

I'm pretty sure OP created this topic because I deleted his 2 posts from Report unmerited good posts to Merit Source.
This is why:

Very helpful new user

Deleted. I'm not going to allow you to use this topic to pump and dump shitcoins.
~
My instant assumption is someone has a bag of shitcoins to hype, especially if it's is first post in a very long time. Not in my topic.

I'll only accept discussion with accounts aged 2015 or earlier.

That's cute. Now tell me, what have you contributed to Bitcointalk?

[DaveF]

That's cute. Now tell me, what have you contributed to Bitcointalk?

From the posts I'm going with they would be happier on AltCoin talk.

But beyond that since they are wearing a signature for a scam token. And they fully admitted after asking for a no collateral loan that they are just shilling and trolling.

My post history is mainly just retarded shilling and trolling. My offer would suit a UK based lender. The vehicle would be fully insured. I’m open to any imaginative terms or ideas for how I can get this financing.

https://archive.ph/QRwcQ

So I would figure this thread is just more trolling.
It is possible they do believe what they are saying, but I just don't see it.

-Dave

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I am not sure what you experienced but I am sure this information is not correct.

Evidence lacking for "this information is not correct." statement

To be fair, what I think tranthidung was disputing was specifically your assertion here, which you didn't provide evidence for either:

The laughable state of this forum, I've been reading this website since at least 2014, most active during 2015-2016 and the website is just unreadable at this point. 99% of the posts are from bounty hunter spammers

And if we're talking about the "99%" statement, I would only say that if that were true the forum would be nearly identical to Yobit's cryptotalk.org back when they were paying people to post on it.  True, I don't have any hard data either, but I read that forum now and again and I would have estimated (generously) that 1 in 100 posts wasn't of zero-value; the rest were exactly what you'd expect from the worst of bitcointalk's bounty hunting shitposters.

I'm pretty sure OP created this topic because I deleted his 2 posts from Report unmerited good posts to Merit Source.
This is why:
<snip>

Yeah, could be.  I'm not sure which he's most upset about though, the yet-to-be-Legendary problem or the forum quality one.  And if he's really only here to spam (which somehow I doubt, given how long he's been a member and despite the inactive periods), the quality issue wouldn't even be a blip on his radar.