theymos; is this a merit system bug?

[Igebotz]

I encountered this yesterday; I'm not sure if it was a general issue or if my source merit was confined to a specific board/post. I wanted to merit a post, and this is what appeared; I went back to another post and was able to merit it, then returned to that same post and was unable to merit it. Has anyone else had this experience before? Is it something normal?

N/b; its been 12hr and its still not working.





When one is out of smerit and i still want to merit a post it shows like this (current i have 0 smerit) so definitely there was a problem with the first one screenshot.




quick one; Apllication

theymos I need source merit. I know this isn't the proper way to apply, but there's nothing wrong with giving it a shot when you're feeling brave. It's difficult to combat spam and not be able to merit a merit worthy post when I come across one. I'm not sure what qualities I need to have to become a merit source, but I pledge to continue distributing to quality posts as I have/am doing. I've been getting messages about post-reviews that I never asked for, and I've been doing my best, but my best isn't enough with a limited source. thank you very much.

ref ( recent one)


note: this user is not on my spammer list.

theymos silence = acceptance. 

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[PX-Z]

This most probably happens when you ignored the board where the post is. Try to checking your ignored boards then unignored the board for the moment then try to merit the post.

Here's quoted reply of theymos explaining the same thing what you experience

Permissions and ignored-boards can also cause info to be missing per-user. In this case I think that it happened because The Pharmacist is ignoring the board in which that post resides.

The ignored-boards page says, "Be advised that by ignoring a board it will be completely inaccessible to you." How it works is that almost all forum systems view you as being not allowed to see the board, just like hidden boards. This is also why you can't quote a post in an ignored board.

[TheBeardedBaby]

I have experienced this before, and it turned out that the issue is the ignored boards.
In this case PX-Z is right

Check where this post is located and try to see which boards you have on ignore.

[krishnaverma]

Even if the issue is present, it cannot be technically called a bug. Because this cannot be misused to hamper the merit system on forum.

An accepted bug( in the bounty program) is something that leads to abuse of the platform.

[FatFork]

Even if the issue is present, it cannot be technically called a bug. Because this cannot be misused to hamper the merit system on forum.

Technically, you are incorrect.

A software bug is an error, flaw or fault in the design, development, or operation of computer software that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways.

An accepted bug( in the bounty program) is something that leads to abuse of the platform.

These types of software bugs (that can be exploited) are called "vulnerabilities".

[skarais]

This most probably happens when you ignored the board where the post is. Try to checking your ignored boards then unignored the board for the moment then try to merit the post.

I think you're right, and after the OP did then I hope he's ok now to earn that post with merit.
Also, I don't really know whether sending merit to users who are actually already on the ignore list is possible or not. I have no experience on this, has someone done this before? I mean, you're send merit to users who are still on your ignore list.

By the way, PX-Z. Thanks for getting the quote.

[Z-tight]

Also, I don't really know whether sending merit to users who are actually already on the ignore list is possible or not. I have no experience on this, has someone done this before? I mean, you're send merit to users who are still on your ignore list.

Yes it is possible to send merits to a member you have on your ignore list without unignoring that member. The quote and merit icon is hidden beside the posts of members you have on your ignore list and replaced with show/hide, so if you read a post from the profile of an ignored member and you want to send merits to it, you simply just go to the post and click on show/hide, and the option to either quote or merit the post becomes available to you.

[Igebotz]

This most probably happens when you ignored the board where the post is. Try to checking your ignored boards then unignored the board for the moment then try to merit the post.

Check where this post is located and try to see which boards you have on ignore.

You are both correct. I just checked and confirmed that the board was on my ignore list, I've unignored the board, and I've merited the post... theymos I'm counting on your silence.

Even if the issue is present, it cannot be technically called a bug. Because this cannot be misused to hamper the merit system on forum.

Any abnormality in a programmed system can be classified as a bug. I'm not wrong.

[PowerGlove]

Any abnormality in a programmed system can be classified as a bug. I'm not wrong.

I think that's a bit too broad to be useful. I understand the temptation to view things that way, though.

It's tricky to come up with a good definition of what a bug is, but I think the legendary Jargon File is difficult to improve on (taken from version 4.4.7):

bug noun: An unwanted and unintended property of a program or piece of hardware, esp. one that causes it to malfunction. [...]

I like this definition because it connects two important ideas (unwanted vs. unintended) with an "and" instead of a softer connective like "and/or" or just "or"; from your point of view (and probably most other people's, too) not being able to merit a post from an ignored board is unwanted, but because you didn't write the code you can't also know if it is unintended.

Only theymos can say whether this is a real bug or just a known limitation (I'm guessing it's the latter).

[Igebotz]

Any abnormality in a programmed system can be classified as a bug. I'm not wrong.

I think that's a bit too broad to be useful. I understand the temptation to view things that way, though.

It's tricky to come up with a good definition of what a bug is, but I think the legendary Jargon File is difficult to improve on (taken from version 4.4.7):

bug noun: An unwanted and unintended property of a program or piece of hardware, esp. one that causes it to malfunction. [...]

I like this definition because it connects two important ideas (unwanted vs. unintended) with an "and" instead of a softer connective like "and/or" or just "or"; from your point of view (and probably most other people's, too) not being able to merit a post from an ignored board is unwanted, but because you didn't write the code you can't also know if it is unintended.

Only theymos can say whether this is a real bug or just a known limitation (I'm guessing it's the latter).

This qualifies as a known limitation because, as I later discovered, the board was on my ignored list, which is why I was unable to send merit to any posts there. Was my understanding of a bug incorrect? I'm not a programmer. 

[_BlackStar]

Only theymos can say whether this is a real bug or just a known limitation (I'm guessing it's the latter).

I hope this isn't some sort of bug, but more likely to be interpreted as limitation for anyone ignoring certain board. But like you said, really only they can classify what it is. 

Was my understanding of a bug incorrect? I'm not a programmer. 

If it is a programming error, then you are not wrong about what a bug is. But if it was just a limitation, it's not a bug. LOL

[Pmalek]

Also, I don't really know whether sending merit to users who are actually already on the ignore list is possible or not. I have no experience on this, has someone done this before?

Yes it is possible to send merits to a member you have on your ignore list without unignoring that member. The quote and merit icon is hidden beside the posts of members you have on your ignore list and replaced with show/hide, so if you read a post from the profile of an ignored member and you want to send merits to it, you simply just go to the post and click on show/hide, and the option to either quote or merit the post becomes available to you.

Z-tight is right, but if you think about it, why would you want to merit a post you can't even read? If you have someone on ignore, you can't read their posts. All you see instead is a message saying that user is on your ignore list. To read what the user wrote, you would have to unignore that person, read the post, and then merit them. Otherwise you are just meriting a post blindly without having seen it. And if someone has found their way to your ignore list, they surely most have made many things wrong to deserve being there (this is my personal opinion), hence why merit their posts? 

[skarais]

And if someone has found their way to your ignore list, they surely most have made many things wrong to deserve being there (this is my personal opinion), hence why merit their posts?

I can tell you that nothing really matters about my question, it's just my curiosity about how it works. Someone who has been on my ignore list right now deserves to be there, but I'm always open to seeing if they change next time or not. So far my ignore list will be not permanent for certain users. I don't think it's fair to those who are able to change their behavior as long as it's not a scammer.