Quote:
Originally Posted by Infantrymen
Or perhaps just allow the staff to give these points....
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This is what they do on the Apple forum (
not sure if that's where you saw it). You could
not allow staff to do this for many obvious reasons. It works great on the Apple forum. Many times people rush to help others because they want those points awarded to them. This greatly increases member participation, which the karma/reputation system does not. Infact the karma/reputation system has been know to lose members. The points system allows three awards to be given; the first is a helpful designation which earns you five points, and a solved designation which is worth 10. These points will, in turn, increase a member's ranking (
status level) in the community over time, so it's a win-win situation for everyone involved. This is
NOT the same as a reputation system. First of all only the original poster can award points, no one else in the thread can. The problem with the reputation system is that it allows for negative designations. The point system is completely an '
encouraging' system, because since you want the most points, your goal is to
help the most people. Key word
help. This promotes a friendlier atmosphere as anyone who has ever used the Apple forum will attest to. It's a great way to get people to help others, but it can't be just a modified version of the reputation system, or it won't work ;) Also the title does not go on the (
helping) persons post information, it goes at the top of each thread. For example, "
This thread was solved by XYZ and helped by LMN and ABC". A special icon is used on all solved threads. This makes it easier to find answers to questions when people are searching for them. Come to think about it the easiset way to accomplish this would be to contact Abe1 and have him modify his 'Thank You' mod. There is also a section on category view which lists the top ten members who help out in that category.
For all the ney sayers out there on why this is a good idea, I can only point you towards what Apple states on their web site:
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The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.
Members can see their status level by Forum, Category, or at the main Community level.
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You see it's not 'just' another title or award system, as this one actually promotes a friendlier forum and encourages the members to help others, and we could all use a little more of that :bunny:
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