The Voting/Experience System

What is the Voting/Experience System?

Voting and Experience Points (XP) are the basis of the PerlMonks moderation system. As users participate they accumulate XP, which over time brings them additional powers on the site. The main power gained by XP is that of voting rights. Each monk after they have reached Novice is allocated votes to cast on the nodes that they read. The authors of the nodes receive a certain random amount of XP based on the vote (or even lose XP!), and the vote changes the node's reputation. Nodes which are down voted sufficiently and which have come up for consideration will be reaped. All this adds up to pretty reasonable way of controlling trolls and inappropriate behavior, and hopefully encourages people to think carefully about their posts. What people vote on and why they vote is never clear and the subject is one of some controversy on occasion but overall the approach seems to work.

How do I vote?

Each write-up or reply ("node") will display a couple of radio buttons on it marked ++ and -- (and possibly +=0). The button marked ++ signifies an up vote, and the one marked -- a down vote,and if you have configured your User Settings then the +=0 signifies a no vote, which can be useful when you've accidentally voted on something you didnt want to. When viewing a thread you can cast your votes on multiple nodes at once. Regardless, the votes aren't cast until you hit "Vote" button which is located at the bottom of the page you will be voting on.

If you can't see any radio buttons then you may be viewing something that can't be voted on (or don't have any votes available). Instead of the buttons you'll see the current reputation of the nodes you've already voted on.

When do I get my votes?

Votes are handed out once a day by the "vote fairy", with the higher levels receiving more votes, and those who have used all their votes receiving an XP bonus for the effort. The vote fairy is a little forgetful though, and somebody always gets forgotten and doesn't get their votes or bonuses for the day. If you've just reached Novice but don't have any votes yet then that would probably be because the vote fairy hasn't rolled out of bed yet to do the daily rounds. Be patient, you'll get your votes soon enough, usually within twenty-four hours, and almost certainly within forty-eight. We've never heard of the vote fairy forgetting anyone two days in a row, but you never know. :-)

What levels are there and how many votes do they get?

Votes are allocated based on the user's level which is based on the user's experience. In addition, special capabilities ("powers") accrue to certain levels. The levels, XP required, and number of votes allocated are listed in the table below. Where a level receives additional powers and responsibilities, the details are linked via the level title.

See Levels of Monks for more detail.

How can I gain/lose XP?

There are four ways to earn XP on PerlMonks. They are as follows:

• 25% chance of gaining 1 XP every time you vote on a node
• +1/6 number of votes cast if all votes are cast on any given day
  (This bonus only exists until you reach level 6)
• 25% chance of gaining 2 XP points once a day if you were logged in within the past 24 hours from when the vote fairy does the rounds.
• The way people vote on nodes that you have written. If enough people up vote your nodes you will gain XP. If enough people down vote your nodes your will lose XP. Having a node deleted is bad for your XP.

Exactly how do votes on nodes affect my XP?

How you gain or lose XP when others vote on your nodes is a bit complicated. First lets define a couple of variables as follows:

$NORM

This variable is calculated daily when votes are calculated. It is the average reputation of all of the nodes created within the past week. The current value of $NORM is 7.6851

$REP

The current reputation of the node being voted on

The chance that a vote on a node changes the authors XP is based on the $REP's relative value to the current $NORM. If the nodes $REP is higher than the $NORM, then ++ votes are more likely result in gaining XP, and -- votes are less likely to result in XP loss. If the $REP is below $NORM then any given vote will always have a chance of altering the authors XP. The exact odds are as follows:

See Also Levels of Monks

And read about The Role of XP in PerlMonks.
And: I just became a Novice; Why can't I vote yet?

Disclaimer

The rules are at the discretion of the gods. Everything posted here is subject to change as the need arises.