RE: RE: RE: Proposed XP System Changes

[ivory]

Hmmm...well this is kind of why I didn't think it was fair to just change all this so suddenly. I can't IRC from work...it's bad enough that I am posting :P

I can only really speak for myself, and for me, the XP were a way to challenge myself to not slack off from learning perl and to come to the site and read the posts regularly. A lot of times people have already answered questions by the time I get there, and sometimes I am just so tired or hurried that I don't have time to post...but I still tried to get here each day and try to keep up.

You're right, we don't get paid to vote in the real world, but those votes have an impact on what happens. If we were electing leaders, or voting on policies I would understand the analogy...but here we vote for posts (and sometimes people vote for or against the writer of the posts).

Ivory

[neshura]

You may not be able to answer questions in time (I know I never can) but I try to occasionally write an informed post about something. (Occasionally.) I'm always tired too. I try to pick my battles, so to speak, as they come up and as they seem important: help out newbies in the chatterbox with site problems, or write vroom about things I think are not working. I post too sometimes. I don't much like receiving XP, it makes me feel guilty. :)

Of course, I believe that if you want to earn XP, you more than deserve it. Your posts are excellent, I've voted up many of them! I didn't know you personally, but you've got both explicit reputation (well-rated posts) and implicit (eg I know that you make good posts, your nick is familiar that way).

This is a community of people, not of database entries. When I think of reputation, I don't think of a number, I think of a person who has posted good ideas or thoughtful replies. I think what we are trying to get to is an XP system that works more transparently, more in the background, and still encourages the kinds of posts and personal conduct that the community as a whole values.

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