Points And Voting And Whatnot
Step two in the master plan to provide users tools to moderate themselves has been deployed: there are +1/-1 buttons on comments and posts now. This has been met with some displeasure. An explanation of what's going on right now:
- You can vote up or down on any comment, forum post, or diary entry. Up votes are worth two points, down votes minus one. This, combined with the points you get for posting stuff, should make it hard for anyone who's not seriously annoying the great majority of the commenters to see their points dip as a result.
- Dipping into negative points will put you into the "troll" role and spur me to look at the user's recent activity to see whether the user should be banned, or just told to cool it, man.
There are some abuse failsafes built in now and more will be added if—when—people start abusing the system. For one: I am probably going to make a downvote cost the voter points, too, to further restrict wanton point-bashing. Please report any bugs, or ideas, to mgoblog@gmail.com.
Anyone know how many points I need in order to post a new forum topic?
Gotta love live examples, folks.
The point of the whole 20 point thing is to help one learn what the board is about and how and why we post, before you make a fool of yourself, as below, in the case of Sweeny03. Not to be circumvented (or to attempt to circumvent it.)
Sooner or later, you're going to have to stick your arm up a cow's butt.
Is there a way to tell which posts are being voted up or down? All I can tell is that I've gotten a few points from somewhere but it would be nice to know which posts are appreciated and which are not :)
Or is that something I'll be able to see once I get to 20 points and can rate posts myself . . .
If anyone else was wondering the same thing, I just got to 20 points and I can, indeed, see how the votes went on each post.
why the 20 drink minimum?
you wish you could throw like a girl
I think it's set up that way as a deterrent for spammers, trolls, general riff-raff, etc. so they can't just sign up and start posting topics and diary's immediately. Also, they can't run around messing with people's points right away either.
I just posted for the point
I honestly think that this whole points system is just part of an experiment for Brian's masters thesis in game theory. What strategies can people use to maximize their points? How do you "win"?
"I call this game... Blogger's dilemma."
Great idea! The less trolls the better!
I don't see the thumbs up/down buttons. Is it just my browser (Safari), my board settings, or did Brian suspend them while working out tweaks?
It's sort of weird to come back from being away for a day and seeing everyone talking about a feature that's not visible.
From my long experience of one day on the board let me take a swing at this. You need 20 points to see or use this feature. I think you need that 20 point level to do some other things as well, but I'm sure I'll pick that up as I go along.
I see beer related humor is encouraged here. I might just fit in........
but I'm new to the board. How do you get points and how can you trade them in for beer??
Actually, I'm pretty sure whoever gets the most points gets to take control of the blog from Brian, and gets the associated money, women (or men), and fame.
I suppose that money could be used to acquire beer, though.
Ann Arbor: now the permanent home of the Little Brown Jug
66-22-3 all-time
This could be a great MGoRewards system, like credit card rewards or something. For every 250 points you accumulate, Brian will buy you a beer!
sgtwolverine.com
Ha! Second part of that question is pure win. +2 to you sir, and may your quest for beer be fruitful.
It's Great to Be A Michigan Wolverine
on a blog? Mgoblog is raising the bar-can't wait to see how this pans out. Hats off to Brain, I for one appreciate your efforts to keep this blog precious to those of us that follow Michigan Football.
haha, brain
Just get rid of some of these Know it All Tough guys around here. Way too many of those little homies around here.
For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. RMS 13:4
Are you referring to the know it all tough guys that tear apart the trolls to the point of tears in an attempt to retain order on the boards?
If you don't like what they're writing, you're free to give them a thumbs down.
I don't mind dissenting opinions, as long as they remain respectful. Nobody likes a trash talker or someone whose major goal in life is to stick it to Michigan fans. Buckeyes and Spartans are cool with me. They just need to remember that they're posting on a Michigan blog.
OK...just one more point and I'm at 20! Woo hoo!
M is toight
I'm +2! This is tight!
M is toight
Motion to change "mgopoints" to "Tacopoints". I like my points to be eleven feet tall and made of dreams just like my imaginary receivers.
for great mgojustice
sorry that was meant as a response to Blue durham not Michfan1997.
It's not a fluke that you went down to minus 207 and then you got all your points back and just 2 hours later your back down to minus 28, mabye it's you that's flawed not the system.
I thought was just me.
Yeha i did it's pretty bad when you recieve a second chance and still manage to screw it up.
bothers me about him being so far in the negative is that I won't get to at least see what the next diary he promised was all about. I still want to know!
Michigan Wolverines: 874 wins, .740 winning percentage, 42 Big Ten Titles, 11 National Titles, 3 Heisman winners, and 150 consensus All-Americans
they say - beware of what you wish for, you just might get it. But without a doubt, the thread would have been active.
I agree: That's what the "reply" button is for. It's also what the "scroll" key is for.
But of course, that's too much work for Message Board Guy. He'd rather have everyone they disagree with banned.
Of course, this does save all the cries to Daddy such as, "Waah, I don't like that guy, Brian, Ban him!"
But the idea that a community can be self moderated is a good one--and so is the idea that built in abuse controls are there (though I can't see how they could be or ever could be enough to stop abuse).
The one post about "tribalism" sums it up pretty well--these boards are just like playgrounds. Ya got bullies, people that stand behind their backs tossing stones, people who run to the teacher whenever someone does something "bad", gangs and cliques--and only a few who really want to get in there and play dodgeball.
I also wonder if it will eliminate posters from other fan bases. Boy, do these Wolverine fans hate it when Sparties and Buckeyes show up on their boards. I like it when fans of opposing teams get in there and mix it up.
People just need to kind of grow up and allow FREE SPEECH to play itself out once in awhile. I mean, I post something that riles a UM fan--and that guy posts something obscene--which is really worse? Who decides what's good or bad? What is good or bad? Why orwhy not?
Winning breeds confidence. Losing breeds reality.
The reason that we can't have a self-moderated community is because people like you do not know when to stop talking. Have you actually stopped to consider that there might be a reason why you have so may negative points? It's not because everyone else is a bully, or a whiner that runs to Brian, its because you make stupid, speculative posts that go on for pages. People don't care what you have to say, yet you have an opinion on everything. If you would moderate yourself, we wouldn't need a point system like this. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen
"I think you are my favorite poster. The polar bear avatar definitely helps." - ShockFX
The Iowa defender guy
And I have -26 MgoPoints. Obviously, this system is tres flawed--and obviously, the minions from Scout have been called over to vote me out.
Give me a cigarette and a Budweiser for my last meal, you fuckers.
Winning breeds confidence. Losing breeds reality.
I mean, seriously, you criticize and foam at the mouth about conspiracies and surprise! People vote your posts down. The readers get to decide -- that's what the points are all about.
Happy 4th of July, Other Chris!
Make it a great day!
Winning breeds confidence. Losing breeds reality.
I think.
It will require a few tweaks along the way, but a system like this is needed. Too many threads were devolving into a bunch of babble, usually spurred on by a few individuals.
that makes sense, i was wondering where they were...
Go Blue
F%ck the Bucks
Thanks for taking the time to address this on the holiday Brian.
General "Buck" Turgidson: Sir, you can't let him in here. He'll see everything. He'll see the big board!
Yes..thanks for taking the time to post a FAQ
Go Blue!
I don't have a real problem with the downvote costing the voter points too. I think that that approach will help to foster a more positive environment.
But perhaps each day/week/month everyone gets a certain small number of "free" downvotes, but I don't know if that could be done easily.
Edit: And for some reason, I just don't think someone should be able to vote themselves points.
If a down vote costs you a point, it may reduce genuine abuses. I am still opposed on principle. Anonymous "thumbs down" are a bad idea, rife for abuse because they are anonymous. If you dislike an opinion, man up and let the accused face his accuser.
Go Blue!
the reply button is for. Just sayin'
I like this idea. We don't need this board to turn into slop. I can go to Mlive if I want retarded responses to everything.
Michigan Wolverines: 874 wins, .740 winning percentage, 42 Big Ten Titles, 11 National Titles, 3 Heisman winners, and 150 consensus All-Americans
So did you end up giving Barking his points back?
Brian, Where are the buttons to +1/-1? Is there a way to place them in the box that displays our total points (right under our display picture?)
"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."
i think you need 20 points to access that
...so I am still on my quest for 20 - if I cannot access point voting for others, are others still able to vote on me?
For example, if I just spam this thread to hit my 20 posts could I possibly end up with a huge negative score? *whistles*
The lesson here is that when you spam, it takes only a few people to completely destroy your score.
The power of multiplication has triumphed.
so this experiment was a huge success! After hitting 20 points for about a total of 5 minutes, I am now at 4 points! What an awesome community!!!! ;p
I
Just