Reputation System Replaced: Replacing a Broken System Reputation System Replaced: Replacing a Broken System
Systems break down all the time. Computer systems. Cave systems. Stereo systems. Economic systems. Government systems. Solar systems. Science and history showed us that every system, without proper maintenance, or adjustments, fall apart. This seems to be a trend that has rocketed Windows7Forums.com to use on a mass scale, globally. Images of broken systems could include, the fall of the the Roman Empire. the widespread system failures of Windows ME. An out-of-warranty iPhone. A supernova that occurred in 1604 AD. And less importantly, the reputation system on Windows7Forums.com.
This thread is specifically for those who care about reputation and accumulating points.
The reputation system has been changed, and replaced completely with the experience system. The experience system has existed on the website for some time. It was reintroduced to the website after being re-coded from scratch, and rewards all members for their activity. It is completely automated, calibrated for fairness, and is the result of all of your activity, on the website. It existed side-by-side, with the reputation system, but remained largely ignored throughout the year. It also includes achievements and awards. Almost all of these processes are automated and new ones can be added at any time.
What happened to my points? *Pounds Fist*
It had been noticed that a small group of individuals had received reputation levels of over 100,000, and had prevailed in doing so by continually giving each other reputation. When reputation power, which is derived from reputation itself, was given out, it was not spread to our thousands of members, but stuck within an elite group. To make matters worse, hardly anyone gave out bad reputation. Giving out bad reputation is the only way for someone to lose their reputation power. This could confirm a few good things. Either people are innately good people in general and/or no one cared about giving anyone bad reputation to begin with. Further analysis showed a conflict of interest, as moderators were, perhaps, not suited to use this system – it would be best left to our members to police themselves with such a system, and enjoy the fruits of their contributions.
It is not known if intentional steps were intended to break the reputation system, but for those who cared, including myself, and especially one of our best moderators, Randy Baker, it became apparent early this week that the system was not working as intended. Options were limited in dealing with this problem. Options involved resetting everyone to zero (redistribution), penalizing those who were found to have too much reputation (out of the question), add additional requirements to gain reputation (hurting new members in the process), or kill the system altogether (create massive outrage).
What's important to note is that those on the top of what had become the "reputation pyramid" had complete control of reputation point distribution, and very few were on the top. Those on the bottom, had very little hope of banding together to gain reputation. If someone at the bottom was “rep’d up” by someone who accumulated massive reputation, they would instantly get, on average 15,000 to 30,000 reputation points. This enormous amount of points distorted a system that was designed to deal with a maximum of around 1000 points per account. The green pips symbolized 100 points of reputation, while some members had over 200,000 reputation points, and 20,000 reputation-altering power.
To top things off, when someone was given reputation, they would be given a “reputation beyond repute” on the fly. The reason for this is that the green reputation pips were designed to represent a low level of reputation. 100 points of reputation for each reputation pip. The system was never designed to have millions of points floating around.
A conclusion: The website has outgrown the reputation system.
What could be done to fix this problem for all members, and give everyone a chance to enjoy the hallmark of success? Our goal is not to restrict the accumulation of reputation points, but to make it representative of a member's accomplishments. The system was supposed to be a community-used tool that shows what someone has done. Much like the ability to use the "Thanks" button and rate a thread/topic. What could give someone the chance, slim, but very possible, to reach level 100, and be recognized with vast achievements and cool awards? The re-calibrated experience system.
I would like to thank a few people for identifying this problem earlier. This problem only matters for those people who care about reputation, point systems, or giving members something to achieve. Primarily, I believe these members are Trouble, Mitchell_A, and Captain Jack. These members articulated that there may be a problem with the system. I believe the problem was first brought to our attention by RAK, but largely dismissed, a very long time ago.
I have confirmed through logs that some abuse of the reputation system did occur, and was widespread. Not long ago, a script called Helpful Answers was active on the site. This script was removed due to its large size, which had the potential to slow down rendering time for those on poor connections. It could be misused, as a person could use double their reputation power on the same posting. It became clearer that the reputation system had been damaged beyond repair and took advantages away from our new members – our active members – and our hardworking members. You know, the ones that visit every day, and actually help people. Maybe the person reading this is you, if you've made it this far. And even if someone asks a hundred questions, that generates a hundred responses, shouldn’t that be a reward, since it will no doubt help others as well? Not necessarily, with the old system.
A New Experience
The answer is experience. Your experience will show for you when you post messages. To see your level and total experience, check the right-hand side of your profile information on a post. To see the status bar indicators, you can look to your left, and hover your mouse over them to get more detailed information like “points to next level”. Over time, this will be brought into your profile for easy access.
The experience system gives every member a rewarding opportunity to use the site. We have disabled point giveaways to avoid any widespread abuse. You have the chance to build a reputation – and perhaps you already have. It is our obligation, as stewards of the website, to ensure that such reputation is based on merit. This system will not be perfect. Right now, it takes members who have not been on in ages into account as well. This can be changed. It is likely some careful tinkering will take place to make the system as strong and representative as possible. This system will return different results for everyone depending on how the website is used. Bloggers and content-focused users will see different results than traditional forum users. Depending on your usage habits, you may earn points for writing blogs, or you may earn them for ending discussions. But you will not be limited in what is possible. While it is clear this system is not perfect, we haven't found one that works better yet, and this is a very good sign.
Visit the Experience System at
Link Removed due to 404 Error Tell us what you think of this change in the comments below.