status-monitor Systems for post quality (e.g., Likes) and Badges

[NameOmnia]

I completed a few small transactions with bbw that were smooth and easy and the member has always been very nice and respectful towards me.

With that said I have, though, never thought that the investment group thing was a good idea, nor considered NP attitude towards it appropriate.

So, if I am allowed, I will "hijack" this situation to share my thought.

I have in several circumstances pointed out to admins that the badges and likes can be very deceiving.

VIP badge which should highlight notable members ( according to NP ) is given automatically after one year or after reaching a number of posts. So you can be posting on the welcome thread or in the break room all the time and you will be given a VIP badge with ZERO contribution to the community.

Some VIP members are indeed right those we complain about all the time because they email us with low quality crappy unsolicited domains for sale that are so so similar to ours...I have proof of one member for sure.

Same goes with post count and likes.

No one who looks at our member "card" can really determine how and where those posts and likes where made or obtained. Once again keep posting in the welcome thread or the break room and you will soon be one of the top members ( most posts, most likes ); it is not a coincidence that the first positions in the Notable ones are held EXACTLY by those who have mainly ( some only ) posted in those areas and sections.

The outcome is, in my opinion, a very deceiving image of the members we re dealing with, especially for new members who have not worked these mechanism out yet.

Then if we add that business accounts can be UNLIMITED and that if one joins with a paid membership the " verification process " is skipped, I believe the outcome to be dangerous.

I have, like I mentioned above, pointed all this out to admins multiple times but the usual replies were that this is how the software works and it would require a lot of coding to change it.
Basically a deal with it.

 

[D Haynes]

I agree with nameomnias statement. If you take away all of the posts and likes made or recieved in the reg/purchase of the day threads and posts that have no substance to anything, the badges members have would be completely different. I have only 600ish posts but 99 percent of them are actual comments as opposed to single word posts etc yet I feel I have contributed more valid points than some members with thousands of post/likes.

 

[Chris Hydrick]

No one who looks at our member "card" can really determine how and where those posts and likes where made or obtained. Once again keep posting in the welcome thread or the break room and you will soon be one of the top members ( most posts, most likes ); it is not a coincidence that the first positions in the Notable ones are held EXACTLY by those who have mainly ( some only ) posted in those areas and sections.

You can look at the area's each member posts in. But I don't know how many people check this out.

@baseballworld top three area's make up 10,912 of his 13,686 posts.

 

[NameOmnia]

You can look at the area's each member posts in. But I don't know how many people check this out.

Yes I am aware of that but like you said I don't now how many actually know or take the time to check that out.
I think the system itself is very flawed and shoul be changed and improved, but it also true that everyone should do their own diligence to the extent they can

 

[Chris Hydrick]

Yes I am aware of that but like you said I don't now how many actually know or take the time to check that out.
I think the system itself is very flawed and shoul be changed and improved, but it also true that everyone should do their own diligence to the extent they can

Too bad you can't see what area's each members likes come from. That would help members do their due diligence. If somebody has 10,000 likes in the parking section, I think it's safe to assume they have parking knowledge. Now even having like area's shouldn't be a factoring metric, but it does help paint a picture of each members activity. IE if somebody had 10,000 likes in the parking section, you could match up how many posts that member did in the parking section. This ratio could help determine a more precise quality content benchmark. The current structure (hidden likes) doesn't allow post area metrics to be cross referenced by like area metrics.

This may be off topic, and being late, I'm not sure how much sense this rant is making. Tagging @Paul Buonopane so he can be aware of these coding related concerns / trickles.

 

[NameOmnia]

Too bad you can't see what area's each members likes come from. That would help members do their due diligence. If somebody has 10,000 likes in the parking section, I think it's safe to assume they have parking knowledge. Now even having like area's shouldn't be a factoring metric, but it does help paint a picture of each members activity. IE if somebody had 10,000 likes in the parking section, you could match up how many posts that member did in the parking section. This ratio could help determine a more precise quality content benchmark. The current structure (hidden likes) doesn't allow post area metrics to be cross referenced by like area metrics.

This may be off topic, and being late, I'm not sure how much sense this rant is making. Tagging @Paul Buonopane so he can be aware of these coding related concerns / trickles.

And badges..which imo are even more evident than posts and likes

 

[Eric Lyon]

Any suggestions for what the "VIP" badge should be named? The "VIP" name has been around as long as I have, but it might be time for us to rename it.

Thanks for your feedback,

 

[biggie]

Any suggestions for what the "VIP" badge should be named? The "VIP" name has been around as long as I have, but it might be time for us to rename it.

Thanks for your feedback,

it think VIP, should be related to "tenure and post count"

where one should be an active member for at least 5 years or more and have x number of posts, to reach that status

and although a business account is basically just a profit center for NP, still, the badges can be deceptive for those who assume.

having one doesn't signify that you are a professional, are experienced or can handle business transactions expediently.
while not having one, doesn't mean you're without such traits either.

imo....

 

[HotKey]

Insteal of renamed the VIP, perhaps you could create new badge, alongs the lines of "Guru", where the badge would only be awarded to the number of posts/likes received on contributions in certain informational sections, ie appraisal, parking, reviews etc.

Reason I wouldn't want to see the VIP renamed is because many people have earned it due to cumulative efforts across the board, even if the majority was earned in sections like Meet and Greet or Reg of the Day. Just because a member has greater posts in the "Meet and Greet", it should not demean their VIP status, reason being is every board can only benefit from having a regular, great "welcoming commitee" and new members will be more likely to return if they feel accepted. Same goes for Reg of the Day section, promoting and liking other peoples new domains is good for the market in general.

 

[Eric Lyon]

business account

If anyone has recommendations on what we should call badges for Account Upgrades, please share those ideas too.

Thanks,

 

[NameOmnia]

I AM GLAD TO KNOW THAT ONCE AGAIN I HAVE OPENED A THREAD WHILE SLEEPWALKING.

I am also glad to know that one can receive infractions and warnings for sharing their views and opinions OUTSIDE the feedback area

Could some of the powers to be link me to the rule that I have violated?
To the powers to be I also ask, shouldn't someone be asked if they want their posts used as threads they have never intended to open or does NP own any content that we write here?

If this

appears after the OP of a thread should't the righteous owner of the post BE ALLOWED to decide?


With that said the problem is not how you call the VIP badge, the problem is the way it is given.

The "value" of a member should be determined by a mix of years, participation, number of transactions and most of the quality of his/her TR.

Number of posts and likes should not even be shown imo.

Ultimately this is a business forum and not FB.

As for the paid memberships I believe they should not be unlimited and that if one has a personal account and a business account it should show in both "cards" that the 2 accounts are linked and owned by the same person.

I also believe that the verification process whatever that is should not be skipped in any circumstance and that brand new members should not be allowed to buy, sell or bid until they have proven themselves ( someway ).

 

[Eric Lyon]

I AM GLAD TO KNOW THAT ONCE AGAIN I HAVE OPENED A THREAD WHILE SLEEPWALKING.

We will be happy to delete your post next time and close this thread if you'd like. We chose not to discard your feedback and instead opened it up for further discussion where it would not be off topic.

I am also glad to know that one can receive infractions and warnings for sharing their views and opinions OUTSIDE the feedback area
Could some of the powers to be link me to the rule that I have violated?

Rule #5:

Rule 1.5. Do not post anything suggestive or critical of NamePros policy, staff, or moderation activity (infractions, content approval, edited/deleted posts, etc.) except in the designated areas for customer support and feedback.​

Please let me know if we can make that rule any clearer to help.

appears after the OP of a thread should't the righteous owner of the post BE ALLOWED to decide?

If you're referring to what's on topic vs. not on topic, no, OP's do not decide what is on topic after the thread is created. The title and first post decide that and nothing else.

Hope that helps,

 

[NameOmnia]

Rule #5:

Rule 1.5. Do not post anything suggestive or critical of NamePros policy, staff, or moderation activity (infractions, content approval, edited/deleted posts, etc.) except in the designated areas for customer support and feedback.

I have simply shared my opinion for, as you know very well, those points I have already highlighted in private conversations.

Could you also be so punctual in giving a feedback about the suggestions I have made in my previous posts?

 

[Eric Lyon]

Could you also be so punctual in giving a feedback about the suggestions I have made in my previous posts?

I've already replied to all of your points publicly in other threads. If I have anything new to add, I will add it to this thread. Until then, we will monitor this thread for feedback on these topics and reply if we have any questions or changes to announce.

Thanks,

 

[JB Lions]

I've already replied to all of your points publicly in other threads. If I have anything new to add, I will add it to this thread. Until then, we will monitor this thread for feedback on these topics and reply if we have any questions or changes to announce.

Thanks,

Why not just go ahead and remove those likes from the total count in those areas of the forum? It's been brought up many times, by many different members. You could literally just hang out in those forums, welcome everybody, here a contest, there a contest, post pics/memes all day and get that count up.

 

[Eric Lyon]

Why not just go ahead and remove those likes from the total count in those areas of the forum?

We've considered it, but that's still time and effort that members have spent to earn those likes. We don't want to discard that as if all of their "welcomes" and contributions to other discussions were worthless, because we respect the time they've spent on NamePros to get them.

Welcoming new members is an excellent introduction (contribution) to the community, and so is winding down in break room threads. For those who take the time to do it, there's nothing inherently wrong with them receiving likes for it, so we don't feel right taking those away from them. Remember, Likes should never be used as a safety metric.

Idea: We are thinking about separating the likes in the domain discussion sections from the rest of the sections (2 "Like" counters). That might be the best of both worlds.

Do you like that idea?

 

[alcy]

We've considered it, but that's still time and effort that members have spent to earn those likes. We don't want to discard that as if all of their "welcomes" and contributions to other discussions were worthless, because we respect the time they've spent on NamePros to get them.

Welcoming new members is an excellent introduction (contribution) to the community, and so is winding down in break room threads. For those who take the time to do it, there's nothing inherently wrong with them receiving likes for it, so we don't feel right taking those away from them. Remember, Likes should never be used as a safety metric.

Idea: We are thinking about separating the likes in the domain discussion sections from the rest of the sections (2 "Like" counters). That might be the best of both worlds.

Do you like that idea?

never thought of this before, but yuo make an interesting point.. to perhaps grade likes as 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x

depending on the forum where its posted.

so say in the breakroom, likes may count as 0.2x each.

whereas in some more helpful forums.. they can count double...

something to sleep on I guess

 

[DU]

We've considered it, but that's still time and effort that members have spent to earn those likes

Seriously? One of my biggest regrets on this forum is the EWT where likes get racked up for literally NO EFFORT. Post 10 one-line consecutive posts and get 40+ likes. It was a joke at first partly done to prove how stupid and easy it is to game the "like" system. I have mentioned a number of times that breakroom threads should not be used as a guide for anything in terms of reputation That i.o.w.a and b.b.w are most notable members is Ludicrous with a capital L.

Similarly, I have mentioned likes/thanks shouldn't be used in general for any kind of reputation setting and you agree with that sentiment. Trader Rating and other methods are much better indicator but are far less used. In reality, the *best* indicator will always be personal interaction and depth and quality of posts but those are hard to find without looking.

Idea: We are thinking about separating the likes in the domain discussion sections from the rest of the sections (2 "Like" counters). That might be the best of both worlds.

I would heartily endorse likes being split break room to normal threads.
Furthermore I would remove break room likes from the total used in the "notable members" section even at my own expense.

A separate idea would be to remove thanks from break room meaning that these can ONLY be use on regular threads making that number more meaningful and removing the need to split the numbers. Doing that you could leave likes alone as a overall forum meaningless metric but thanks being meaningful as per the original intention.

 

[JB Lions]

We've considered it, but that's still time and effort that members have spent to earn those likes. We don't want to discard that as if all of their "welcomes" and contributions to other discussions were worthless, because we respect the time they've spent on NamePros to get them.

Welcoming new members is an excellent introduction (contribution) to the community, and so is winding down in break room threads. For those who take the time to do it, there's nothing inherently wrong with them receiving likes for it, so we don't feel right taking those away from them. Remember, Likes should never be used as a safety metric.

Idea: We are thinking about separating the likes in the domain discussion sections from the rest of the sections (2 "Like" counters). That might be the best of both worlds.

Do you like that idea?

Under this section:
https://www.namepros.com/members/

You have 1 tab that says Most Likes - https://www.namepros.com/members/?type=likes

Then you have Top Members tab, maybe make that one without all the break room stuff - https://www.namepros.com/members/?type=liked

 

[alcy]

imho if you implement multiplier of 0.1 for likes in recreational or welcome forums (or others of similar nature).. and leave a multiplier of 1x for other more helpful things where people make some effort to comment or help others.. then that'd do the job imo.

but if you wanna get a bit more creative and implement other multipliers depending on forum type.. then that's fine too...

but I do think multipliers are great idea that'd solve this issue. and they're relatively easy to implement too i think.

jmo

ty

 

[johname]

You can call Break Room, Welcome Center and Contest Likes:

Social or Community Likes

And Other Area Likes:

Business or Domaining Likes


Or something like that lol

 

[karmaco]

Off topic likes should have way less weight. Posting regarding domaining or welcoming is imperative to this forum imo