stars

[RichieB16]

Would the ranks change too or whould it just be the stars?

[Smoke2much]

I can't believe that you guys are taking this so seriously!  Did we change into a military unit last night whilst I was asleep?

We know who each other are and on whom we can rely for advice.  Every so often a new member comes along and sticks around, the vast majority who don't rarely get beyond two stars.  When they stick around we get to know them and either decide that they are worth responding to or not.  A "Valued Member" who is an annoying little brat does not evolve into a nice person after 51 posts of pure drivel.

The current system IMHO is perfect.  It takes a fair amount of effort to turn up here and post 500 reply's.  You don't know anyone and may not know that much about FS.  By the time you hit 501 posts you have developed a fairly good relationship with the regulars and chatting becomes more natural.

Leave things as they are, please!!!  There are certain members who feel that they have a right to talk down to and be abusive to new members on the grounds that they have hit the "post" button more often.  I do NOT wish to find myself in a situation where simply because I have a mere 1400 posts I have to swallow my tongue and be polite to an idiot who has 1800 posts.   These are just examples I'm not implying in anyway that this would happen, I'm just saying that a more complicated "rank" structure would encourage it.

The only person on here who automatically gets respect is Pete, the rest of us have to prove ourselves with the quality of posts we make, not by writing LOL as a reply on all 1208 threads on the Joke forum.

For those that are so concerned about their "Seniority" in the forum, add the date you registered to your signature....

Will

[Craig.]

well said will:)

[Wing Nut]

Will, if you know of some member who is being as ass simply because of the number of stars he/she has, then please let a mod know and it will be taken care of immediately...  >:(

[Rifleman]

The intention of my setup wasn't to change anything on the Star situation, on the contrary, I have left the first five stars intact, but added in an allowance for recognition of the 1000s and additional 500s......thats all, and since each star is a  single image,  then it will reduce the graphic load by HUGE amounts in the future when Andrew hits 50 million posts and we need to find another colour which will signify his lofty perch.....  ::)  ;D

In all fairness though, I think as this year winds down, we may find that either Mark or Scott, is going to push past B'man and Andrew to take over supreme commander of all "Star" forces on the west side of our posting area !

[Smoke2much]

That was aimed at no-one in particular but I have noticed that on occasion people have been referred to in the manner "hey, newbie" when they disagree with a point of view.  If back in February I had been greeted with this attitude I would have left in seconds.

My major issue is that this is a public forum and each members opinion holds equal weight with each other members opinion.  Andrews thoughts don't carry 7 times more weight than mine and neither do Ozzy's carry five times more weight.  

Also by use of forum names we don't really know who anybody actually is.  Take Leonr in the CFS3 Forum, he has a grand total of 7 posts to his credit and is thus a "newbie" to the forum.  The fact that he is a member of the CFS development team adds a certain influence to his comments.  

Finally a militaristic ranking system puts me off, the stars are not ranks they are a guage of posting frequency.  You can post tons of spam messages and get stars quickly, or you can sit back and only open your mouth occasionaly and take your time.

IMHO by the time you have hit 500 the regulars know who you are and will have developed a certain relationship with you.  I don't need stars under my name to prove anything, all I need to know is that there are about thirty+ people out there who I can scream for help to and be guarenteed an answer within twelve hours.

Will

[Wing Nut]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I do feel that those who contribute the most do deserve some kind of recognition.  That does not give them the right to 'Lord it over anyone' as my grand mother would say.  No, they don't have the right to talk down to people or act like they're better.  But I think that if someone hangs out here for a couple of years and posts as much as some of the regulars do then a bit of a thank you is in order.  I wasn't trying to make any military style ranks, I was trying to extend the current system of stars.  I even took my stars from the current ones, except for the last.  Even now, it is not a military theme to the rankings, but a relaxed casual one.

Once again,  if anyone is out there treating members badly,  PLEASE REPORT IT TO A MOD OR PETE!

[Hagar]

In my view the whole star ranking system is ridiculous & childish. I would do away with it completely. Unfortunately I understand we're stuck with it.

[BFMF]

Is it possible to have stars for the amount of time here at SimV, but still have a personal/private post counter in their profile?

That way people wouldn't be secretely competing with each other.

[Wing Nut]

I think it would still boil down to a competition. 'I've been here longest' and such...

I don't understand why everyone thinks this thing has to be a competition.  It's NOT about who posts the most.  It's about recognition for people who care to contribute.  To be honest, I think I see more people bitching about people 'pulling rank' than I see people doing the offense.  More people complain about what it means than people who try to 'use' it.

Just relax and don't make such a big deal of it!

[BFMF]

I think it would still boil down to a competition. 'I've been here longest' and such...

Not much more then now IMO

With the post counter, you can theoretically spam the forums and boost your counter.

But I kinda agree with Doug, but just hide it from the public.

[OTTOL]

Just to play "Devil's Advocate", the number of stars displayed by someone responding to a particular subject, does hold weight(for me)on topics specific to SIMV. The reasons for this would be obvious. I don't think the system needs to be changed at all, but I wouldn't remove it altogether either Ken.

think Scott is on the right track, and maybe he can appreciate this more(or anyone else prior military, for that matter), but how about military style ribbons. And maybe I'm getting too complex here, but what about another indicator for "time in service" as opposed to JUST number of replies.  
 

I wasn't suggesting you turn this place into GESTAPOVIATION, I just thought if you were going to make a change why not something inline with military insignia, just for nostalgia sake. ::)
In retrospect, I can see how this could create a problem with "badge collectors".   I DO think it would be nice if the member had their basic credentials or strongpoints posted ie; software engineer, former United Captain, Active CFI, Aerospace Engineer, former floorsweeper at the Skunkworks etc. etc. etc........
Again, just my two cents    Pat

[Rifleman]

with the way this has gone now, I wish I hadn't given any thought as to how we could add in a bit more colour for the members.......for me, it has nothing to do with ranking and nothing to do with how smart one is, compared to anything else......its just a way of showing a number with a coloured graphic......many members won't see the changes which the bigger numbers represent, as they only will make changes every 500 posts.....so big deal....I would like to see two blue and one red star for my 2500+ posts, instead of the constant 5 yel/wht stars which we now display, but thats just my personal feeling......

Some people like to have the same desktop wallpaper on all the time and some change it weekly......for me the addition of red and blue stars is only a small way to keep a splash of colour and a bit of change in the look of my posting area.......

[OTTOL]

..for me, it has nothing to do with ranking and nothing to do with how smart one is, compared to anything else......its just a way of showing a number with a coloured graphic.

I'm not comparing the "star system" to someone's tenure or background OR intelligence, and you really don't have to be a rocket scientist to answer many of the questions on the forum.         But.........
Just take a look at some of the post history around here. Seems like a lot of "who are you?, where do you come from? what do you do?" My suggestion was not a intended as a replacement or enhancement of the current system, but as a "on a similar note...." idea.  :)

[stormy]

Did I open a can of worms .Sorry! I was just asking because like at home, I get really bored fast and change things around alot. I guess I thought it would look nice with some color on the stars.. nothing more...