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The ATS Issues Thread

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posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 12:59 PM
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I am assuming there has been no annoucement yet as to what the final tags actually mean and incorporate?

Perhaps I am just a little slow today.

~Keeper



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:01 PM
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The following is my opinion as a member participating in this discussion.

reply to post by seagrass
 


Very interesting point and a question that deserves an answer.

From my own understanding (as in, this is unofficial), the whole thing simply started out as a 'Thank You' to the members with 250 flags, posts, and stars by having very obscure text on their profile and disabling ads. That was it. It was never intended to create a hierarchy and was relatively easy to achieve.

When that came under criticism, another system was developed which replaced the status bars (which the original 250/250/250 system did not do), which came under criticism. Now we have this new system.

So basically it was just meant to be a subtle (and I do believe '250/250/250 in plain non-graphic text was subtle) thank you. Then it evolved into something else which evolved into something else.

It was not meant to draw [an intense amount of] attention. It was meant as a thank you. That is from my own observation.

I do believe members have a right to express their disapproval with a new site policy because that shows me you guys care. But it is my opinion that it is being blown a bit out of proportion at this point. I'm still not going to say anyone's feelings are wrong, though, even if I disagree.

And that is positively all I have to say about this. I'm pretty tired with the whole thing to be honest and am off to the beach for a week with my family.

You guys have a blessed week.


As an ATS Staff Member, I will not moderate in threads such as this where I have participated as a member.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:03 PM
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reply to post by AshleyD
 


Have a good time! And I agree with you. I think they need to stop making concessions and just ... pick something and stick with it. If I don't think they pick the best one, then whatever, I don't own the website hahaha.

I'm going to make a king cake as soon as I get off this couch. Really.

Wish I was going to the beach!



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:05 PM
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Wtf ever I give up ...

Hey look at me, I'm a noob.

Now where do I post my next thread for flags here at ats, or somewhere focusing on content?



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:07 PM
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OK, this is only my opinion and no response is required, just a chance to state my opinion.
I, like many others wondered how the point system had changed several times over the last week or so to the "point" where I'm completely confused.
The original, very basic sytem may have been the best, if for no other reason that it was just the way things were done ever since I joined. I am comfortable with consistancy and agree that the site owners can do whatever they want with this site but things just appear to be spinning around so fast lately that I have absolutely no clue about what to expect next.
The new badge system that was implemented recently really confused me as I had no idea what it was meant to accomplish. Someone with less posts or points than me was given some fancy title that I never grasped what the purpose was or how it was arbitrarily awarded. I personally could care less if I had any type of superior classification but I admit that I used the point system to follow who had been around and contributed their time to actively take part in meaningful discussions regardless of if I agreed with them or not. The fact that you can "just click on their profile" is very cumbersom and really slows down my ability to track through a thread to see who is weighing in to a coversation.
Now what I just ran into really has me bothered. I was trying to find information relating to the recent changes just so I could maybe understand how the new system worked and I was told that the thread I was in was closed and I should come to this thread instead. I was only looking for info, and really had no desire to weigh in until I came here and IT WAS 126 PAGES LONG !!!!!!! Talk about burying an issue into a thread so long that noone could ever read the whole thing is absolutely ludicrous. That is the type of game played by those in power that we talk about here everyday.
So, if anyone is actually out there reading this know that I am confused and quite upset. I know you "own" the site but you would be nowhere without those of us who actually contribute content to this site. Put things back the way they were, without fancy titles or arbitrary assignments of status. This simple issue really should have the imput of the members and a general announcement sent out to the members to vote on how the "point sytem" is implemented.
Sorry about the long post, not how I operate usually.
Peace and good luck, and thanks for the chance to voice my opinion.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:15 PM
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Originally posted by Rockpuck
Now where do I post my next thread for flags here at ats, or somewhere focusing on content?


Well that's inevitable. We get fools coming here and spamming up the place with useless garbage regardless of any 'incentives' like a bar for flags.

I don't know why my last post got removed, but I'll re-iterate the last thing i said. Bring back WATS...



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:17 PM
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reply to post by Vector J
 


It wasn't removed, it's on the previous page at the bottom.




posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:35 PM
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reply to post by ravenshadow13
 


Ahh, cheers buddy! Apparently I'm none too observant today!
...



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:40 PM
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Originally posted by TheWayISeeIt
Having said that, many of my favorite ATS posters are not thread makers so I think they are getting left out in this latest attempt to qualify contributions. Which is too bad because this site needs them and should acknowledge them (and in a perfect world someone would figure out how to do that w/o calling us all names).



My feelings exactly. That explains my stand better than any words I could offer. I rarely start threads but contribute to ongoing threads often on topics that I feel strongly about. Overall contributions to the site should be the true measure of a members site activity. And the star system is extemely useful to give a real time feel as to how opinions are presented and sometimes say more about the topic than anything I could add at that time.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:43 PM
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This system will bring sensationalism rather than facts. Be warned, flags are unrelated to content quality.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:52 PM
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O.K., I have scrolled through the last 12 pages - plus 10-15 yesterday. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but can someone explain this for me?

The new "Flag Contribution Level" is an indicator of what? How many flags you give out to other posts? Or is it how many flags you have received for your own threads?

I am confused.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 01:59 PM
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reply to post by esteay812
 


How many you have received, the number you have given out does not matter in this formula. Hope that helped!


Also I believe stars to posts ratio goes into this as well.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 02:30 PM
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Originally posted by ravenshadow13
Put it all on the full profile and nothing on the mini, or put something like the bars back on the mini. At least it would look more attractive.


I agree with bars. Pretty bars. Bars that change color and size according to every variable: stars, flags, threads, posts, replies, applause, etc.

This would give everyone a pretty and unique bar that they could call their own, and yet it wouldn't actually announce anyones "status."


Multicolored bars would add uniqueness to everyones avatar, because not everyone is cool enough to hunt down Kevin Smith like an animal.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 02:39 PM
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I've changed my mind about this bar, I like it. You research hard, start a few interesting threads, the blue pixels fill up the letters till it gets to the end. After dozens, maybe hundreds of hours of contributing to the site, the bar eventually turns a sickly yellow colour, like jaundice or sinus discharge. Gives you a target to work for, right?

Obviously there are a lot of different viewpoints so please can we have a vote?

Members have their right to voice opinions but we should hold off a little while the coding gets done...

In the final analysis, we are all little specks of gnosis participating in the great awakening, so none of this matters amirite? The true reward from ATS is the intangible, unmeasurable payback you get from changing people's perception and affecting a part of humanities mind on a deep level. There's the real kick... Just imagine what goes on in the other realms, quantum, astral, mnetal whatever, when you post a really well thought out point. This post I'm writing now... have I made sense to anyone? How many neurons have I moved in far away countries? How many synapses have I fired?

I'll never know, but I reckon it's worth it.

We're here for service to others not service to self. Raise the game.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 02:59 PM
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You know ...

*and this is subject to staff blessings*

... those who are proud of their previous tags (cont.contr. & insight), since they are still displayed in their profile page, can always go to the store and purchase a first and second custom avatar line and display them there.

Just a thought.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 02:59 PM
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Well one thing seems to be clear: expressing a system by a ratio was not increasing traffic. It inhibited posting to a degree.

Therefore, rather than attempting to label anything, why not just list the stats in the mini-profiles? Can't go wrong with the truth, can we?

Flags Received:
Flags Awarded:
Stars Received:
Stars Awarded:
Total Posts:
Threads Started:
Total Replies:
ATS points:
BTS points:
Applauses:
Contributor Level:



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 03:26 PM
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damn - I quite liked the gold/silver/bronze idea. The points scheme made me post more and possibly I have been posting more lately in the hope of moving up a "league" or two!

This new flag system is pretty disappointing and has taken the wind out of my recently fluttering sails



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 03:31 PM
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Here will be my one-and-only comment on the mini-profile indicator.

As previously indicated, and often repeated (far too often than necessary), our primary motivation in creating a new visible indicator in user mini-profiles was to give a visual thank-you to the members who create the content that drives conversations here on ATS.

Initially, there was a great deal of gripes, complaints, whines, grumbles, grouses, and whatnot (along with a fair amount of awesome, great, cool, and good-job comments)... so we did our best to evolve the system to embrace a broader spectrum of metrics into the visual display. But in the end, no matter what we did, or do, or promise to do, or say, or say we're going to do, or say we didn't mean it that, or whatever, there will be the consistent voices of dissent who seem to take sport in complaining about something.

Well, I'm sorry, but I've had it. Since it didn't much matter how hard we worked to make a broad-spectrum system, there were always those who complained about the wording, the colors, the titles, the ranks, the numbers, the clash with avatars, and so on. So, I just went back to my initial gut-reaction, and rolled-back the mini-profile indicator to the ultra-simple "thank you" I originally intended, a measure of flags-earend. (With the previous new badges moved to your profile page.)

And then, the new round of grips started. First that we'd remove the new indicators/badges, then that the newest indicators were purely focused on flags. Too bad. Really.


We are a social content community, a descriptor that aptly defines that we're much more than a simple discussion board.

Popular discussion boards survive on rapid-fire posts and free-form involvement... actual content is secondary to user-involvement.

Social content communities survive on new ideas and interesting thread-starters... actual content inspires the user-invovement.

It's an important difference. A difference that makes us proud. A difference that (hopefully) inspires thoughtful posts. A difference that can be intellectually stimulating.


The flagging of threads has been the consistently successful way that our content rises to awareness for both members and visitors through the site home, the newsletter, the top topics pages, the weekly summaries, the monthly summaries, the forum summaries, the RSS feeds, and more.

I've heard all the other "supposed" complaints about thread flagging, and frankly, each and every one is based on errant assumptions and never takes into account the actual threads that rise to the top because of the flags... so please, you're not going to convince me.


As a social content community we live and die by the ability of our thread topics to attract members to reply and visitors to read. In the thirty months since flagging began (accompanies by the pages that feature top-flagged threads), we've grown three-fold in traffic and gained three million new posts. In fact, our growth-curve significantly accelerated at exactly the point where we started flagging threads.

Flags are important. The members who create threads that receive flags are important to all of us. Without them, your options for replies would be limited... and we'd be just another discussion board.


This "FLAG CONTRIBUTION LEVEL" indicator is a simple and clear system that should be used for:
(1) Showing our appreciation for the members who create flag-worthy threads
(2) Inspiring us to consider how to make more "flag-worthy" threads
(3) Taking comfort that we have so many members who create threads that get flagged


Yes... we need those who reply.

Yes... we need those who read.

Yes... we appreciate all types of members and their contributions.

But... those who create the noticeable content that drives the community forward deserve our special recognition, thanks, and honor. And most important, it matters not if you agree with their topics, politics, beliefs, or opinions... these are the members that inspire our thoughts and voluntary recognition through flags... we should all value their contributions and take pleasure in seeing a full-blue indicator.



 


A little about the new flag indicators.

Your indicator will be blank until you receive 50 flags. After that, each notch to the right is worth another 50 flags. The system reaches maximum at 1,750 flags, where any amount over that has no effect on the indicator.



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 03:32 PM
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how about no system no points, nothing. How about just a forum where people can talk about the subjects they enjoy without having to put up with the egos of others



posted on Jun, 1 2009 @ 03:35 PM
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Originally posted by The_Modulus
This system will bring sensationalism rather than facts. Be warned, flags are unrelated to content quality.


I second this statement. Is it really sensationalism that we want more of here? Or is it truth and facts?




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