My "bar" changed colors

I know this must have been asked before but I couldn't find a clear cut answer.

My bar underneath my points on my avatar just went from dark military green to a slightly less dark military green.
But I didn't really do anything specific for that to happen.

Some member's bars are almost a blue color.

Now I'm sure the forthcoming "bar" length jokes will be hilarious, but perhaps someone could also explain to me what determines the color and length of our bars?

I think the more the bar changes color, the more time you spend on the internet, and the less of a social life you actually have?

Don't worry unless it turns blue... I hear that gets painful.



Take that for whatever kind of "bar" joke you want, SD.

There is actually secret information encoded in your bar. I bet you didn't know that.

You can determine the number of applauses someone has gotten, and several other pieces of data, from the color of their bar.

Someone posted a more specific formula at some point, I'll try to see if I can dredge it up.

reply to post by Ian McLean


I'd appreciate that.
I tried to figure out the applause/thread/post ratio thing but it didn't make sense.
I think time as a member might have something to do with it as well.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


Screw the color of your bar, I'm impressed with your BTS points, good job SD!
Second line.

[edit on 10/20/2008 by TheRooster]

reply to post by TheRooster


I just bough in to R.A.T.S. and I messed up at the shop.
Hope ATS doesn't have a collection agency.

Ah yes. From this thread:

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Ok, here's what I have:

The red component of the color (the first byte in the hex color code) is determined by applauses. The value is the number of applauses you have + 50, with an apparent minimum value of 52 (values in decimal).

The blue component (the last byte in the hex color code) is easy, 0 for non-staff 128 for staff (decimal).

Now the green component (middle byte) has been giving me trouble. It's definitely related to number of posts (like the length) and seems to range from 50 - 250, increasing with number of posts up to 10,000 (again like the length). The exact way the figure is calculated though escapes me, it looks like it's either a sliding scale or just predefined ranges without an equation behind it, I'm not sure.

As far as people who don't have bars, I think it's just that the system hasn't calculated them yet for some reasons, although there's a possibility that too many applauses or posts could "break" it, but I'm not sure about that.

OK....there you go.

Apparently, the exact formula is still an 'ATS Mystery'...

The bar has gone through many incarnations here at ATS, and the mods are often secretive about what it means. When we had three bars, there was one for each board: BTS (blue), ATS (red), and PTS(brown). They got brighter according to how much applause you received, and longer by more posts. When they merged them back into one bar, the colors were combined, and we all ended up with a lot of nasty olive drab bars from the ugly brown of the PTS bar. However, I believe, the color is still based on where you post the most, and where you get the most applause. The Length is based on the number of posts you have in total.

So if you start posting a lot in BTS the bar will begin to turn bluer, if you get a lot of applause it will get brighter blue, if you post a lot it will get longer.

reply to post by defcon5


Why all the secrecy I wonder.

Perhaps the NSA knows?




[edit on 10/20/2008 by schrodingers dog]

reply to post by schrodingers dog


Eh, it used to be a big joke with them. I never got it myself.

I was just looking around, and some folks still have the blue bar as well, so maybe they just merged the ATS and PTS, or perhaps they simply made the ATS bar green now. I know for a fact though it gets brighter with applause and get longer via number of posts.

Look at your and my profile pages:
You
Posts: 2,915
Applause: 71

Me
Posts: 3,121
Applause: 49

So your bar is slightly shorter, but brighter green then mine is.

reply to post by defcon5


I don't know d5, I've seen long bright green bars on members/mods who have very few applauses. Look at MemoryShock's profile., and then click on mine. The brightness can't be applause related.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


Mods cheat. If you ask them, they'll probably say something cryptic like 'Fear The Skittle!', and laugh.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


I believe that Mod's get the brightest green by default as part of their mod'dome'iness.
Might be part of that inside joke thing they got going on about it...
Here check intrepids compared to memoryshocks.
Fight Thread

reply to post by defcon5


Then what do we make of GAOTU's bar. He's got a gray/blue thing going.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


I am going to guess that they have never had enough posts in ATS for the other bar to show up, so only their BTS bar is active. However, I will admit that it does look darker. Maybe someone forgot to switch their bar, or heck.... You got me...

reply to post by defcon5


I know the whole thing doesn't seem to have any consistency.

Maybe SO's been dabbling in some secret quantum computing equations.

Thanks for trying to work it out with me.
I shall investigate further.

Yeah something about that is not correct, check out Umbrax's bar, its as bright as a Mods, but he has less applause then you have. Unless he used to be a mod and quit? Umbrax

Here is a thread from when they changed it fro the old bar, still looking for more threads on the topic though:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Maybe this is the answer:

Originally posted by The Vagabond
It looks like it's almost certainly an applause to post ratio.

At 182 Applause over the course of 4879 posts I average an an applause every 27 posts. I have something vaguely reddish. (incidentally, I'm such an egotist that I have saved every applause notification I recieved in the last 2 years... sometimes I like to go back and relive flamewars past)

Loam has 119 applause for 4008- 1 applause every 34 posts. He's got sorta a bronzish one.

Obviously the mods must have different rules though, as most of them have fairly low applause levels. Even in that thread they still never answered the question though.

reply to post by defcon5


How bout you and I agree to uncover this conspiracy apparently unfolding before our eyes. Not tonight obviously. But it sounds like a fun thing to do.