Basic stats shouldn't be on public display.

reply to post by FlyersFan


I agree with your comments in your post. I have had disagreements with some members who have complete opposing views to mine and then in another thread we have identical opinions. That's what I like about ATS

However, there are some members who seem to think quantity over quality of posts are more important and some have just added one liners to a thread which is normally sarcastic and/or even off topic. Its normally these members that have more posts than stars.

When did the Karma and star system break down?

flammadraco
When did the Karma and star system break down?

MONTHS ago. If you see people with millions of stars and high karma (like my stats), it means they have been caught in 'the glitch'. It's been months .. and it doesn't look like it can be fixed. I have no idea how many stars I really have or what my Karma is. (I never kept track of it anyways) I don't know what they (admin) are going to do about it.

I still think the stars/karma thing should be ditched.

FlyersFan

flammadraco
when someone has more comments than stars on their stats I am a little more cautious when reading their posts.

That doesn't really work either. Stars are relatively new compared to how long some folks have been here. A lot of the folks who have been here a long while have tons of posts that were made before stars were available. So it looks like they have less stars than they should compared to their post counts. The whole 'star' system should be gotten rid of, IMHO. It's skewed and it encourages 'group think'.

I never knew that, if that's the case then I have been ignoring the wrong members. It just so happens that the one that have less stars than comments are the ones I normally disagree with anyway..... Perhaps my orginal perception of them was wrong. Oppps......

Another thing too is that we recently had a glitch that dumped like a million stars and flags onto people's stats. If it was hard to figure a person out before, now it really is.

Edit: My bad. I didn't realize that FlyersFan had already mentioned that.

FlyersFan

flammadraco
When did the Karma and star system break down?

MONTHS ago. If you see people with millions of stars and high karma (like my stats), it means they have been caught in 'the glitch'. It's been months .. and it doesn't look like it can be fixed. I have no idea how many stars I really have or what my Karma is. (I never kept track of it anyways) I don't know what they (admin) are going to do about it.

I still think the stars/karma thing should be ditched.

I thought of you as Buddha with such a high Karma Score, my world has just been an illusion

reply to post by FlyersFan


I've noticed that certain members (like you and others that have been members for so long) have an issue with the stars and karma count. I think it started happening with the major board overhaul from last year. I've only noticed it with members who were members from 2006 and prior thus far. I'm guessing it was an issue with a database transfer.

reply to post by freakjive


To be honest, i've only been a proper member (non lurker) this year, but I've followed ATS for years. I never knew the stats system was broke and if that's the case, I completely agree with the OP and we should not bother having the stat's if they are no longer fit for purpose.

We have stats?


One can tell if a thread is a worthwhile read by the end of the very first paragraph. Flags and stars are for those who appease the status quo, and are not badges of honor or quality.

reply to post by Aphorism


Hey guys, just one thing I would like to bring up?
People tend to 'flag' a thread if they think it's worthy of attention. A lot of flags is supposed to indicate a 'popular' thread, due to it's content...not it's author.

Stars are a little different. Sometimes a thread author will 'star' every reply, as a thank you for taking the time to participate.
Or, a reader/lurker may star a post that they like/agree with, even though they don't leave a reply...they have left their support.

Some people will 'star' everybody they 'know' or 'like'...it's more of a personal thing.

It's still up to you, the reader....to discern whether or not you are interested in participating. I don't see it as a popularity contest around here, I really don't. Some writers are popular because they have been consistently good...interesting...thought-provoking.
It's all about perspective.

jacy

On other sites I have been on, they give the *option* to join in the "popularity games." On most, it still keeps track of these things, but it is not public and for the most part, no one can "star" a post unless they know how.

I always turn options like these off, since I find them pretty much useless in determining anything whatsoever.

flammadraco
I thought of you as Buddha with such a high Karma Score, my world has just been an illusion

*POP* Your buddha-bubble just popped. Ever see the 'How I met your mother' episode .. with the sound of glass shattering when people realize something? I can't help but laugh and picture that as you posted that ... ha ha ha

reply to post by CJCrawley


lol... an explanation as to what?

People star your posts based on intelligence level, based on what you add to a discussion, based on even your comedic value to the star-er....

There was once I didn't have a star one to my name, and people who enjoyed my posts starred me. I didn't have to be "popular" in order to gain stars, I had to have some value to those doing the starring.

If you want stars, add something to the discussion.

Same as life

reply to post by flammadraco


I would also fall under the category that FF mentioned,in that I was posting long before the current rewards system. Even so,why would you judge any post by the stars of others? Either what that member says on any given subject resonates with you,or it doesn't. That should not be based on the stars of others. Not to mention,some may not post anything considered star worthy in most threads,but in one particular post they make an outstanding point. How do you judge that? I gave up looking at stats,because it doesn't accurately reflect the content of the members that I personally value reading. As well, there have been some dynamic contributions by new members as of late.

reply to post by AccessDenied


I agree with your comments, however I did find that those more "argumentative" members who IMO would argue white was black, tended to have less stars than posts. It seemed to show me that said members were not contributing quality posts. However now that my "Buddha Bubble" has been popped, I'm all confused now with the stats system

reply to post by flammadraco


Ahhh,I see. So,now that you see how it really is,look at the site with new eyes.

AccessDenied
reply to post by flammadraco

 

Ahhh,I see. So,now that you see how it really is,look at the site with new eyes.

Affirmed

reply to post by FlyersFan


I don't think the s/f should be ditched. Its a first order check to see if the person is new, or lethargic, a troll, mainsteam, alternative. or been around the boards a long time. Each one requires a different strategy for neutralisation lol

Other people, but not YOU, of course, may be influenced by "Stars & Stuff," therefore they should not be displayed? Why does it matter to you what other people think? Would you prefer to do their thinking for them? If you don't think "Stars & Stuff" are worthwhile and pay no attention to them, why does it matter how many stars someone else has? It's irrelevant, right? You don't look at them. You don't care. Very likely, you don't even know what some of those numbers even mean.

People who do pay attention to such things and use them as a kind of barometer of whether it is worthwhile to read a post or thread will continue to do so, and if they do, it's really none of your business. They have decided it is worthwhile and they don't really give a crap what you think about the system.

People who DO NOT pay attention to "Stars & Stuff" will continue to pay no attention to them no matter what you say. That's what you profess, of course, so there you have some kindred spirits. Revel in them.

Meanwhile, the best way to get something from this site is to contribute substantive information to it, not just gripe about what is here. If you provide insightful, well-written posts on topics people are interested in and do it in such a fashion that you at least give the impression you know what you are talking about, then everyone wins. The site improves.

You can treat "Stars & Stuff" any damn way you want to. Knock yourself out. But when you start telling other people what they ought to be doing, or telling this site what they ought to display or not display, you have crossed a line. This is not a democracy. You do not have a vote. You don't get to tell other people what to do. Get over it. We all know you're just as intelligent as everyone else here who has a zillion stars. Bully for you.

Now go prove it.

Sooo...I guess we shouldn't point out "The Applause" stats to OP quite yet.

reply to post by schuyler

Other people, but not YOU, of course, may be influenced by "Stars & Stuff," therefore they should not be displayed? Why does it matter to you what other people think? Would you prefer to do their thinking for them? If you don't think "Stars & Stuff" are worthwhile and pay no attention to them, why does it matter how many stars someone else has? It's irrelevant, right? You don't look at them. You don't care. Very likely, you don't even know what some of those numbers even mean.

I agree with you to an extent. At the same time, I also think there is a lot of circle jerkery going on. Having the stars and whatnot allows too many people to be lazy and not read replies. Sure, that's there choice, but it also sort of hampers a real discussion when the majority only read replies that agree with their point of view. Again, that's everyone's choice, and those folks are only doing themselves a disservice in the long run.

My example for why the star system is potentially harmful is going to be Reddit. Everyone there is so up their own ass about getting upvotes and scared of downvotes it's insane. I think this greatly influences what is actually said on the site, because people are so scared of either losing or not gaining internet points. So the place is 3/4 garbage in the comment section. The same stupid jokes and references comprise the majority of top comments and dissenters end up deleting their comments to save their internet points.

I know it's never going to happen, but I wish people only starred for a quality post, not the ones they agree with. There have been a number of times where I've read a thread and someone has this awesome breakdown and opinion/idea or challenges others to think and it's quite apparent no one is reading it. No replies, no stars just people adding the same things that every other post in the thread has mentioned. We should all be starring people even if we disagree with them if they have a good argument, post facts etc. There are a few posters here that irritate me with their opinions, but that I almost always find myself starring because they're making good points.

For those of us that think the star system is silly, it's easy enough to ignore. If some people like that metric by all means let them have it. I think it's dumb and not because my numbers aren't that great compared to top posters. I would think it was dumb wherever I fell on the spectrum. On another site my 'karma' is pretty massive compared to posts and I barely pay attention there either.