Why Have You Disabled Experience Points?

[redboxrazor]

A small thumbs-up icon appears under the poster's name normally. Clicking that awards XP.

Ah. That doesn't show up in the app I use, so that clears it up. Thank you. : )

 

[Abraxas]

Because it is one more thing that i do not want or need in an RPG discussion board.

 

[TarionzCousin]

It's supposed to reward people for helpful and informative posts, but that could already be done with a post or PM of "Thank you," and I don't need a person's xp count to tell me I should listen to his/her advise over someone else's (since with such a high xp amount, surely many others have found this poster a wellspring of knowledge in the past, right?). I value certain poster's inputs more than others, both based on the quality of an individual post they make and their history of making great posts. I don't need the xp system to help me with this.

Actually, I find that the posters with the highest XP tend to be the posters who have presented the most useful and helpful stuff, like Stalker0's alternate Skill Challenges. When I see someone with a high XP rating, I sometimes track down their posts just to find the good stuff.

Finally, I find that too often, xp is "abused," not given for helpful/infomative posts, but rather as reward for slams on other posters or edition warring, or perhaps most annoyingly, on insipid "awesome" posts that add nothing to the conversation. But then, OP, it seems that is what you think XP should reward.

I wasn't clear enough, apparently. I want people to reward the post that is awesome, not the post that simply says "awesome." Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Asmor]

I didn't award xp for a long time because, at first, it was just too damn slow. You'd click the button and wait...and wait...and wait... And so I just got in the habit of not clicking the button.

It's a habit I'm starting to break out of.

 

[Pseudonym]

Second, why aren't more people giving out XP? When I see someone quote a post and say "Awesome!" but notice that they didn't give the awesome post any XP it makes me feel sad.

I don't give XP as a rule because if I agree with some post or think it especially noteworthy, I'll quote the relevant portion and ad my thoughts to continue the conversation.

 

[Sammael]

I try to give out XP as often as I can, but, interestingly enough, most of the time I want to award it to the same 10 or 15 people I've already rewarded. Because they are awesome!

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

Well

I don't have it disabled but am thinking of doing so. Forgive me for saying so, but it seems to me like xp correlates more with volume of postings, rather than the quality of their content. I am not sure I think the xp system makes enworld a better place.

Ken

 

[Piratecat]

I will now begin a Google search for all forum posts containing the word "awesome" and I will add XP to each and every one. Be sad no longer for this oversight will soon be rectified.

Please don't do this. XP is useful for rewarding good posting; spamming it accomplishes nothing and is nothing more than annoying.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I don't have it disabled but am thinking of doing so. Forgive me for saying so, but it seems to me like xp correlates more with volume of postings, rather than the quality of their content. I am not sure I think the xp system makes enworld a better place.

No need to ask forgiveness. Yours is a valid point and deserves a place in this discussion. Thanks for contributing.

XP does, to a certain extent, correlate with volume of postings; it's normal that someone who posts more will generally receive more XP than someone who posts less often.

However, there are plenty of exceptions, and some posts/threads where people have received 10 or more XP for one post. I find great value in that as the XP system helps me to find those "great" posts and that helps me become a better gamer.

And, honestly, becoming a better gamer is the main reason I come to ENWorld--although making snarky comments is a close second!

 

[weem]

@Haffrung

I don't have it disabled but am thinking of doing so. Forgive me for saying so, but it seems to me like xp correlates more with volume of postings, rather than the quality of their content. I am not sure I think the xp system makes enworld a better place.

Ken

As has been said, no need to apologize at all - opinions do not need to be apologized for

With that said, I think Tarion makes a good point - sure, the more you post, the more opportunities you will have to receive XP. But that is not a flaw in the system - it doesn't have to do with the system. It simply means, you are in front of people more often and the chances of you saying/doing something that others will appreciate increases.

And just to put some numbers up. This is the list of top XP earners, followed by (in parenthesis) their rank as far as total # of posts ("not listed" means they didn't make the top 100 list)...

#1 weem (not listed)

#2 Steel_Wind (not listed)

#3 Piratecat (#6)

#4 Mark (#21)

#5 Nifft (#13)

#6 Kamikaze Midget (#67)

#7 Obryn (not ilsted)

#8 Morrus (#25)

#9 Celebrim (not listed)

#10 RangerWickett (#45)

Based on what you said, you would think at least the top 5 posters would make this list, when in fact only 1 poster from the top 20 does. 4 of the top 10 xp earners do not even make the top 100 list of posters.

Anyway, I'm just saying that they are not as directly related as some people think.


@StreamOfTheSky

It's supposed to reward people for helpful and informative posts,

Actually, they are a way of (and I quote) "showing your appreciation to other users depending on the quality of their posts." The quality of the post is in the eye of the reader. Often times, these will be helpful and informative, but that's not what they are "supposed" to (in some strict ruling sense) be used for.

They are for "showing your appreciation" - and just because you (anyone) might not appreciate the same thing I do, that does not make it any less valuable, or of lower quality.

I think that's one of the problems is that people have their own ideas about what this system SHOULD do.


@StreamOfTheSky

but that could already be done with a post or PM of "Thank you,"

A PM of "thank you"? - That requires copying the content you like, hitting their name, hitting "Send a Private Message", pasting in the content, and finally telling them you like it.

Or... you could (using the XP system as it is intended) hit the thumb - say "thanks!" and hit enter. They are then notified (like a PM!) that someone liked something they had to say, and they are linked right to it, all automically. Plus, it does not use any of your limited number of PM's.

It's MUCH easier/faster to give someone XP (appreciation) than send them a PM.

You also mentioned responding in the thread, but often times I just want to let them know I liked what they had to say, but not really say anything more than that. I would rather skip over 5 stacked XP comments (which would equal the height of a banner ad approx) of "thanks" than have to scroll over 5 whole posts that only said "thanks", "that was awesome" etc.


@StreamOfTheSky

...and I don't need a person's xp count to tell me I should listen to his/her advise over someone else's (since with such a high xp amount, surely many others have found this poster a wellspring of knowledge in the past, right?)

No one said you needed it to tell you that (I hope).

Why would you listen to someones advice based on their XP count instead of the merit of the advice itself and how it relates to you?

I am (at the moment) #1 on the XP Earned list and I can tell you right now I am FAR FROM a wellspring of knowledge. If you get advice from me please, by all means, get a second opinion - not that I don't try, but my XP count (like everyone elses) is not a measure how closely you should be following my advice (again, it was never meant to be that). I know that this is kind of making your point (when your point was that these should be "helpful and informative" posts) but again, that expectation is flawed (imo). I did not earn them because of some clique I am part of, or for posting a lot. Most of the XP I received are from creating and sharing things I think others would enjoy or find useful. They are not always helpful, and they are almost never informative, but people appreciate them.

I read a thread recently that had zero replies. It was long, but I had some time and I like to read those things that get zero responses to see why that might be. Anyway, by the end I was thinking, "yea, I see why there were no replies. It wasn't bad, it was just that he presented a lot of info that is specific to his situation that does nothing for me... I can't use anything from it, and I don't have anything to say". But you know what? I gave him XP anyway for taking the time to articulate so much info and share it with others.

I appreciated his effort and that is the point.