ENWorld Experience Points?

[Leif]

Have we officially moved from the 'trial period' into some other kind of period, or is the experience point thing still just an experment?

My biggest gripe with the system is that I can only give ONE point to any ENWorld user, and several people have deserved more than one point since the trial started. I've even gotten to the point where I have actively looked for people that I don't know, just so I can give them xp in the hopes that when I give one more away, I'll be 're-set' and able to give a second point to those who so richly deserve it. That whole idea of 'spreading xp around' before you give a second point to anyone is something of a lame, boneheaded idea, anyway. I mean, let's face it: We all know good players who routinely merit some kind of reward, and we also all know players who typically stay in 'wallflower' mode, and don't really contribute much unless forced to do so. (At sword-point, even!)

Anyway, those are my thoughts of the moment. Thanks for giving half a rip!

 

[Leif]

Special thanks to ENWorlder Mark (of Creative Mountain Games.com) for his support!

 

[Umbran]

That whole idea of 'spreading xp around' before you give a second point to anyone is something of a lame, boneheaded idea, anyway. I mean, let's face it: We all know good players who routinely merit some kind of reward...

...and we all know folks who would, given the chance, sit there and give each other XP for no other reason than to have the most. The policy was discussed at length among the staff, and avoiding the formation of such cliques was a notable requirement.

The idea is to have XP be a broad measure. That one person finds you interesting enough to give you several points is not particularly telling - you just happen to meet one person's tastes. But if several people each want to give you a point, that means you have appeal to a wider swath of readers.

 

[Leif]

Yeah, well-l-l.....you're right, of course. That's really a shame, though, that there evidently can't be any sort of 'honor system' here at ENWorld due to rampant abuse of the system.

But, just to re-cap:

1- No one can give more than one point to any given person to prevent abuses of the system. (Except for certain persons who have an "Experience Point Power" of greater than one, of which there are some, at least. And they can apparently still only give xp one time, they just give more points per whack.)
2-Moderators are just sure (and justifiably so) that the system will be abused if the opportunity arises.
3-The points really don't mean anything anyway.

So why even bother??

 

[Darkness]

The points, or POINT, I should say, really doesn't mean anything anyway.

So why even bother??

This, basically.

 

[Leif]

Ok, fair enough. Look, Umbran, Darkness, this thread was started as an impulse caused by severe indigestion and pain in the tuckus. I freely admit that there is ample reason and basis for the experience point system. I also admit that I have found this thread to be strangely cathartic, and so I'm not sorry that I started it. However, it has about run its course, so I anticipate its imminent abandonment very soon.

[I also admit that receiving experience points makes me feel all squishy inside, though I have no knowledge of any logical reason for this response.]

 

[Umbran]

1- No one can give more than one point to any given person to prevent abuses of the system.

That is not quite accurate. If I recall correctly, for most users:

You can award 1 XP at a time, as long as you have 10 posts or more.

You cannot award negative XP. Positive only.

You can only award 3 XP per day.

Once you have awarded XP to a given member, you cannot award XP to that member again until you have awarded XP to 50 other people.

No functionality depends upon XP, so having more doesn't actually do anything, other than note to folks who bother to look that you have some reputation.

 

[Leif]

That is not quite accurate.

That doesn't surprise me at all.

You can award 1 XP at a time, as long as you have 10 posts or more. You cannot award negative XP. Positive only. You can only award 3 XP per day. Once you have awarded XP to a given member, you cannot award XP to that member again until you have awarded XP to 50 other people. No functionality depends upon XP, so having more doesn't actually do anything, other than note to folks who bother to look that you have some reputation.

OH! Ok, so I can give a second point to someone after I give 50 more to others? Cool! Now if I could just remember the order in which I gave out alll of the experience points, that would be very useful information.

It's very good to know that, anway. Thanks, Umbran! (You are a Moderator, a Scholar, AND a Gentleman!)

 

[Leif]

One more observation: Since I know so many players who are deserving of more than 1 xp, I have been trying for some time now to reach the point where I can give them another point. This has resulted in my search for random enworlders to be the recipients of my "bounty." Is this an abuse of the system? I sure hope not! I try to find some positive aspect of the post upon which to base the xp. I might even succeed in doing so, sometimes!

 

[Darkness]

I try to find some positive aspect of the post upon which to base the xp. I might even succeed in doing so, sometimes!

Hm, you could...

• Post user comments to express your approval to those you can't give xp to at the moment.
• Spend more time on the boards.
• Lower your standards.
• Read threads you normally wouldn't read.
• Give xp for good/funny/awful user names, avatars, custom titles, sigs, etc. E.g., I gave xp to this guy.