Ranking System

[Terry]

Dear ADR Support Community:
The following message was sent to me by Harrison.

Feel free to present the problem of the ranking system to the community too...ask them to forge a solution with your scholarly prowess...

Not believing I have scholarly prowess, but, here goes:

I told Richard that the ranking system was antiquated and needs some reworking; i.e., Karma Chameleon, Karma Newbie, Karma Scholar, etc.

At present I am considered a scholar. WOW! I hope you folks don't start to expect too much of me . I might fold under pressure.

Seriously though I believe we all contribute in our own way and wonder if a self rating system might be better. Justin is definitely a teacher and could be described as such, Slackwater is a fabulous researcher and should be noted as such, some are patients still struggling and looking for answers, I would consider myself to be more of a counselor (not overly brilliant but able to respond compassionately to others).

Maybe we could have a list of titles and self rate what we think our title should be when we sign up for the forum.

What do other members think of changing the rating system and, does it sound like a good idea to have a menu of titles depending on what you desire to receive from, or contribute to, the forum at large?

Or, maybe some other ideas as well.

Terry Newton

[annapurna]

If we change the rating system to a self-rating version of the same, I'd like to see the board retain the # of posts and registered on date information at the bottom of each person's post. I know on boards that I'm not as familiar with, I use that information to understand how much to trust a particular person's comment and I would imagine others do the same here.

I would, though, suggest that you give a drop down list of options rather than let everyone write in their own. Otherwise, I'll just write in that Laura and I have finally been doing this long enough that our original cynicism has been justified with enough bad experience.

[Terry]

I agree highly.

Other's opinions?

Terry Newton (Counselor Extraordinaire!)

[Harrison]

Thank you both for your ideas. I can email you a snapshot of the control panel view so that you can get a sense of what's possible.

I changed the system based on your feedback -- just an idea that awards points based on the number of posts. Just an iterative step to take us to scholarly perfection...

[berry]

Hi Terry

For me the ranking system didn't mean too much and I couldn't care if I were a chameleon or newbie or whatever. I came to the site looking for information and support (had my lumbar surgery in Feb 2004) and was registered in Feb 2005. (The discussion forum, which is great, wasn't running at the time of my lumbar surgery unfortunately)

Like many I had my surgery, recovered and got on with life and only returned to the forum when my cervical spine gave me problems and I needed more information and support.(Makes me sound selfish but I'm not really, in fact, I'm a compassionate and caring person).

I do like the signatures and I look at members medical history and experiences and the content of their posts rather than number of posts made.

However, I do think the idea of for example 'The 500 club' you are in is a good idea, although I note I am considered a new member - even though I've been registered since 2005. Guess I've been too quiet to progress from 'new'.

It is not difficult to spot whose postings are the most interesting/informative/relevant although I do believe everyones contribution is valuable to the forum and don't intend to offend anyone.

Not sure what you could have for menu titles or icons though? What do you have in mind? ? pre-op, post-op lumbar, post-op cervical, ?successful surgery ?unsuccessful surgery, medical professional, lay person, undecided what to do and in a dilemma, seeking information, offering support. I don't know what to suggest, it seems quite complicated and well...I like things simple.

Sorry I've no ideas to help you Terry, if I have a brainwave, I'll let you know although, since my brain surgery two years ago my brain doesn't work too well.

Good luck with your task, you're doing a wonderful job and have a great way with words for everyone.

Best wishes

Lynda

PS One suggestion...please could the year be included in the date of posting?

[Terry]

Thanks Linda:

The only reason that I thought of this is that it just seemed a little antiquated. I came up with some ideas as to what people provide.

Maybe a new category exists; Karma Counselor, Karma Enlightenment, Karma on the top of the Mountain, Karma Cry on my Shoulders, etc.

Or; Novice, Practitioner, Teacher or Scholar, Manager.

Or Science Fiction Fantasy Levels:

Apprentice, Thurmaturge, Mage, Grand Wizard.

Or, How about putting out a survey to allow members to name the titles? Just some friendly suggestions. There should be some distinction between what people provide. Slackwater, Justin, Harrison = Scholars or Teachers; Or Slackwater and Justin could be considered researchers as they provide a tremendous amount of insight. Physicians may hold a class of their own like scholar. People that help others could be counselors. Persons who are mired in their disease could be students as they are searching for answers and may not contribute as much as they are still in the pain phase and struggling. They still provide support for others and their contributions are excellent. It is for the ones still suffering that make me stay and lend a hand.

These are just some ideas that I believed deserved a little thought. I certainly don't consider myself a scholar. I do feel a strong sense of compassion for others though and try to help people feel a little bit better. It sucks to be in pain and robs people of their spirit.

Some other thoughts?

We're all in this together.

Terry Newton

[berry]

Hi there Terry

You, Sir, are a great asset to the forum, as are Slackwater, Justin and of course our founder Harrison as well as many others who provide help and information by sharing their experiences and in other ways.

I agree the idea of a survey sounds good, would give everyone a chance to put their view forward and is democratic. Don't know what the response to surveys is like though?? You could do one, see what develops and then tell us all what to do! (Ha ha)

Go for it Terry and update the ranking ststem as best you see fit. As I've said before, you're doing a great job and I am appreciative.

Regards

Lynda

[Eddie_G]

Newbie, rookie, fresh fish, just don't call me a troll!

[Terry]

I will do my best not to call anyone a troll. That would be worse than death itself .

Harrison is the ultimate decider and may like the term; Troll. Just kidding. He will have to decide what is the best course of action based on input from all of you.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Terry Newton

[Cirobi]

Hi Terry,

I'm so new here that I don't know if I feel completely comfortable giving suggestions. Any rankings will likely be ok with me since I think every forum has it's own unique character and rankings/titles just enhance them. Some of the things my gaming forums do is give people rank/title based off their position in the in game guild, one forum has everyone equally ranked "random person" which I never minded because I can be fairly random if I'm in a silly mood. Another had no rankings whatsoever.

I did want to give a silly thought out there on the troll talk though. If it went into a fantasy realm as one of your posts touched on, troll may not be such a bad term! Forest Troll, Ancient Troll, Troll Shaman, haha. I'm a fantasy nut and World of Warcraft addict so I get a kick out of that kind of theme.

Regardless of how the rankings change, we're all here for a similar purpose. I know that reading everyones experiences and feedback has been a huge help to me in the short time I've been here. I can only hope the things I post will do the same in the future as well. In the meantime I'll wear my new member sponge suit and soak up all the wonderful information that's been posted so far. Hopefully my time will come to wring out plenty of info for others. *grin*

I hope everyone's Monday is going well.