50 replies to this topic

[BrewerGeorge]

As mentioned today, since we just started up this forum, everybody has lost their old post counts. We've been talking about this in the Mod Corner as well since post counts gave a certain "credibility" or weight to beer posts from long-established users. We had the idea of identifying the good brewers and giving them a title like "Master Brewer" or "Brew Guru" that's NOT based on post count. That way when we start getting new visitors, they will know whose advice has a better chance of being more trustworthy.So first of all, do you think this is a good idea? That's the poll above. I'll leave this poll active for about 3 days to gather votes and go forward from there.Comments are welcome.

[CaptRon]

I think that might be a good idea. I mean we all have been around with each other for quite a while, so that might help a newbie a little bit.

[ANUSTART]

It depends how you determine who the masters/gurus are. If it involves everyone sending beer to the mods, I may be a little suspicious. :blush:Edit to add something constructive... How about a reputation system that some boards have. This would be different than the user star rating system on the dead board in that you can give someone a point for each good post, or take one away for crap. Of course PH posts would be exempt to prevent someone from getting low star ratings cause they make one thread about how fat people suck. *shakes fist*

[MtnBrewer]

Edit to add something constructive... How about a reputation system that some boards have. This would be different than the user star rating system on the dead board in that you can give someone a point for each good post, or take one away for crap. Of course PH posts would be exempt to prevent someone from getting low star ratings cause they make one thread about how fat people suck. *shakes fist*

It actually would be identical to the user rating on the other board since this is the same software.

[ANUSTART]

It actually would be identical to the user rating on the other board since this is the same software.

Well that would be crap then. That was a waste.

[dagomike]

This is a great idea... I think it would reward members for their contributions and give a sense of ownership.

[MtnBrewer]

Well that would be crap then. That was a waste.

We never really used it. Maybe we never used it because it was crap but it could also be crap because we never used it.

[orudis]

As long as I end up with the title "brew Guru," I am in favor of this idea.

[Wayne B]

While I think that the ability for a newbie to know who's advice to trust is a good idea, I think that before too long, there will be enough history on the new board for folks to figure out who really knows what they're talking about. Rather than any rating/scoring system, which could always be subject to abuse and/or cause disagreements with other members, I think it would be OK for the near term just to let the posting history build, and speak for itself.Maybe I'm in the minority with this opinion, but in my experience it was generally pretty obvious who knew what they were talking about and who was spouting crap, on the green board as well as other forums. We'll be there in very short order, and until the post counts speak for themselves we can always just reinforce good recommendations with an occasional "I agree with that," or "Hightest is a mead geek of the highest order," or the like.

Edited by Wayne B, 07 April 2009 - 01:36 PM.

[BrewerGeorge]

I forgot to add an additional point of info to the above. In case you missed it in the news forum, PH posts now count toward total post count.

[MtnBrewer]

While I think that the ability for a newbie to know who's advice to trust is a good idea, I think that before too long, there will be enough history on the new board for folks to figure out who really knows what they're talking about. Rather than any rating/scoring system, which could always be subject to abuse and/or cause disagreements with other members, I think it would be OK for the near term just to let the posting history build, and speak for itself.Maybe I'm in the minority with this opinion, but in my experience it was generally pretty obvious who knew what they were talking about and who was spouting crap, on the green board as well as other forums. We'll be there in very short order, and until the post counts speak for themselves we can always just reinforce good recommendations with an occasional "I agree with that," or "Hightest is a mead geek of the highest order," or the like.

I think there are some valid concerns here. However, we don't feel that number of posts is a good indication of cluefulness. I'm a perfect example of that. In addition, a member with a lot of posts in the PH could appear to be a brewing guru to a newbie in the brewing forums. So we think that some other way of identifying the more knowledgeable members is required. How we do that is still an open question. The first thing that George is trying to determine is should we?

[nitroglycerin11]

I think this is a potentially useful feature especially when trying to sift through the mines of information which are about to accumulate here. Especially if the PH posts ARE counted. I personally feel that racking up the PH posts will give a false impression of sageness, thereby devaluing the the post count/star rating system. That being said, I also feel that implementing a labeling system in an objective manner will be difficult. In the end, I guess I am in favor of such a move.

[dagomike]

I think given that people can now readily change their names, and the PH count, makes it a reasonable idea in addition to what I said about rewarding and encouraging good posting.

[armagh]

The first thing that George is trying to determine is should we?

No. In the words of Master Xiang Xue Zhin: Don't be anxious. This board has come further faster than any other on the net, don't have reach exceed grasp. It's been said already, but most people here are sharp enough to spot BS when they read it and there are enough experienced contributors to provide constructive balance in the event a newbie asks a question. .02.

[japh]

I think there are some valid concerns here. However, we don't feel that number of posts is a good indication of cluefulness. I'm a perfect example of that. In addition, a member with a lot of posts in the PH could appear to be a brewing guru to a newbie in the brewing forums. So we think that some other way of identifying the more knowledgeable members is required. How we do that is still an open question. The first thing that George is trying to determine is should we?

I voted yes, but I'm going back and forth on the idea. I'm thinking it may be off-putting to the people who don't "make the grade" to be a master brewer.

[Big Nake]

How will you determine the Masters & Gurus? We already have a lot of members here... sounds like some work, but I'm in favor of it. I also agree that after some time, you get a good feel for who is genuinely helpful and who is full of shit or someone who doesn't participate often. I trust you guys to do it properly... that's why you get paid the BIG bucks.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I think its a good idea. You ought to come up with some rules for someone getting the title. Obviously post count is irrelevant since someone like me, that is a total newb at brewing can post a lot, but not have a lot of brewing experience under their belt. Not that there isn't some helpful info that I could provide, but its more likely that someone here has gone thru whatever brewing problem or situation before me. If possible I would say that a title should be based on thread ratings in the beer/wine sub forums. That way post count could have nothing to do with it. Should someone like me write an interesting thread that has good info, we might move up a bit in the title block, say from "His Newbieness" to "I made a beer once!" to "Brewster" to "Brewmiester" to "Brewing Demigod". Or something like that.Only thing is that we have to been keen on the thread ratings.

[MtnBrewer]

How will you determine the Masters & Gurus?

That's something that we'll figure out later if we decide to go forward with this.

[JReigle]

I voted no. I think this is simply the burn-in period for a new forum, and eventually plenty of evidence will be available to show who participates with helpful and relevant information - a lot is already. Anybody who searches and does a little homework should be able to weed out the good responses from the bad.I can see instances where a "newbie" is a master brewer themselves. In this case, it seems that these rankings wouldn't do much more than encourage other newbies to be unnecessarily skeptical about information provided just because someone hasn't been deemed a "master brewer" themselves.Basically, it seems that this serves to "protect" newbies, so to speak, from bad advice. Is that even necessary, given the open forum this community already is?

[DuncanDad]

I'm not one given to titles much.On the surface, it seems somewhat harmeless, (did each of the Mods get their 6 pack of beer I sent?).I think you are asking to put off some people because they "didn't make the grade" while others who post here a lot are still doing beer on their Mr. Beer systems, (I'm looking at you, Lou).Seems like you are asking for work that doesn't need to be done.