Upvotes and Downvotes

[KaIadin he/him]

For some reason, when I want to upvote a post, the button for it isn't there. I am signed in (obviously), and no, I haven't gone on an upvote rampage. Anyone know what's happening?

[Chaos he/him]

We had wondered how long it would take for a topic to appear on this.

We're testing something. It's intentional, for now. Don't fret.

[Kaymyth she/her]

What they don't want us to know is what they're testing.  I suspect it's a complicated psychological experiment that is going to end in Rubix unveiling a mad scientist plot to take over the world.

[Mashadar Mistborn he/him]

What they don't want us to know is what they're testing.  I suspect it's a complicated psychological experiment that is going to end in Rubix unveiling a mad scientist plot to take over the world.

If it is a psychological experiment, then I must, for the sake of science, disclose that I'm becoming twitchy.

[KaIadin he/him]

We had wondered how long it would take for a topic to appear on this.

We're testing something. It's intentional, for now. Don't fret.

I'm wondering how you got an upvote.

[Rubix he/him]

I'm wondering how you got an upvote.

 

Testing something.

[Chaos he/him]

Cross-posted from the Random Stuff thread:

In case you want more information on why we are looking into the reputation system...

Some things occurred which made us wonder how people would react to the whole system going away. So that was part of it. (Consensus, as anticipated, is that you guys really like it. I like it too. But it might go away sometime.)

We are also long past worried that reputation has become extremely devalued, so we are going to be implementing a much smaller cap for both up and downvotes.

In this conversation with the staff, it is also possible in the future that all reputation gets reset. Maybe. Maybe not. It's an idea that is floating around.

[Ookla the Absent]

So, I can downvote on this thread, but nothing elsewhere that I can tell? :confused:

How long has it been since y'all disabled upvotes? And did you reenable downvotes later, or am I just crazy?

 

edit:Aaaand... I can downvote everywhere now. Huh.

eddit2: Also, this'll be fun to explain to all the new people.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Gargoyle

[Citadel16 he/him]

down voting only, huh... that's rather negative.

[Ookla the Absent]

Um, upvotes all around?

 

edit: I don't suppose you'd mind warning us first next time?

Edited January 8, 2016 by Gargoyle

[Citadel16 he/him]

YAY!

 

but I still cant upvote anything

Edited January 8, 2016 by warriormark16

[Rubix he/him]

edit: I don't suppose you'd mind warning us first next time?

 

I don't think the experiment would have worked quite as well if there had been warning.

[Ookla the Absent]

So, I don't have to be an Eternal Arbiter anymore?

 

edit: True. But I didn't expect it to be so short.

So, was there a noticeable increase in downvotes?

Edited January 8, 2016 by Gargoyle

[Chaos he/him]

YAY!

 

but I still cant upvote anything

You probably hit the upvote quota. It is much, much less now. We don't want reputation to be devalued further.

[Citadel16 he/him]

ah.. how much was it originally? And how much is it now? if you don't mind me asking.

[Chaos he/him]

The old upvote amount was very high. Now it is 10.

[Citadel16 he/him]

ah. (I actually guessed that. go figure)

 

and you might want to know that voidus went down to the level of Zucchini.

Edited January 8, 2016 by warriormark16

[Voidus]

ah. (I actually guessed that. go figure)

 

and you might want to know that voidus went down to the level of Zucchini.

I got it changed to a chasmfiend corpse actually  

[Rubix he/him]

I got it changed to a chasmfiend corpse actually  

 

You're welcome.

[Voidus]

You're welcome.

Unfortunately we had the first ultrasound of my unborn child today so it falls into the second most awesome thing to happen to me today but it is nontheless greatly appreciated and I would give you all the upvotes were I not already at quota. (But I suppose that's the point )

[Rubix he/him]

Unfortunately we had the first ultrasound of my unborn child today so it falls into the second most awesome thing to happen to me today but it is nontheless greatly appreciated and I would give you all the upvotes were I not already at quota. (But I suppose that's the point )

 

I'll happily take second seat to that. Congratulations.

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

I can upvote.

[ThirdGen]

"All upvotes received in RPs have no lasting effect."
"Are you serious?"
" 'Course I'm not serious. It's a forum, not a miracle worker."

[Kobold King he/him]

Can I make my opinion known? The value of the reputation system does not now nor has it ever lay in the sum total of upvotes a member acquires during his/her time here. The value of the rep system lies in the happiness it gives people to see their individual posts upvoted. If someone posts a joke in the joke thread, upvotes are a sign that they made people laugh--a sign that people who won't necessarily comment saw the post and enjoyed it, indicating that the person's continued presence is desirable. When it comes to RP posts, upvotes are a sign that people's hard work and nearly obsessive writing is appreciated and that they didn't go through the toil of writing a long post for nothing.

 

This forum is a positive place. People like coming here and being with their friends. People like having a visual reminder each day that people like what they have to say, be it a theory or a joke or a well-written piece of prose. Threads turn green and vibrant, the upvotes like the laughs and smiles of friends making memories at a picnic.

 

With a low quota, fields of verdant appreciation turn into fields of gray apathy. People try to show their appreciation for posts but find themselves unable to do so. Unless these people spam the boards with a bunch of "LOL" or "This" comments, the person who submitted a joke or theory is left to wonder whether their contribution was valued or just getting in the way. A place of positivity becomes a place of doubt.

 

If the "value" of reputation points is important enough to risk this, by all means reset the system. I don't care. No one actually cares where they rank on the rep list. Reset it monthly if you wish, daily if you feel the need to. But please, please, don't turn a place of constant joy and support into a place where appreciation has to be carefully rationed throughout a day. Don't turn this green paradise into a somber gray.

 

Thank you.

[Citadel16 he/him]

Are you sure you're not Brandon Sanderson? what about Patrick Rothfuss? because that post was rather beautifully written and may or may not have caused me to tear up a little.

 

I have to agree with Kobold. I liked the way it was. but I also understand the misinterpretation of the upvote system. people do the same things on websites like twitter and facebook, they see the amount of "likes" as a badge of honor, as proof that they are someone in this world. I can see the point of having a quota, but I also think ten is very little and can inhibit and clog the forums because everyone is so busy telling each other how much they "like" a post.

 

however, I do trust the judgments of the admin. if they think something is wrong enough that they have to go and change the whole system then there must be a very agreeable reason.

 

thank you.