Ideas for new User designatons

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10-09-2016, 06:02 AM
curious aardvark

Ideas for new User designatons

so we're thinking about changing the designations users get for racking up different numbers of posts.

Looking for additive manufacturing related categories for different post numbers.
in case (like me) you have no idea what the current ones are - this is they:

Student 0
Technician 50
Technologist 100
Engineer-in-Training 200
Engineer 400
Staff Engineer 800
Senior Engineer 1500
Principal Engineer 2500
Chief Engineer 4500

We'd like some more relevant titles, suggestions please :-)

Once we've got a few lists we'll run a poll to pick the favourute.
10-09-2016, 06:57 AM
Mjolinor

Get a life. :)

Are you stuck between projects or something?

Does anyone actually look at them?
10-09-2016, 07:11 AM
Mjolinor

On a more serious note I personally think that post counts and titles inhibit people when they are considering replies, it can seem daunting to contradict or dispute input from people that are apparently knowledgeable about any subject.
10-09-2016, 07:25 AM
Eddie

These were my ideas:

Lurker - 0 posts
1st Time Poster - 1
Newbie Poster - 2+
Amateur Poster - 50+
Novice Poster - 100+
Expert Poster - 600+
Obsessive Expert Poster - 1000+
Supreme Poster - 2000+
3DPrintBoard is My Life! - 3000+

To be honest most forums use these as goals for member to reach. I myself don't personally care about them but I think certain posters do.
Eddie
10-09-2016, 07:36 AM
Mjolinor

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie

These were my ideas:

Lurker - 0 posts
1st Time Poster - 1
Newbie Poster - 2+
Amateur Poster - 50+
Novice Poster - 100+
Expert Poster - 600+
Obsessive Expert Poster - 1000+
Supreme Poster - 2000+
3DPrintBoard is My Life! - 3000+

To be honest most forums use these as goals for member to reach. I myself don't personally care about them but I think certain posters do.
Eddie

That works but you are missing the "I know everything because I read it on google" members.
10-09-2016, 05:22 PM
printbus

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie

... I myself don't personally care about them but I think certain posters do.

Yeah, they do end up being kind of kitsch, and risk encouraging users to post and post without worrying about how much value they are providing. That said, it'd be pretty weird seeing a forum without some sort of ranking. Some places of course try to improve on it by providing a voting or thank-you kind of tally that somewhat reflects the value of the posts that have been made.
10-09-2016, 07:05 PM
Talon 3D

Sure, they are a fun little addition. Also when you are interacting with people if they are being honest of their level of skills it lets you gauge if their advice is top notch or use at your own risk type stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjolinor

Get a life. :)

Are you stuck between projects or something?

Does anyone actually look at them?
10-09-2016, 07:06 PM
Talon 3D

Possibly but you should always learn, questions and keep your eyes peeled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjolinor

On a more serious note I personally think that post counts and titles inhibit people when they are considering replies, it can seem daunting to contradict or dispute input from people that are apparently knowledgeable about any subject.
10-10-2016, 08:13 AM
curious aardvark

so nice discussion - any suggestions ?
I'm still thinking, might go with printer designations. haven't decided on whether to use categories or actual brands yet :-)
Figure if I went for brands eddie ciould make them sponsor it lol
what's a 1000 post category worth to you davos ?
;-)
10-10-2016, 08:46 AM
Eddie

I think using brands could be a bad idea. That means that if we do sponsors, they will always be changing, and it would also in essence be ranking different brands. Some brands may see it as a negative.
10-10-2016, 09:44 AM
iDig3Dprinting

Quote:

Originally Posted by printbus

Yeah, they do end up being kind of kitsch, and risk encouraging users to post and post without worrying about how much value they are providing. That said, it'd be pretty weird seeing a forum without some sort of ranking. Some places of course try to improve on it by providing a voting or thank-you kind of tally that somewhat reflects the value of the posts that have been made.

We like the ability to plus one peoples advice, it rewards good advice rather than just number of posts. Otherwise the tantric poster is going to be top!
10-10-2016, 01:21 PM
Ama-fessional Molder

They should be set more along the lines of how much posting you do rather than the titles like "engineer" and stuff.

I am not an engineer. I should not have engineer next to my name. (yet, give me a few more years)

Initially that was somewhat misleading to me, because when I see engineer next to a name I assume they can answer my question. Here though, you can have a few thousand posts of drivel if someone is careful enough to not break rules, and that title would imply that they have a clue while in fact being completely false.
10-10-2016, 01:22 PM
Ama-fessional Molder

And since the last post was 199, this will bump my title to engineer in training without contributing anything at all to the forum. Though strangely this useless post winds up being on topic here in this thread. Nothing "engineer" about this.
10-10-2016, 05:03 PM
Barnard

Here I am - first post and checking in on this thread! I don't always look at levels, but on a tech site like this, the relevance is (hopefully) there.

Why not go with Levels? It's kind of a gamer thing, but you could "level up" as you post.

That being said, Ama-fessional Molder made his point well with his last post.
10-12-2016, 08:45 AM
Eddie

By levels, what exactly do you mean? Can you provide an example?
10-12-2016, 01:33 PM
Sebastian Finke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie

... I myself don't personally care about them but I think certain posters do.

We won't mention names...

;)
10-12-2016, 01:34 PM
Sebastian Finke

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDig3Dprinting

We like the ability to plus one peoples advice, it rewards good advice rather than just number of posts. Otherwise the tantric poster is going to be top!

I second this.
10-12-2016, 05:43 PM
Barnard

Levels

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie

By levels, what exactly do you mean? Can you provide an example?

Something Like:
Level 1 - up to 50 posts (+1s would count)
Level 2 - 51-100
Level 3 - 101-150
Level 4 - 151-200
etc.

Of course you would choose how many posts are realistic or meaningful in terms of numbers. You could even raise the number required to attain a level as the levels get greater (higher).

Not a fun descripter, but nicer than "Nube, Beginner, Lowlife," whatever. :)

Most forums I'm on simply have the number with no ranking.
10-12-2016, 06:40 PM
Ama-fessional Molder

Oh boy. Then my posts can be experience points!
10-14-2016, 05:02 PM
Todd-67

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDig3Dprinting

We like the ability to plus one peoples advice, it rewards good advice rather than just number of posts. Otherwise the tantric poster is going to be top!

I also agree. Just because you post a lot doesn't mean you advice is relevant or even accurate. I have seen a lot of that here with high post counters.

The post counts should be removed all together and replaced by a rating system where the peers rate the replies and posts by the member. Many a newbie has been led astray or discouraged by bad advice. This applies to most forums not just this one. I have been a mod and admin on other boards on differerent topics and seen the post count wars.

I would also encorage a bio section where users will need to post a short explanation of their backround, goals, and experince level before posting on the main board. Then other members can know how to better answer thier questions.
03-22-2020, 03:31 PM
Roxy

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajayseo1

On a more serious note I personally think that post counts and titles inhibit people when they are considering replies, it can seem daunting to contradict or dispute input from people that are apparently knowledgeable about any subject.

I kind of agree with this thinking... And just to take your thinking to a little bit more extreme position to help us consider ideas, think about this:

The 3D-Printing world is so complicated and evolving very fast. I do a lot of work in the Marlin code base. I pretty much know my way around the code base and can go after what ever problem is causing me trouble. But right now, I'm fighting some instability in the PID algorithms for controlling the nozzle temperatures. I am sure other people have worked through the issues and could help me if I could just connect with the right people.

But I most certainly don't want to post a brain dead question on something fairly well understood that is an older topic like PID instability. So... I don't post. Instead I spend 4 or 5 hours working through the code and figuring out how to resolve my issue.

I would love a way to ask an anonymous question without having to generate a bogus account to hide my identity. Of course there are problems with this idea and probably it doesn't make sense. But every once in a while, I would like to get help from the community without anybody knowing that I needed help.