Hey, I was thinking the other day (it was painful but I endured). Seriously though, I really like the credits/points system at PFP. #1 it cuts down on the UNNECESSARY posts and hollow responses often found at forums with minimum post requirements. However, I wish we could take this system one step further.... read on!
I always try to add quality posts on the forums and check back often to review the responses. I take it personally, whenever one of my threads does not generate any action; good or bad. Especially, if the hit count reads something like 20 views, 0 responses! Whenever I read other members posts, blogs, etc... I only respond to topics of interest to me OR if I think my reply will help others. It is way to easy to just say, "I agree" or "yep!" Who does that benefit? No one, just adds clutter to filter through. Currently, a valid post, response, etc... earns 5 credits regardless of the value that post brings to the forum. Some folks can enter 100 post a minute... (haha) but they usually have no value to the forum and its members! What if...
John Doe posts a topic that receives 100 hits, 50 responses. Jane Doe posts a topic about shoes and only gets 1 hit, 0 responses. John's post evidently brings more value to the forum then Jane's topic on shoes but both received 5 credits. I know its probably too late to make such a major change to the Credits for posting system. However, if it is possible to modify the rules a little... wouldn't it only be fair that John be compensated a little more for his work. How difficult would it be to modify the current structure?
A limit would be placed on the total number of credits any 1 post could receive, for this example we will use 10 MAX. Each post by a member would still earn them some credits, but I'll change that to 3 credits for now. To complete this new "Value Added" credits system we need to set the number of responses X = Y, the number of credits earned. For this example I will use 10 responses/comments = 1 Credit.
A post can earn a max. 10 credits.
Each post is worth 3 credits
An additional 1 credit will be added per 10 responses/comments received. Until the max. allowed is reached.
Johns post earned him, 10 credits
Jane's post got her banned from the forum. Only kidding, she got the min. 3 credits.
This system rewards members whose posts create value for the forum. It also encourages all members to make quality posts and responses. It takes away from those who are only posting to run up there credits, then cash in for REAL money. PFP just paid a member for a bunch of posts, that have no value to anyone or the forum. (I AM NOT SAYING THAT ALL 2 SECOND POSTS ARE WORTHLESS!!!!)
I was very discouraged when a few forums increased the required number of posts in order to get PW's. Along came PFP with this credit system! I think SportsUnit has followed suit... PFP leads the way in the ever changing world of online poker. I hope that our forum has already made an impact on the PW stealing problems that plague the online community. Many of you may not know that the market for forums has changed drastically as well. Its not uncommon to see forums going for 20K or more these days. The value of a forum is based on its content, its members and community interests. I think this point system promotes all of those traits.
- 4FlushCrush ( I should recieve a 50 point bonus for this insightful post, dont ya think? lol)
PS. I know that I did not address points earned for commenting on a post, etc... for now I would just set the number of credits = X.
