Topic: *Restarted* Post history review offer - page 7. (Read 3669 times)

Check your PM.
(If a Merit source wants to know how much his allocation is per month, I can give him this info)

I don't have the divine knowledge, I can say bullshit too .


Do the maths :


and 50 merits / month.

What will reach 1000 first ? Merit or activity ?


Edit : OK, I was talking about recently created accounts, they will be restricted by the activity. For older accounts, this is less true.

Biggest in terms of what, sMerits allocated per month?  I'm not sure what you mean by that, but currently I'm #13 on the most generous merit senders of all time (and no, I don't consider that list to be a competition).  That certainly could be due to the fact that I wasn't one of the original merit sources or that I started offering post history reviews very late in the game, but I have no way of knowing how my monthly allocation measures up to any other merit source.  If you're saying it's one of the highest then that's constructive feedback and something I wasn't aware of.

"Privileged".  BRB, going to scream into my pillow for a minute.

Sorry you feel that way, but there are a lot of members who are making decent posts but aren't getting any merits for any number of reasons unrelated to post quality.  And in response to your argument about activity and merits, there are a number of people who've sent me PMs that have >1000 activity but lack sufficient merits to rank up.  In any case, it seems like the ranking-up process has slowed down to turtle speed, and I don't think dropping 50 merits on a single member per 30 days is in any way stupid.  But hey, we can agree to disagree.

I do appreciate criticism no matter how harsh, as I'm trying to get a sense of what the community thinks (and having a staff member weigh in is great).

Don't you worry about a thing, my dear.  I had skin as thick as a rhino before I joined the forum, and at this point it's so thick that almost nothing hits my nerve endings.  Halab is entitled to his opinion and I want that kind of honesty in a situation like this; sometimes more is gained from getting blasted than smooched from the backside.

I don't wanna quote anyone on this, though I've read alot of annoying, self-centered stuffs...

CHYMIST, you're just cute the way you are...btw, I understand how frustrating it is to tender a request only to get snubbed, for a couple of times that you'd easily manipulate -- that's if you had the Techs --. It's really painful (ain't gonna lie) that you're only gonna limit these for some reasons we all understand, it appalling.!! But you seeee, erhhh.... Sometimes, things are not just allowed to workout the way you'd seem to have it(maybe, getting usual obstructions from some powerful people, which is the case here) ... I'm not here to question Theymos for not seeing in the same spectacles as you did, but I'm not also citing his actions (most especially when he's not even saying a dime)... I just want you to keep it together; if someone would quote me previously, I never wanted this whole thing for myself alone, it was for everyone else and that's a priority to me... It's the fact that I felt maybe MS were some kinda logical when it comes to distribution so I had to awaken a lost thread, that's somewhat compatible, I guess it had a different impact anyways but that's not the point here. I respect your decisions as I don't think Theymos would wanna consider an incessant (as he'd have it) request fr.

@Halab, I mean no disrespect but that statement you wrote; that giving 50 merits in 30 days to a user is the stupidest ?? That's quite unruly. I wasn't expecting that you'd fuel up the whole situation like that.... How you expect CHYMIST to feel?? Yeah, that's unfair.
I'd get even more pissed if it were directed on me.

Sandra 🧑

It is looking like what will eventually happen as theymos has not responded to him till date and this is very discouraging for a MS who is dedicated to seeing less ranked members cone up in rank.


Activities is never a problem because he only awards such huge merit to users who already have more than enough activities to their next rank but lack merit. It is not for every user he does that for.

I have been following this topic diagonally for a few days and today I can't help answer you.
Forget the tag "Staff" under my nickname, this is just my personal opinion and not an "official" answer. I warn you it's just a reaction to this topic, I don't want it become a personal drama between you and me. Because yes, I might be a bit harsh. I'm not going to give Theymos my thoughts, but give you mine (for what it's worth).

What you don't say (or maybe don't know) is that you are already one of the biggest MS. So you are already very privileged.
I take Theymos' silence like this : learn to deal with what you have, I don't want to go brrrrrrrr.

When I see that you give merits by packs of 10, 8, 6, 5, 3, etc... give them rather by packs of 5, 3, 1. If finally you have some merits left, you can go back on the merits you gave like DdmrDdmr does. And everyone will be happy.


Excuse me, but this is the stupidest thing I've read about merits.
50 merits per month to each user will make him/her go up faster in merits than in activity. What would be the point ? What was the merit system created for ?

Exceptional members will never have a merit problem (merits > activity).
Good users will become legendary without much problem (merit = activity).
Less good users may have some problems, but there are ways to get the attention of MS (I think of this kind of topic or even this one).
That leave shitposters, trolls and bounty hunters, but they get what they deserve.

And as we say : the important thing is not the destination, it's the journey.
Climbing the ranks of Bitcointalk is a long and bumpy journey. But the satisfaction of finally becoming legendary will be greater.

Imagine if Tolkien had written the Lord of the Rings this way :
Frodo: So I have to take this ring to a volcano in Mordor ?
Gandalf : Yes.
Frodo : Pfff it's far and dangerous. Can't you use your magic powers to teleport me ?
Gandalf : OK....
THE END.

Exciting ?


And to finish on a lighter note:

So far, I'm not wrong yet. We will see in July..

There is no way you can satisfy everybody no matter how good or bad they are in this forum but the most important thing is to do everything within your professional knowledge to make people believe that you are doing the right thing which is part of those things that made people to elected you to be in this position. I guess, you will not break that trust people have for you by quitting from this position by people demands. 

It's perfectly fine if you can't give people more merit than you usually do. The ones you've done previously have made many people to rank up and feel grateful for their contributions to the forum. You've done your best and we applaud your efforts in this forum, but we still hope your request is considered and more Smerit is given to you to help low rank users in the forum who have also contributed fruitfully. Thank you for everything you've done. Gracias The Pharmacist.

Let me give you a little thought because it seems like you never really intended to stop your contribution to the community especially when it comes to reviewing posts.

You have to have a really convenient way to do that without any problems and you probably don't need to spend 50 merit per month per user who making a request when you're not really getting the posts deserve. You can reduce the number of merit per user to eg 20-30 merit per review period so that you can reach more users in the same period. But all that is your right, so you are free to do whatever. Just a few thoughts from me.

Now I really hope theymos listen to your complaints and consider your request, meanwhile some other people can support you with merit too.

I understand that it may seem like you are not keeping a promise! But think about it: you are doing what you promised, within your capabilities. And that should not be criticized or devalued!


Now maybe I ask a broader question: Why are so many people asking for merits?
In the places where they post, aren't there other members with merits who recognize the work of these users?

I ask these questions, because I never asked anyone for merits, even sometimes I felt that I deserved them but I didn't have that opportunity.
Therefore, I think that those who ask should also be available to receive a no, either for not meeting the proposed criteria, or for lack of sMerit.


@The Pharmacist
Allow me a suggestion, which may lighten this weight on your conscience a little:
Why don't you create a monthly ceiling for the sMerit you have, publicly informing that you have this specific ceiling (you don't need to say how many) and then make the distribution you think is appropriate.
And if you receive more requests, for what you have to give, a simple reply informing you that the plafon has ended and for them to try again, may help to minimize the situation. I think everyone should understand this.

I appreciate your candor, and I'm sure I've merited posts that others wouldn't think twice about skipping over.  The whole point of my offer was to help members who are at least putting some effort into their posts, even if they're not the most informative, insightful, or well-written.  And believe me, I've had to tell quite a few people that their entire post history wasn't up to my standards.

Thanks to those who've dropped some merits on me, but please don't; even with what I've received since starting this thread and giving away all of the sMerits I had about a half hour ago, there are still roughly 14 members in line for reviews--and that's on top of all the members who'll still need reviews in their next 30-day cycle (which I can't even promise I'll get to).

I will do my best from here on out to distribute merits to the people who've regularly been PMing me, and hopefully I've still got their PMs.  If you've been requesting reviews for at least 3 months and are due for a review, please message me just in case.  To the rest, I apologize sincerely for an offer that I'm unable to fulfill--and I mean that.  I feel terrible that members who PMed me last month still haven't had a review because I simply don't have enough sMerits.

Give your thoughts to Theymos, because at this point it's out of my hands.  

I know I can't force him to do anything, especially by expressing my anger toward him--but since he's not doing a damn thing about this either way, what do I have to lose?  Is he going to ban me?  Probably not.  Is he going to fire me from my merit source position?  Dunno.  That would be silly, especially since I didn't ask to be one in the first place and am just trying to do a good job.

Sure, that's an option, but I've actually increased the number of merits I hand out for good posts since I think I got a response to this thread a long time ago.  I don't have a policy as to how many merits I give out for posts of varying degrees of quality; in general I look for thought, effort, and content, and secondarily grammar and other factors.  I know a shitpost when I see it, and I also know what a post looks like from someone who doesn't know English very well but is at least trying to make a point.

Ideally I try to give members the full 50 merits per 30 days, and in a lot of cases that's totally doable, sometimes not.  The problem is in how many requests I've been getting as of late.  It's just too much to keep up with, and it isn't fair to those I've extended the offer to, keeping them waiting weeks, months, perhaps infinity before I review their post history.

I understand his feelings. It's quite upsetting that he couldn't get a simple yes or no answer from theymos at least for the effort he's put in for many years on the forum, and it hurts to see that theymos favor only a few members on the forum. Even some new members who joined this year are receiving PMs from theymos, whereas he is experiencing total blackout.



someone who has distributed over 15k merits since last year This is enormous. If he enjoys what he does, why not give him a few extras as long as he doesn't abuse or trade them?

I understand why you're so emotional right now, but I'm not sure it will sway theymos enough to agree to your request. I agree about one positive you might get once you decide to stop reviewing posts, you'll probably have plenty of time to do something more useful for the forum while still being a merit source.

Your request is reasonable and I completely support your wish, but you still can't force theymos to accept your request until now, maybe things will change later. The Pharmacist, you can still contribute as a merit source and stay that way even if you take a break from reviewing many post.

Another one bites the dust...

There were many users who were doing this back in the early days of the merit system, if I remember few of them were QuestionAuthority, BTCforJoe and TMAN. They used to organize small challenges or you ask them to review your post history and in reward you will get merits for the good posts.

During those times 2018-2019 such "post history review offers” were very great and helped many including me too to achieve early ranks until Sr. Member. However keeping the current stats in mind you will notice number of posts have declined significantly but merits have increased or at least stable round ~ 5000 merits weekly, based on Bitcointalk Merit Dashboard. That means on average there's a high chance you will not be able to find a merit-able post unmerited.

Maybe that's the reason theymos don't want to create merit "inflation", there aren't enough posts anymore.

But still I feel for you, I know reviewing someone’s posts takes time and you are dedicating your time for bitcointalk.

I once had an interesting discussion with a member regarding the early implementation of the merit system and how him being an early merit source had an impact on his activity here. The feedback was quite sincere - being an early merit source means that he/she would feel the "burden" of the "responsibility" of making the best distribution of the new system. The first days/weeks of any new system being implemented are always critical to its success, and this would also be true for the merit system since the merit sources would be the "barometer" that would show the community which kind of posts are worthy to receive merit and thus promote more similar posts/threads in that nature. The first merit sources didn't had an easy task - they had to make a good distribution of merits, remain neutral, spend it all and distribute as widely and as wisely as that they could even if that meant browsing hundreds of posts only to find only 1 post being worthy of 1 or 2 merits (yeah it was that bad at the time).

The same merit source also told me - and I think that this is relevant for you TP - that his/her job became easier when merit sources were gradually added as time moved on since he felt that he wasn't alone in this "job". I totally understand your struggle of wanting to promote good posts/threads that you feel that get lost within the numerous posts/threads that are generated here daily but I also don't want you to think that you're alone in this - you've got users like fillippone[1], ratimov[2], LoyceV[3] (and many more) that also go beyond their duties and actively promote our user base to send them posts that are indeed worthy (or at least that they think they are) so that they can also distribute their smerits. You also have merit sources that promote merit giveaways to our community by teaching them something of value in the process[4][5] (as an example), which is another great example of cross work.

All of this to say that I totally understand what you're feeling TP - there isn't a worst feeling in the world that having the desire to do something only to be blocked by something that you can't possibly overcome - but don't forget that you're not alone in the "merit squad" - I'm sure that while you're unable to send smerits, there are a lot of merit sources that are working in parallel making the rightful distribution of them.

Quite honestly I think that the community would lose a great member of the "merit squid" if you decided to leave but at the same time I think that it isn't a healthy feeling what you're feeling at the moment so I just hope that you end up choosing whatever decision you're most comfortable with.

Better days will surely come TP.

PS: While there isn't a full list of who is a merit source - rightfully so - I would say that there is a high probability that a good chunk of users are found in this list[6]...

---

[1]https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/merit-share-your-best-poststhreads-with-fillippone-to-be-merit-assessed-5412657
[2]https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/--5275032
[3]https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/self-moderated-report-unmerited-good-posts-to-merit-source-5093271
[4]https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/merit-hey-bitcoiners-can-you-send-encrypted-messages-5289839
[5]https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/merit-hey-newbies-can-you-sign-a-message-5300698
[6]https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=merit;stats=topsendat

It was very generous of you to do what you did and wanted to (by the sounds of it) continue doing to read through posts and give merits. If I recall correctly your request for extra merits was made a long time ago, I am sorry you did not receive them. Look at it this way, on the plus side if you have more time on your hands it will give you an opportunity to do something else either in and around the forum or away from here.

Fellow forum @The Pharmacist just wanted to share something for you:
Keep committed to doing your best for the good of this community. With many or few merits to give away, whatever your contribution is greatly appreciated (at least for me it is)!
I even understand (to a certain extent) your feelings, it's frustrating to want to give merits and not succeed. But he continued to believe that regardless of how you decide to give your merits, they will be given in the right way!
Each one gives what merits he can and how he can, and more should not be demanded. And I don't think they should demand that from you!

So keep going buddy. Better days will come. 



Thank you @The Pharmacist, always!

I sent you 50 merit, so you can give out 25 sMerit to deserving forum members, either via your original initiative or otherwise.

I think that's theymos' intention. Empty the source, but that's your limit.
Considering the number of posts dropped 90% compared to what it was 4 years ago, and the amount of Merit distributed didn't drop (or maybe even went up a bit), the Merit-to-Post-ratio increased a lot already.

I considered duplicated The Pharmacist's sent Merit, but it doesn't feel right to do it without reading the posts (and context), and I don't have the time for that.

Please don't do it, you really have to hold back and control your emotions. Now you have every right to vent your anger because theymos don't give you more merit kouta every month but I think you are really suffering these days with a lot of PM. I think you can still review as usual but you should probably stop when your merit bank is used up. You just have to enjoy it and keep at it because you are a really good contributor to this task.

The Pharmacist, I am not advising you on this but take it as a support for what you have been doing for the community so far. Hopefully after this theymos really hear you.

Thanks to bring it for me.
The thread of course looks like that he is still offering the review (Current title: Rules for my post history review offer to the community). None of these merit hunter read anything else than read the OP and go for it. Changing the title of the thread will do the work 99%.

Would you mind signing an old bitcoin address please. An address posted before August 2018 will help.