I thought about that as well, but the truth is that we need to give the system some time. It only has a few days, so it's still hard to find good threads since the spam didn't just vanished. We can of course use the stats and see what are the Top-merited topics, users, etc., and chances are, that we will find good discussions there as well.
I do think this system I'm trying will make it even easier since I will post my areas of interest, so it will be easier to find things that I like to talk about, and that's why I'm doing it.
About the banners I don't know if they work or not, but a lot of money is spend there, so maybe they do. I think that if they are in a good number, people will eventually notice the brand, and if they see it to often, and in many different places they will probably try to get some information about it.
Topic: Thoughts about the Merit System, from an "angry" Sr. Member - Giving mine away - page 2. (Read 728 times)
January 29, 2018, 07:58:24 AM
January 29, 2018, 07:39:55 AM
The fact that members have to submit their posts to approval threads shows a fundamental flaw in the structure of Bitcoin Talk. If a good thread/post cannot be seen by members, then the board needs some attention and moderation in my opinion.
The other point to consider is the fact that those donating the points don't seem to be reading the boards. If they were, then they would have noticed the post. This makes one wonder how useful all those sig banners are. If the posts are not being seen, then there is a strong possibility that the banners aren't either.
The other point to consider is the fact that those donating the points don't seem to be reading the boards. If they were, then they would have noticed the post. This makes one wonder how useful all those sig banners are. If the posts are not being seen, then there is a strong possibility that the banners aren't either.
January 29, 2018, 07:27:16 AM
I will start by apologizing for the misleading title, since I'm not angry anymore.
I'm just learning about this new system myself, and I've decided to leave my thoughts about it.
At first I didn't like it at all, and I even got a bit angry about it. I would rank to Hero tomorrow, and now I need to earn 250 Merit points, and I have no idea on how long it will take me to get there because it's no longer under my control. Users need to like my posts, and since this forum is so big, chances are that most people will not even read them, because they will get "lost" or "buried" in some thread. It was this thought, that people might not even be reading my posts that made me calm down and understand that maybe this system it what we need after all.
I first joined this forum to participate in a betting competition. I then started learning about bitcoin and I decided to give campaigns a try. I mean, if there was a chance to win some coins while participating in this forum why not do it, right? This is probably where most of us get lost.
I wont lie, campaigns are important to me since they are the only way I have to hoard bitcoin with no risk, but it's easy to start adjusting our posts so that they meet a certain criteria: a certain number of posts a week, with a certain number of chars, in certain topics, etc. We don't even realize we are doing that.
Lets face it, so many people start doing that, that this becomes the norm, and it gets hard to do anything else. I read a topic, I see if I know something about it, I read a few posts from other users and then I make a post... job done. This is not entirely wrong since I was on topic, I read a few posts, I did some research so I learned something, and maybe I even helped the OP if he even read my reply, but there was no connection and no real conversation or discussion. Chances are, I will never visit that thread again or keep following that topic, and this is wrong.
I guess that this is why the new system will probably work. Users actually need to carefully read posts and try to engage in forum discussions right now, otherwise they will not be able to receive or give merit. You now need to try to be part of this community and really talk to other users, and this is a good thing.
Maybe I will rank to hero, or maybe I wont. It doesn't really matter anymore, and this is why I'm confidant that the system will work: If I'm not thinking about the ranks, then I can really focus on content.
This is my advice to other users that are in the same position as me:
- Don't try to exchange merit with others. This is not a coin.
- Don't give merit to others, hoping that they will give some to you as well.
- Basically stop thinking about getting merit, and start thinking about giving merit.
I think this last one is very important, because you can only give merit if you carefully read other users posts, and this is the only way to start a good discussion with other users. By doing this you will be using this forum as forum, and not as a way to get paid.
I will be giving my sMerit away, and I will create a thread in the service area and you can then leave links to topics or posts where you are trying to have real discussions.
I repeat: where you are trying to have real discussions. I will leave my topics of interest there, but you can of course try to suggest other things that you think I might like. If I like it, I will engage in the discussion.
I will edit this topic and put the link here as soon as I create the thread.
In the meanwhile feel free to share your thoughts about the new system, and how it changed the way you use this forum.
EDIT: Here is the thread for the service https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.29237739
I'm just learning about this new system myself, and I've decided to leave my thoughts about it.
At first I didn't like it at all, and I even got a bit angry about it. I would rank to Hero tomorrow, and now I need to earn 250 Merit points, and I have no idea on how long it will take me to get there because it's no longer under my control. Users need to like my posts, and since this forum is so big, chances are that most people will not even read them, because they will get "lost" or "buried" in some thread. It was this thought, that people might not even be reading my posts that made me calm down and understand that maybe this system it what we need after all.
I first joined this forum to participate in a betting competition. I then started learning about bitcoin and I decided to give campaigns a try. I mean, if there was a chance to win some coins while participating in this forum why not do it, right? This is probably where most of us get lost.
I wont lie, campaigns are important to me since they are the only way I have to hoard bitcoin with no risk, but it's easy to start adjusting our posts so that they meet a certain criteria: a certain number of posts a week, with a certain number of chars, in certain topics, etc. We don't even realize we are doing that.
Lets face it, so many people start doing that, that this becomes the norm, and it gets hard to do anything else. I read a topic, I see if I know something about it, I read a few posts from other users and then I make a post... job done. This is not entirely wrong since I was on topic, I read a few posts, I did some research so I learned something, and maybe I even helped the OP if he even read my reply, but there was no connection and no real conversation or discussion. Chances are, I will never visit that thread again or keep following that topic, and this is wrong.
I guess that this is why the new system will probably work. Users actually need to carefully read posts and try to engage in forum discussions right now, otherwise they will not be able to receive or give merit. You now need to try to be part of this community and really talk to other users, and this is a good thing.
Maybe I will rank to hero, or maybe I wont. It doesn't really matter anymore, and this is why I'm confidant that the system will work: If I'm not thinking about the ranks, then I can really focus on content.
This is my advice to other users that are in the same position as me:
- Don't try to exchange merit with others. This is not a coin.
- Don't give merit to others, hoping that they will give some to you as well.
- Basically stop thinking about getting merit, and start thinking about giving merit.
I think this last one is very important, because you can only give merit if you carefully read other users posts, and this is the only way to start a good discussion with other users. By doing this you will be using this forum as forum, and not as a way to get paid.
I will be giving my sMerit away, and I will create a thread in the service area and you can then leave links to topics or posts where you are trying to have real discussions.
I repeat: where you are trying to have real discussions. I will leave my topics of interest there, but you can of course try to suggest other things that you think I might like. If I like it, I will engage in the discussion.
I will edit this topic and put the link here as soon as I create the thread.
In the meanwhile feel free to share your thoughts about the new system, and how it changed the way you use this forum.
EDIT: Here is the thread for the service https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.29237739
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