Most valuable members vs Top contributors

On the main forum page we have a list of the top contributers. What do our members think about having the capability to rate each thread response such as from 1 to 10. We could then see the top rated members determined by the forum. "No insult intended to our top contributors" but I would rather see a list of our most valuable members not people who comment on everything.

We already know pacomartin is the MVP here,
but I guess it would be nice to see who comes in second

Quote: only1choice

What do our members think about having the capability to rate each thread response such as from 1 to 10.

Unless a lot of replies get rated, it would be about as meaningless as the thread rating system currently in place.

Other forum software does have capabilities like that. This forum was designed and programmed from scratch, so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles the others have.

Plus, I think this forum was designed as a way to exchange information, not as a popularity contest.


On a side note, considering that this forum was written from scratch, I'm pleasantly shocked at how well it works. Thanks, JB!

Quote: DJTeddyBear

On a side note, considering that this forum was written from scratch, I'm pleasantly shocked at how well it works. Thanks, JB!

Thanks. It would work even better if we didn't have to share the database server, as that's the major bottleneck. Whenever you get a slow-loading page, or a timeout, it's because of the shared database server.

Quality vs quantity. Anyone can make a 2 word post. That's not quality. Habitually violating Forum Rule #9 is not quality. Posting the word "bump" is not quality but at least it's honest.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

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Plus, I think this forum was designed as a way to exchange information, not as a popularity contest.

Please forgive me, making this a popularity contest was the farthest thing from my mind. 1 BB mentioned recently (i could't find the thread) that we presently have 4,415 members, but only 2,629 active. Various reasons for this but I am sure many were chased away. If they were to receive some points for an honest question/thought maybe more members would be active. Maybe this idea was a pipe dream.

Quote: only1choice

Please forgive me, making this a popularity contest was the farthest thing from my mind. 1 BB mentioned recently (i could't find the thread) that we presently have 4,415 members, but only 2,629 active. Various reasons for this but I am sure many were chased away. If they were to receive some points for an honest question/thought maybe more members would be active. Maybe this idea was a pipe dream.

I think it's a good idea. Huffington Post has a similar set up - commenters have "fans," and you see both their post-count and fan-count when they comment.

Edit - at some point, they must've removed the post-count. Now you only see fan-count. Check the comments at www.pollster.com to see how this looks.

Once again....its all in the definitions.

Ken

I think that what you speak of is very hard to compute fairly. I'm an NHL fan, so I'll give you an analogy from that. If an AHL goalie comes up to the NHL team for one game and plays for 1 minute and allows no goals, they suddenly soar to the top of the standings for Goals Against Average as they show a 0.00 whereas a good NHL goalie might be around a 2.10. When looking at GAA on the NHL website, a user has to "filter out" these guys who see very little ice time to determine which guys truly are the best when it comes to GAA, and this can be rather annoying. If a new forum member comes in and asks one great question and five of us give them a 5 star rating, they will end up above someone like PacoMartin or WongBo who may end up with a 4.5 average rating. Just food for thought.

Quote: winmonkeyspit3

I think that what you speak of is very hard to compute fairly. I'm an NHL fan, so I'll give you an analogy from that. If an AHL goalie comes up to the NHL team for one game and plays for 1 minute and allows no goals, they suddenly soar to the top of the standings for Goals Against Average as they show a 0.00 whereas a good NHL goalie might be around a 2.10. When looking at GAA on the NHL website, a user has to "filter out" these guys who see very little ice time to determine which guys truly are the best when it comes to GAA, and this can be rather annoying. If a new forum member comes in and asks one great question and five of us give them a 5 star rating, they will end up above someone like PacoMartin or WongBo who may end up with a 4.5 average rating. Just food for thought.

I was thinking more about total points accumulated from the ratings so everyone starts fresh.

Are the....'2+2 will never equal 5' crew in on this as well?

Ken

Nah, if anyone gets judged by quality, I'm gonna loose for sure!

I don't think it will add any value. Anyone who spends time reading this forum will know quickly who has quality posts. Plus, the posters that I enjoy reading are probably not the posters that you enjoy reading.

Not to bad mouth pacomartin, but I'm generally not interested in his discussions, which are mainly to bring up news stories or to present fantastic charts. Many people enjoy the threads, just not me.

On the other hand, if teliot, miplet, MathExtremist, or CRMousseau post something, I'm almost certain to read it.

This site isn't intended to be the next FaceySpace or TweetyBook or whatever the latest social craze is, so many of the little things such as "Like" and "Poke" are intentionally not available here.

I've been on forums since '92 and believe me, anybody who posts
is a 'valuable' member. There are over 2600 members on WoV.
It gets about 200 unique visits a day from members. Out of those 200,
maybe 20 will make a post, usually less than 20.

Thats less than 1% of the total members that contribute anything,
let alone something of value. Do Nareed and I talk too much?
Probably. But we also keep things going, as do all the people who
post anything. There's nothing worse for a forum than to have
infrequent posters, people stop looking in and it eventually dies
off.

Quote: JB

This site isn't intended to be the next FaceySpace or TweetyBook or whatever the latest social craze is, so many of the little things such as "Like" and "Poke" are intentionally not available here.

JB, I wish to see more Recent Threads. Only has 11 now, may be increase the number to 15 or 20, or more.

Quote: JB

This site isn't intended to be the next FaceySpace or TweetyBook or whatever the latest social craze is, so many of the little things such as "Like" and "Poke" are intentionally not available here.

That was a quite a response. Just for your information, I do not get invoved with facebook, twitter or any of the other social crazes. In fact I still have a cell for talking and photos only. My intent was for the members to have a way to rate people who like to hear themselves talk. You have spoken, I have spoken I can live with your decision.

Quote: JB

This site isn't intended to be the next FaceySpace or TweetyBook or whatever the latest social craze is, so many of the little things such as "Like" and "Poke" are intentionally not available here.

Thank you. And please continue to keep the avatars out as well.

Quote: AZDuffman

Thank you. And please continue to keep the avatars out as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar

Well if you do anything make it gambling themed.

Like if a thread gets hate votes, a picture of cowboys playing poker with one guy standing hoisting his six gun saying, "This deck has too many Aces!" will appear over it.

Or whatever. I don't care.

Quote: UCivan

JB, I wish to see more Recent Threads. Only has 11 now, may be increase the number to 15 or 20, or more.

I've been thinking that's a good idea for a long time now.

Quote: only1choice

That was a quite a response. Just for your information, I do not get invoved with facebook, twitter or any of the other social crazes. In fact I still have a cell for talking and photos only. My intent was for the members to have a way to rate people who like to hear themselves talk. You have spoken, I have spoken I can live with your decision.

My comment wasn't intended to be snarky; I apologize if it read that way. I was just trying to point out why we don't have a lot of the "fluff" that most forums have.

Quote: JB

My comment wasn't intended to be snarky; I apologize if it read that way. I was just trying to point out why we don't have a lot of the "fluff" that most forums have.

I took it that way and I accept your apology. This is my second go around with this site, it can be very addicting. There are some tremendously inteligent members here in addition to some insightfull ones. I feel honored being able to contribute in any way. If I make a suggestion it is not to criticize it is to make this site that much stronger. I feel that i have been finally accepted because the first time around I received much negative vibes from some of the members. I know there is some groups that stick together but I'm just trying to fit in. The body is only as strong as its parts and I appreciate being part of it.
Since you got me started I can't stop. Regarding my sharing comps thread I get a lot of comps and I enjoy sharing with my friends and family. I don't look for anything in return. I was dissapointed in the overall lack of response to the thread. Maybe I'm naive but I thought if a member dropped me a pm saying he's coming up to the mohegan in a couple of weeks I'll bring him/her in the vip lounge for some free food/drinks. By the way I will be in Lake tahoe the last week of june, anyone around?

Quote: only1choice

Quote: AZDuffman

Thank you. And please continue to keep the avatars out as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar

That not the avatar we're talking about. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing)

For the record, I like avatars. I think they help to keep track of who is who, but I respect the Wiz' and JB's position on it.

Thank you for the correction.

Any attempts to quantify member value always turn out a lousy idea.
Seen lots of forums, at its best it's meaningless numbers no one cares about, at its worst everyone's trying too hard to be funny to score a point. This board would almost certainly be the former.
Post count is useful for telling the regulars from the passers-by, it's inaccurate to lump "yeps" in with page-long articles, but it serves a function.

On avatars: I find them useful, it's easier to parse threads, they're fine as long as they're not huge garish animations like they are on lame noob boards.

Quote: P90

Any attempts to quantify member value always turn out a lousy idea.

It can't work. Its like asking 200 people what their favorite
TV shows are. The results are specific and meaningless.

Quote: EvenBob

Do Nareed and I talk too much?
Probably. But we also keep things going, as do all the people who post anything.

One of you has entertaining opinionated comments I enjoy, and the other guy sloppily misspells every fourth word.

IMHO the least valuable members are the ones who take every opportunity to bash the sole sponsor of the site. Witch BTW is the only legit real money site left. As always YMMV.

Quote: Wavy70

IMHO the least valuable members are the ones who take every opportunity to bash the sole sponsor of the site. Witch BTW is the only legit real money site left. As always YMMV.

Hear! Hear!! ... Though remember,,,, this YMMV is not really true when its the SOLE site that is being bashed. Its a legit site. There are enough problems with fly by night sites in Somewhereistan, we don't need carping about the legit sites.

Quote: EvenBob

like asking 200 people what their favorite
TV shows are.

Mad Men
Justified
Big Bang Theory
America's Got Talent
Tosh.0

I like the board as is...the less stuff like avatars and lengthy signatures (you should look at the ones on cruise critic...some of those people take a whole page each time they post because we all need to know what cruise they went on back in 1990) the more readable the board is, in my opinion. I'd limit signatures or whatever the line below the post is, to one line or less if I was running the show BUT I am very happy to be a member here and to read and post here.

So I've been thinking a lot about this thread, and I voted nearly immediately to leave it the way it was. I then got to thinking about who contributes, and what they contribute to the forum. I came up with some groupings that I'll explain, and in parentheses, included people who I feel make the contributions in such a manner. Don't be offended if I leave you off, these are basically off the top of my head, and many people contribute in more than one way, and there's nothing wrong with that either. So in no particular order...

NOMADS- These are posters who travel to a lot of casinos, both in and out of Vegas. Postings tend to be more anecdotal, though they might be the best go-to people for up-to-date info on obscure casinos across the country. (rdw4potus, Doc, myself Tiltpoul, teddys and Mosca)

MATH GEEKS... I mean WIZARDS- These are posters who often can provide statistical data and answer many of the HE questions about games. They rely less on anecdotes and more on what the numbers say. Rely on them for accurate statistical information. (MustangSally, CrystalMath, MathExtremist)

CONTRARIANS- Despite what the issue is, these posters tend to take the other side of an issue. While not argumentative (all the time), they provide a different insight to what the trending opinion might be. Read their posts to gain a potentially new view. (EvenBob, buzzpaff, mrjjj)

THE "AP's"- These are the advantage players, usually in blackjack and sometimes Video Poker. These people are looking for the best promotions and rules, and are the go-to for the best and most favorable rules and counting scenes in the country. (1BB, ibeatyouraces, AceCrAAckers)

INSIDERS- This group include those who work for the casino industry. Their opinions are valuable to understand how the casino might think about a given issue. These also can include game developers, though it could be a subset. (PaigowDan, Face, Croupier, MonkeyMonkey)

ALL-PURPOSE POSTERS- These are the posters who can keep threads alive that might have grown stagnant. They don't fit into any one of the above categories, since often, they provide insight on a bunch of different issues. This list includes some of the most frequent posters (Nareed, pacomartin, DJTeddyBear, FleaStiff).

Again, the list of people who post is not inclusive; they just happen to be the ones I follow the most when I'm looking for a particular answer. Of course the Wizard and JB also offer a lot of insight, and there have been many contributions from other people I find valuable. These designations are just ways to view how people think.

CONTRARIANS- Despite what the issue is, these posters tend to take the other side of an issue. While not argumentative (all the time), they provide a different insight to what the trending opinion might be. Read their posts to gain a potentially new view. (EvenBob, buzzpaff, mrjjj)


Expressing my honest view should not be considered argumentative.

Quote: buzzpaff

Expressing my honest view should not be considered argumentative.

That is argumentative.

Quote: SOOPOO

That is argumentative.

.....and therein lies the problem (definitions), no its not argumentative BUT I have read quite a few past posts believing.....*BECAUSE* the view is not along party lines (lol), that must mean its argumentative. What a load of BS.

Ken

Quote: SOOPOO

That is argumentative.

Just admit that i am right, and there will be no argument.

Quote: mrjjj

.....and therein lies the problem (definitions), no its not argumentative BUT I have read quite a few past posts believing.....*BECAUSE* the view is not along party lines (lol), that must mean its argumentative. What a load of BS.

Ken

Ken- my comment was meant 'tongue in cheek'..... But to address your point, you are mostly correct. I wish there was a better word than argumentative...

I kind of agree that it's not necessary. And even if it was done, I'd still have my favorites. Guys I like to read and hear their stories, guys I marvel at, guys I love to argue with, those that drive me mad, etc and so on. A list on the front page wouldn't change that.

About the only thing I'd like changed (psst...JB) is moving the "Next Page" button that's at the bottom of the page. When trying to hit it on my phone, I often accidentally Flag Post since they're so close to each other. No biggie, just putting it out there.

I have no problem with self-opinionated. My opinions are mine and I am willing to share them in any non-confrontial way.
Quite offense people take offense simply because i ahve a different opinion.
Bit is that not the purpose of a forum ??

Quote: buzzpaff

I have no problem with self-opinionated. My opinions are mine and I am willing to share them in any non-confrontial way.
Quite offense people take offense simply because i ahve a different opinion.
Bit is that not the purpose of a forum ??

I love you Buzz!
Were you drunk when you wrote this?
confrontial?
Quite offense people?
ahve?
Bit is that?

You get my vote for Em Vee Pee.

His post was ghost-written by Nareed obv.

You accusing me of being insightful?
Whenever I post, I'm full of whatever well brand the bar uses, same as when I gamble.