Kudos Type System

[D1SxEyes]

Hey,

I'm surprised that this hasn't been suggested before (and so I suspect it has, and I just didn't get the right keywords in the search), but how hard would it be to add some sort of kudos system to the forum?

This way, whenever someone was happy with the response they received, they could award say 1 to 3 kudos points to the person that helped them. That person would then earn a position of slightly more respect on the fora. Then you could tell if someone who "knows a lot" is helping you out, and you could possibly trust them more when they tell you to do things that are potentially risky.

Obviously, there are many ways a system such as this could be abused (multiple accounts set up, etc), but as long as Kudos/Props rating was taken with a pinch of salt, I think it would be a useful tool. As was mentioned in another thread, having over 500 posts might mean that you're just very chatty.

D1SxEyes

[penguin.ch]

Re: Kudos Type System

<chat>
I'd rather suggest people would learn to close a topic (e.g. by adding "[Solved]" to the original headline), not least to help other people find potentially useful answers more quickly ...
</chat>

[D1SxEyes]

Re: Kudos Type System

I agree, but surely both would be helpful. That way, if you run into a problem that no-one else seems to have had before (or haven't posted about, etc.), you can judge how useful the level of help you're getting is, and decide NOT to type in "rm -rf /", because some n00b thought that was the command to reinstall grub.

Just a suggestion, but I think it works pretty well in some of the other fora I use.

D1SxEyes

[penguin.ch]

Re: Kudos Type System

Just a suggestion, but I think it works pretty well in some of the other fora I use.

Just to put that straight: I am far from being contrary to your original idea (!) - but as no. 10 on "babbler's hit list" I am definitely not qualified for giving a neutral opinion

[Open Source]

Re: Kudos Type System

That is a great suggestion. I will have to see what it would take to implement that.

[Open Source]

Re: Kudos Type System

I have added a kudos system. On the left side under the users name in the post is a link to applaud or smite a user. Let me know if this works well.

Thanks

[penguin.ch]

Re: Kudos Type System

I have added a kudos system.

I would prefer Give and Take [Kudos] (solely for the sake of clarification, especially on behalf of those not familiar with the underlying concept).

[Open Source]

Re: Kudos Type System

Good thinking. All fixed.

[D1SxEyes]

Re: Kudos Type System

Ace Looks pretty good. Fingers crossed then

D1SxEyes

[Fintan]

Re: Kudos Type System

I agree and also like the system. As an afterthought though it would be interesting if the person who takes away kudos, as someone is doing to me lately, would qualify the reason for so doing. I mean a lot of us are here to learn as well as help. So if I made a mistake in giving the wrong advice, for example, then I would like to know what that mistake was. I don't nescesairily want to know who is taking kudos, just why. This would make the system fair and educational.

Cheers
Fintan

[kubicle]

Re: Kudos Type System

I agree and also like the system. As an afterthought though it would be interesting if the person who takes away kudos, as someone is doing to me lately, would qualify the reason for so doing. I mean a lot of us are here to learn as well as help. So if I made a mistake in giving the wrong advice, for example, then I would like to know what that mistake was. I don't nescesairily want to know who is taking kudos, just why. This would make the system fair and educational.

Good point

Personally, although the kudos system is nice, I don't think the ability to take kudos (smite) really adds that much, it may even discourage people to offer opinions that may be disagreeable...it may also lead to 'smite wars' between users.

After all, helpful posts add to kudos, so one should be able to tell whether someone has offered helpful information before (even without the option to take away kudos).

Just my opinion though

[dibl]

Re: Kudos Type System

I like this kudos system, but it does raise an interesting philosophical question. Are kudos deserved for the mere offering of help, or only for the success of it in the hands of the recipient? I guess the answer is up to the helped (or not) individual, but it certainly would be counter-productive if it were used extensively to "punish" the offering of help that happens not to save someone's day, for some reason.

[Open Source]

Re: Kudos Type System

These are all valid points. As you all are probably aware, changing the system will require actually editing and adding to the code. This may take a while simply due to the fact that I am in school and am currently working on a couple large software projects. I will try to make changes to the system, or if someone else would like to offer their hand in helping to modify the code, it would be much appreciated. However, for the time being, the question is, do I leave the system enabled or disable it until I fix it?

[Fintan]

Re: Kudos Type System

Hi Zackman, well what should I say. I enjoyed the feedback from my enquiery today, and have always loved this forum.
As a webdisigner I could try and give a hand, altough my time is a bit restricted at the moment.
A guestion: This forum is probably in PHP, right? So it shouldn't be a problem to add a small popup or screen to the "take" link (that is all it is), just like you do with the profile pages or PM's, and have the person qualify why he/she is not satisfied. It is all database driven so you just have to make a template and have the user fill it.

I would not disable the system though. It is a good idea and gives a bit of confidence. I have seen a lot worse an othr forums and am happy with yours. As "dibl" said, it can become philosophical. It easier to take than to give. But when you take at least say why.

Cheers and if you wish I'll have a look and see if I can "give a hand"
fintan

[D1SxEyes]

Re: Kudos Type System

My initial idea wasn't that kudos would be the be all and end all of getting help. The idea was that if someone helps, or does something good for the fora (posting up a fix, and then changing the topic title to read "RESOLVED"), then they could be rewarded for it, and for example, trolls could be easily spotted.

It does require goodwill, it's true, and it is possible to abuse the system for personal reasons, but as a forum for helping, it's a shame we're not above that.

Yeah, kudos can be given at the discretion of the person giving it... of course, otherwise what's freedom? I personally would suggest only giving kudos to someone that has solved your problem, or obviously spent a while trying, even if they failed to help in the end. I would suggest taking kudos only for example, if someone starts multiple threads in several fora, or doesn't search, or through major error/malicious intent causes some kind of problem on your system.

An explanation feature would be handy, but still, you could type lies into it, and it makes the whole thing pointless.

Regarding the useful posts point: it's true, you can see who has been helpful in the past, if you do a background check on everyone that tries to help you. Kudos just brings that information to the user almost immediately.

I would leave the system, but then, as the person who suggested it, you could probably have predicted that P

D1SxEyes