A Few Suggestions

Hey

I've been a member on sythe for a little while, but I am an Administrator for another similar site for a different topic. I've noticed a few things that could be added, although everyone is great now, there is always room for improvement.

1. My first thought was to change the Apprentice rank. Leave the actual rank but change the name because Apprentice sounds like it should be the rank after Leecher.

2. This is the suggestion I feel would greatly reduce spam etc. on Sythe and gain different ranks the respect they deserve.

I think the ranking system should be based on something in coalition with post count. Spam (and comments like: Good guide) earn everyone post count whether the statement was made out of moral ambiguity or they really meant it. It is impossible to tell. Therefore it is my suggestion that the current ranking system stay in place, but the higher ranks (such as Guru, and Grandmaster) be only accessed by a combination of things.

These "things" I would leave up to you, but as an example: If this system were in place, and I were a mod: I might award the Guru rank to someone who has a good post count and has been with Sythe long enough to understand the rules. I would give this rank to people who are respectful, are generally positive and do not flame people's threads because they were bad, rather they offered constructive criticism and offered advice while highlighting what was good. I would give this rank to people who wrote guides that were clear, concise, and well written, if their guides helped people, had good comments from respected/high ranking players, and educated others.

Now if a user all of these qualities or many of them, plus a seemingly good and nice character, they deserve a special rank. I know this is a long argued argument, and I agree with most of the things Sythe's moderators and Admins have said. However, I think it prudent that people that have improved the community receive recognition for their efforts. This will also create an incentive to behave appropriately and will lessen spam, flaming, and bad conduct.

As far as the rewards go, I don't actually mean a "special" rank. More like a normal ranks that can only be earned by contributing and giving back rather than just posting things like, "well writed", "ur guide halpd me tyvm", "i didnt reilly like ur guide", and gaining rank for posting that in bulk. Obviously people who have rank now should not be demoted, that would be hugely unpopular, not to mention unfair.

I recognize that this would be a large project, and recognizing people's conduct would be another thing in a mod's duties, making things a tad busier. Overall, however, I think this would most user's conduct, lessen spam, and create incentives for good behavior.

Just as some examples of what I meant when I said rewards, I did not mean that these users rank should have them gain leverage over other users. Let's say one of the cooler rewards for an exemplary user would be to have their name in color. Or maybe they can have a under their name, or a special picture (like the one's that say "Administrator" or "5m+ Donator, etc.) saying something (like, Exemplary User etc.).

If this was to take place, I have made an example of how the ranks would look (if this is approved, please do not feel obliged to follow this, it is merely an example, an expression of what I think)

Leecher: 0-25

Apprentice: 25-50

Social Member: 50-150

Active Member: 150-250

Official Member: 250-400

Forum Addict: 400-600

Forum Master: 600+

Forum Guru: 200+ Posts, Exemplary Conduct, Respectful, No spam posts

Forum Grand Master: 500+ Posts, Exemplary Conduct, Respectful, No spam, Contributes Actively, Helpful, Well liked

Forum Lord: all of the Grand Master requirements, Respected, Contributes by offering helpful advice, Contributes by writing guides that are helpful (and in quality, not quantity)

Overlord: This would be the only "special" rank I would award. For the Overlord's, post count would be irrelevant. They would have to be well respected, helpful, liked, knowledgeable, have written guides that are VERY helpful and verified by the Sythe community (through many replies of consistent praise, only Active Members or higher's post would count as praise to avoid multi account praise). They would have to be respectful, well respected, and be active. Also they should always answer pm's etc. The Overlord would be a rank not given out often but about the same as making moderators . They would not be able to ban, lock, or give temporary bans, but they could move threads to the correct sections, verify, give minor infractions (1 point), and monitor sections. Overlords would like lesser-moderators, created to lessen a mods workload and to keep Sythe cleaner. This rank would be the same as a mod in the sense that Overlords could become ex-overlords if mods or admins ever decided. Overlords would have colored names, and be referred to in the same fashion as mods per section (a.k.a there would be RuneScape Overlords, Market Overlords, etc.).

Also all four of the behavioral ranks wouldn't be given out lightly. Select users would receive these ranks and the ranks could be taken away at any time. Also only very few people should get them to avoid an influx of low posting-good behavioral users.

Now those ranks are just examples I have thought up. The actual names are irrelevant to the system. But as I said, I believe this would lessen spam, promote behavior, and make the community a better place.

Please feel free to change my template in any way if you are interested; if this helps you or makes Sythe a better place in the future I was glad to be a part of it.



3. Staff-Verified guides should be the only guides allowed up. This would crush (for example, taken from the RuneScape 2 Guides sub-forum) "GLTICH make 100m 5mins!!!!111!" threads that really link to other sites etc. I think when a new thread is submitted on a guide or user-education sub-forum; when submit is pressed the guide should be sent to a mod (or if you like the ranking system devised above, maybe the Overlord rank) of the section whos sole job is to read, verify, and if the guide is both good and follows rules, then he can place it it the correct place. This eliminates repetitive topics being over-posted and eliminates spam threads. AS said above, a new mod (or Overlord ) should be appointed with the duty of thoroughly reading, reviewing, and verifying guides. If the guide is sub-par or needs work, this user should send the guide back to the writer with detailed advice for necessary improvements. This "verifier" should be someone who writes well for that section (for example the user "_____" writes guides in the Runescape 2 Guides section. Since many of his guides are good, if the mods or admins so decide, he might be a candidate for verifying others guides as his guides are excellent and he knows what makes a good guide good.) The Verified Guides sections should be removed, as the guides section will now be Verified Only.

4. Tying in with the post above, I think the "verifier" should also be able to give it a special rating next to the user rating. Kind of like an "editors" rating that cannot be changed. That way if spiteful users are rating the guide low because they do not like that writer, the "verifier's" rating will be there to show the true rating. This also eliminates users rating their own thread 5 stars.

5. I think the site's front page and background could be spiced up to make it a bit more aesthetically pleasing. But the cosmetics of the site is of course your choice.

6. The home page should be more of a home page and not just a list of all the sub-forums. Lessen the size, add some pictures, etc. The home page of a site makes new users and returning users more comely. Also a smart looking site is always nice and earns you more reputation.

7. This is a minor suggestion, but perhaps for each major thread make an "Article of the week". For example, I've been using RS2 guides as an example, so in that section you would have, at the top, "Featured Guide of the Week (or month). Perhaps for each category you could add a "User of the Week" or on the homepage etc.

That's all I can think of, otherwise I find the site awesome and most of its community equally cool. To admins and mods, you guys are doing a great job and from who I've talked to you seem to be intelligent and thoughtful.
I hope these help improve Sythe,

Antchak

Edit: The basic argument of Suggestion 2 in a nutshell is: Do you think people with good behavior and people who contribute to the community should be a low rank. A leecher could right 24 of the best guides in the world and still be a Leecher. Is this fair? That is the main question, do not comment on my ranking system etc. because that is just an example and I could think of several more, it has nothing to do with the point I'm making. Again, the argument is should good conduct and contributions affect ranking? Think before posting as I could be a Guru in a week by just posting "nice job" "good work" "wow nice man" etc. Is that fair to someone who has contributed and written great articles who is only a member?

 

No thanks. Sythe's system is fine as it is.

And a lot of the stuff your suggesting is on the Do not suggest list.

 

That was kind of half the point, people just posting aimlessly. Explain why you think that...

Response to "Sythe is Fine as it Is" : I also believe that Sythe's system is fine as it is. That is why this section of the forums is called suggestions and not demands.

The things I suggested were actually not from the DO NOT SUGGEST list, they were "loopholes" in it; and besides, that list is for people who post "pl0x give me special rank" and to stop spamming of that request. My suggestion does not request more ranks as the list says, it just gives some examples of how it might be updated or improved. I also did not ask for colored names for non-staff, the only time I mentioned that was for a make believe rank that would be staff; merely a lower ranking staff member to help mods out. I read the list beforehand; none of my suggestions directly violate or cross it.

 

Edited to explain.

 

Sythe is fine as it is, if you want to do all this stuff go and do it on your own website, its fine as it is. ^_^

 

1. I do have my own website and I have used some of these suggestions.

2. I ALSO AGREE SYTHE IS FINE AS IT IS READ THE POSTS. You seem to believe that I dislike the current system which is entirely untrue. I love the current system but everything can be improved. If this is denied, its no big deal for me as I like the system. If this is approved, I believe it will make Sythe even better. So either way I like the outcome.

 

" if denied "

This will be denied i promise you

And i understand what you saying in some ways.

 

Your probably right it will be denied but it is food for thought.

 

Ah screw it then I like the system to so whatever.

 

1. Apprentice means "still kind of new, but getting better". That doesn't need changed.

2. No.

3. I doubt the staff want to approve/disapprove large amounts of guides per day. If they are scams there will be replies that it is a scam, and the user will be banned.

4. I actually like this idea.

5. Try changing the theme? I like it as is.

7. The problem with "user of the week" is that there is not enough good users
for this, and members will get it repeatedly. Besides, whats the point of it besides a day of useless fame?

8. There really isn't eight, but I would like to point out I forgot 6. Oops!

 

whats wrong with "Official Member" name?

 

Similar connotation to Official Middlemen.

If something's not broken, the don't try to fix it.

 

sythe is fine the ay it is, if it wasnt it would have been changed. i sort of agree tho to change the actual name from apprentice to something else, but not all other names and post counts to get them. aprentice does seem abit low in rank lol. other then that i think its fine the way it is mate

 

I agree with a few things:

The ranking system should be tweeked, not just by someone spamming 30 times to be a member.

And yes, apprentice does sound like something after leacher