General FAQ

[WaeV 5,049]

Ranks and emblems always seemed exclusionary to me. Their only real purpose is to separate people into groups. They make perfect sense in organizations like the military, where you need to know who has the authority to make decisions on different matters. In a group this size, you don't need ranks to know that MMM is good at fixing computers - we just know it, you know?

As a "just for fun" thing, they're alright. But as long as you base the rank-giving on some sort of metric other than aesthetic, you're separating people. Soon new members coming in will think that the people with the shiniest emblems are the role models of the community, and at its most extreme you end up with an emblem-ocracy where ranks and prizes are valued more highly than just being chill.

We're small enough of a forum that this is probably moot, but I think emblems caused more problems than they solved at HaloMods. Also, ranks based on post count are more harmless than ones based on "merit". The ranks/emblems at ModHalo are pretty tame.

Now that that's off my chest... =P Aesthetically I'm not a fan either. They still seem too big and attention-grabbing.

Edited April 2, 2012 by WaeV

[Takka 13,376]

Ranks and emblems always seemed exclusionary to me. Their only real purpose is to separate people into groups. They make perfect sense in organizations like the military, where you need to know who has the authority to make decisions on different matters. In a group this size, you don't need ranks to know that MMM is good at fixing computers - we just know it, you know?

Hopefully we don't stay such a small size, that's the thing.

As a "just for fun" thing, they're alright. But as long as you base the rank-giving on some sort of metric other than aesthetic, you're separating people. Soon new members coming in will think that the people with the shiniest emblems are the role models of the community, and at its most extreme you end up with an emblem-ocracy where ranks and prizes are valued more highly than just being chill.

Would expect most members to be mature enough, and while that definitely isn't always the case, with our current community base they would figure it out soon enough, or leave. Not really the kind of members we would want around anyway.

I don't necessarily care one way or the other if the ranks are here or not. It helps a bit with activity, especially with new users, and we're lacking a lot. In its default configuration, the board already had a similar system visible in the same place, just not as prominent. As it was suggested to have some that stood out and were a bit more unique, similar to modhalo's, I eventually added these. If enough of you feel the same way I wont have a problem problem with taking it down.

[WaeV 5,049]

It helps a bit with activity, especially with new users

That's a good point I hadn't considered.

I actually really like the post-count ranks on ModHalo. ... (3 minutes rewriting various attempts at explaining things) /sigh Alright it's 5am here and I'm having trouble conveying exactly WHY I like ModHalo's post-count ranks, but for the sake of brevity lets say that it comes down to:

a) The ranks blend in really well - they feel like they belong with the skin

b) The sheer variety in ranks means that few people are the same rank, so categorization doesn't happen

c) They are original and pretty to look at, which makes them feel rewarding to have

d) The variation in design makes it harder to directly compare users. 3 stars is clearly better than 2 stars, but is an L-thingy with a star better or worse than a star with two chevrons? It's hard to tell without looking at the rank listing, but you don't lose the cool feeling of "upgrading", only the ability to quickly judge two users against each other.

Edited April 2, 2012 by WaeV

[Takka 13,376]

The purpose of these was to make sure they weren't so unique, for the opposite reason you're putting forward... If they were like modhalos, there wouldn't be a point to having them at all, it kills the purpose.

[Solaris 3,581]

I think having the ranks encourages users to post more. We can avoid the elitism and trolls by keeping people in check. I don't think we have so much of a forum "culture" but it's been more of a discussion board so far. Places like HaloMods are a prime example of elitism on the boards that is rampant with cancer. (hurr i've been here longer than u so im obv better than u lol)

I think if we're able to keep trolling and elitism to a minimum level it won't matter so much.

The best thing to do in a situation where people don't agree is just staying civil. It's hard, believe me (since I'm used to posting on 4chan and Modhalo, and I don't really want to bring 4chan cancer here)

Edited April 2, 2012 by iTails

[Aurodox 424]

If anyone knows, I am the best cancer killer Ever!!!! I've been doing it wayyyy longer than everyone else, so obvi I'm better than you. Just let me handle it. Cause I'm baws, and everyone else sucks. I have a lot of posts by the way!

[Luke 1,574]

We should have an rss feed for the front page.

[Takka 13,376]

mmm yeah we have a link to our RSS at the bottom of each page, I'll look into figuring out how to make them work. Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't know they were broken.

[Luke 1,574]

Wait, there was a link there? Where?

[Takka 13,376]

Bottom left of every page.

Google isn't giving me any useful information for setting up an automatic RSS feed, especially on IPBoard. It doesn't look like this will get set up unless anyone here knows anything about RSS feeds... =\