Suggestion List of members with the most positive comments

[pauldw]

It seems like looking at the ratio of good reaction scores to total posts (and screening out people with only a few posts since there wouldn’t be much statistical relevance in those cases) would create a decent metric showing how helpful any given member’s posts were seen by the community. Of course, one can just look at any given person’s two numbers and calculate it. But that’s a person by person thing. It might be interesting to have a list somewhere on the site listing perhaps the hundred most positive ratios, as that might make it easy to go through those people’s posts and see interesting things we might’ve missed. On the other hand, if such a list would just create bad feelings, it might not be worth it.

 

[Akimbo]

Here's a quick pass about how I would design this.

We can make suggestions to xenForo using the same Suggestion thread type as this one. The trick is turning your description into a formula that the xenForo gurus understand. Let's say we can define groups of forums — Basic and Advanced or Technical and Rebreathers for example. Call that ForumGroup1.

Now what?

A nomination would have to come from a member.

Does a nomination get reviewed or is it a new thread that says this member is...?

The challenge with that goal is that there are a lot of folks here that just like each other, are friends and so they just like each others posts.

Is the disqualifying? If I respect a member, maybe I should look closer at the members they think highly of?

Let's say someone I don't think much of writes a thread praising another member. I have the option to look at it an explore more or skip over the thread. No harm no foul.

 

[Wibble]

It seems like looking at the ratio of good reaction scores to total posts (and screening out people with only a few posts since there wouldn’t be much statistical relevance in those cases) would create a decent metric showing how helpful any given member’s posts were seen by the community. Of course, one can just look at any given person’s two numbers and calculate it. But that’s a person by person thing. It might be interesting to have a list somewhere on the site listing perhaps the hundred most positive ratios, as that might make it easy to go through those people’s posts and see interesting things we might’ve missed. On the other hand, if such a list would just create bad feelings, it might not be worth it.

And the unforeseen consequences are... Chasing likes.

Likes do not equate to useful content. They're as much related to witty banter or quips as they are to pertinent discussion points.

Race to the bottom.

 

[Akimbo]

And the unforeseen consequences are... Chasing likes.

Serious question. Is that so bad if the net effect is to make posts more helpful, and therefore "likeable"? Isn't it better to delete a draft of a post that doesn't have enough content value to be appreciated?

One of the things I appreciate about the new Reactions is some of the thanks, good idea, exactly right, and funny/haha reactions don't require posts that everyone has to see in their New Posts views.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I used to own, admin and moderate a Harley Davidson discussion forum.... and it was actually a lot less li tolerant then this site. We had to basically outlaw anything Political or Religious.... We even tried a "Private" room similar to the Hub but folks were literally threatening lives and and "meet and shoots" and we just could not be a platform for that. My point is that I personally feel that the Mods here do a great job keeping some "balance" while still allowing folks to tussle a bit.

To get back on topic.... We used the VBulletin software and never implemented a "like" option. If you liked a post then you just responded to it and said so. On the subject of Post Counts, it literally became a "race" for some members.. I actually could see in the control panel that some folks would rack up hundreds of post counts in matter of hours simply by going years back to the beginning of the "New Members" and typing "Welcome" on every thread...

If we had some sort of "prize" or recognition/ confirmation of expertise that was solely based on post to "Like" ratio's..... then I'm sure some of these guys would have even gone so far as to open up another account user name using a VPN....and then "Liked" every one of their own posts. It's bit strange to me that some folks can get so hung up on stats..... but to each their own..

I think anyone that spends real time here fairly quickly gets a general idea of who provides material value. I have 10 or 15 folks in my memory bank that I always take interest in hearing and even though I don't know them, I've come to trust and value their opinions... The weird thing is that there are couple of guys and gals here that I really like and trust.....even though they themselves fight like cats and dogs and clearly dislike each other..

Anyway.... when it comes to stats, I stand by my tag line...

Qualified trumps certified every day of the week.

 

[scubadada]

Serious question. Is that so bad if the net effect is to make posts more helpful, and therefore "likeable"? Isn't it better to delete a draft of a post that doesn't have enough content value to be appreciated?

One of the things I appreciate about the new Reactions is some of the thanks, good idea, exactly right, and funny/haha reactions don't require posts that everyone has to see in their New Posts views.

I don't think most use the other icons and just check like. I would not use the different icons to differentiate between responses The like feature has not been available forever, when did it start? No reason to penalize older users before it was implemented. The like feature has been abused for a long time and is not a good indicator of value. Go back and look at the old Florida Lionfish threads and the Knights of Heidi. Perhaps users could a nominate a useful poster and the threshold for inclusion could be 5 or more nominations, whatever. I don't think the like/post ratio is a good indicator or value of posts, especially with all the Pub crap.

 

[tursiops]

I don't think the like/post ratio is a good indicator or value of posts, especially with all the Pub crap.

I thought it was already a given to ignore the Pub.

 

[rhwestfall]

Why cant we use our own grey matter on our own to consider the value of a post. Read, digest, maybe even have to research it, or god forbid, ask for a clarification.... This is why it is a forum and not a electronic encyclopedia. Learn to separate the wheat from the chaff, it is called learning. Why have to be spoon fed? I see no reason for this expanded scope.

 

[Akimbo]

Perhaps users could a nominate a useful poster and the threshold for inclusion could be 5 or more, whatever, nominations.

I'm just thinking of how to administer something like this. Given the low activity in the ScubaBoard Knowledge Base and Member's Picks forums, this may be a bar that nobody can jump.

Now assume that the above concern is resolved and we have a bunch of nominated members that survive the gauntlet. What would the end product look like that members can see? A report of some kind or a forum with threads for each nominated member?

I thought it was already a given to ignore the Pub.

I think that is true, but that is not an obtainable value at the moment or maybe ever. There is also substantial skepticism of using Reaction scores at all.

First you have to decide what you are trying to do with this.

Agreed. Let's assume for discussion sake that the current constraints with excluding Reactions from non-diving forums and the skepticism of the value of Reactions are resolved. What is the best way to display the results?

• A usefulness score below their Avatar? The old Trophy points system was an attempt at something like an overall score for members but it proved pretty useless.
• A forum with threads that describes that member's area of expertise and links to favorite posts followed by replies from other members?
• A report format something like on the Members tab?

Why cant we use our own grey matter on our own to consider the value of a post. Read, digest, maybe even have to research it, or god forbid, ask for a clarification....

That's a reasonable question. These stats are part of the answer. There can be a lot of posts to sort through to find useful information, especially if you are new to diving or a particular specialty.

 

[lermontov]

How do you envision a nomination process?

Conceptually I'm fine with a thread of one member's opinion with links to posts that illustrate their conclusion. I think it would be very interesting to see a thread like this from a new member/long time lurker.

Only about 20% of the people reading ScubaBoard are members. Saying we don't care about lurkers/"Guests" is like saying we don't care about getting more members since that is where new members come from.

I think we have already have the ingredients to make this work without making it over complicated and subjective - we can already follow or ignore a poster and apply whatever information theyre offering. One suggestion to 'add on' to that is to create a 'favourite' click so we can create our own library and maybe make this favourite post list accessible for others to read if we choose. The original post could have a number count of saved by others to give it a 'weight'

Seems to me that there are groups or categories of posts that will received more clicks than others depending on where you are at as a diver/person. I enjoy reading about personal accounts of divers overcoming problems as much as experienced divers insights on gas planning and dive methodology. I tend to click these more because its of interest/helpful to me.

I hardly ever visit the DIR forums - Id struggle to like a post that discusses the correct knot to tie on a stage etc, A like or "endorsement" post is subjective to group think - so numbers of "endorsement" clicks are not necessarily an accurate assessment.

 

[Akimbo]

I think we have already have the ingredients to make this work without making it over complicated and subjective - we can already follow or ignore a poster and apply whatever information theyre offering.

FYI: Others can see who you follow and who follows you, but can't see who you ignore. You can also see a summary of the activity of members you follow with your News feed:

FAQ - Why Follow Members & Your News Feed

Why Follow Members & Your News Feed Spend enough time on ScubaBoard and you will find members that are especially interesting. You can quickly see their recent posts and their reactions to other posts by adding them to your members you "Follow" list. Then go to Your Account menu and click...

scubaboard.com

One suggestion to 'add on' to that is to create a 'favourite' click so we can create our own library and maybe make this favourite post list accessible for others to read if we choose.

There is a new Bookmark list for posts but it can't be shared at the moment:

FAQ - ScubaBoard Bookmarks

ScubaBoard Bookmarks ScubaBoard Bookmarks let you save links to posts that you would like to find again. Begin by clicking the Bookmark icon at the top-right of every post. This menu will display. This image illustrates what the optional Message and Label fields: Thanks to @madamimadam...

scubaboard.com