[wp-forums] Titles/Promotions/Labels

Scott Merrill skippy at skippy.net
Mon Jul 11 13:06:43 GMT 2005


Podz wrote:
> Scott Merrill wrote:
> 
>> Again, my preference is that the default "Member" title be removed.  I
>> think it's silly to list "member" status on a forum that does not
>> permit anonymous posting.
>>
>> Then, users who satisfy whatever criteria is established can get
>> whatever title(s) we decided upon.
> 
> 
> This would be a core decision though, and if people didn't have 'Member'
> there, what would they have ? It's a link to their profile too.

One possibility would be to replace the direct link to their website
from their name; so that the user name links to the member profile, and
from there you can jump to the user's site.

I don't know how often you folks rely on one-click jumps from name to
site, though.

>> Not everyone is a volunteer.  The person who asks questions without
>> contributing back is not volunteering.  Only those who take the time
>> to help answer questions are volunteers.
>>
> 
> True and for this reason alone, plugin developers get zero special
> treatment. Plugin development, a presence on #wordpress and even
> submitting patches are all good things, but a forum presence is
> something else.

I support this 100%.  And in the same vein, I guess it's fair to say
that titles should be constrained solely to support forum activities.
Codex documentation volunteers get recognition elsewhere.  Scrap my
previous suggestion for a "Documentor" title.

>> Although it will be nearly impossible to articulate successfully, I
>> would very much like to also require some measure of "decorum": it's
>> insufficient to just give the right answer.  One must be demonstrably
>> supportive (within measure) when providing answers, instead of just
>> spitting out correct facts without context.
>> (Yes, I've changed my mind a bit on the practice of merely dropping
>> links to the Codex; thanks largely to this list.)
> 
> 
> I agree (even though I do fail here sometimes)

We're all human beings, and we're all going to have bad days.  These are
clearly the exception, and not the rule, when reading your posts, Podz.
 The same cannot be said for all forum respondents, though.  Some folks
may be gruff or taciturn by nature, but they can still make an effort to
be supportive and encouraging to new users on a regular basis.

And totally off-topic: I'd like to extend a hearty 'Thank you!' for the
efforts put forth by a few people I've seen answering more and more
support questions.  The number of regular respondents is increasing, and
that's very much a Good Thing(tm)!

-- 
skippy at skippy.net | http://skippy.net/

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