[wp-forums] Titles/Promotions/Labels

[Podz]

Lorelle VanFossen wrote:
> Here is a summary of what has been discussed about titles or labels 
> within the WordPress Support Forum.
<<snipped>>

> 4) Has no other significance like the other words. It just means "giver" 
> and "contributor", synonyms I like.

And 'Maven' means only what you read into it. When Matt chose that word 
and I saw it - someone actually emailed me after I had been posting as I 
never look at that column - I had to go to dictionary.com to see what it 
meant. And then I said "Shiiiiiiiiit" as the implications sank in.
Anyway ...

> Instead of a "topic resolved" flag on threads, perhaps a ratings system 
> for replies would work. Individual replies could be flagged (once by 
> each member) through a few enums, say 'did not help', 'helped somewhat', 
> 'helped' and 'helped 100%!'. Perhaps drop 'unrelated' into the mix, and 
> stick on a default 'no rating'. From there "votes" are tallied and 
> displayed next to the reply. It'd require an admin override to protect 
> from goofs, personal vendettas and the like, but would allow *everyone* 
> to decide what (and indirectly, who) should be recognized.

I think this makes it phenomenaly complex. It can also be gamed. And 
we'd either need someone to code to grab the results or a secretary to 
gather them.

Let's get back to WHY this came up - recognition for work done.
WHO is asking for this ? Names ? Not "everyone" or "we feel" - if this 
was a full-on meeting I'd ask people to stand up. There are 25,000 forum 
members. From what % is this issue arising ?

Someone posts to the forums and asks for rewrite rule advice. There are 
experts in #wordpress who MIGHT pop in and answer it. Their advice is 
like gold dust - but it's rarely needed. Do we honour them with a title 
? Why or why not ? I'll catch you on both answers.

"Volunteer" is a bad title because every single person who has taken the 
time to answer every just one question is still a Volunteer. Or we have 
some volunteers that are better than other volunteers ?
And with titles is also the business of emailing someone and asking if 
they would like that title conferred. As Kaf points out, he would 
decline. So then we have the mini-politicking where people could claim 
they "would have said yes but....." or that they consider themselves 
better than so-and-so because they have a label and the other person 
does not. Petty and ugly.

Have the forums done a decent enough job - yes. Are we the only source 
of WP help on the net - far from it. Do other forums have their own 
systems of promotion ? Yes - and I watch people game themselves upwards 
in rank (really, I do).

In the end, is this something totally positive we can bring to WP ?
No.
The system - like Communism [1] - may work on a mailing list between 
like-minded adults, but once it is released and subject to the vagaries 
of the people (we have all seen how simple threads turn into very heated 
debates) in the forums and just as importantly in blogs ("WordPress sux 
cos they wont make me a Mod" type crap) then we have turned the primary 
focus away from support and onto people. That is not something that 
contributes to WP - and VERY importantly, the forums have played a large 
role in the growth of WP. People have come to the forums and judged the 
community not just on support that is offered but also the way that we 
act as a community. Do we honestly want to jeopardise that ? I do not.

When this debate started I lent toward recognition but did not know the 
mechanics of how to do it. I can see - from discussions here, + life 
experience + a lot of thinking - that there is no mechanism which can 
possibly satisfy the requirements.
Scenario 1: Implement it then withdraw it after things get messy.
Scenario 2: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I'll take 2.

P.

(And if people really are bothered about the 'Maven' title - change it. 
it would not bother me if it was "cleaner of tags", "post fixer", 
"secretary" or any other description that fits what I do for 99% of the 
time. I don't get hooked up on labels.)

[1] - Gratuitous reference :)