That is exactly the sort of question we're chasing - thanks Lumpy
. Also had a PM from a valuable member who was worried that someone might be able to "buy" credibility. I'll address both these issues somewhere below
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Fairness, Feedback and Fun - Quality[/center]
I've been thinking on and off about this system for years. It's been quite a mental challenge to conceptualise but that is done now. The only remaining problem is to automate (code) as much of it as possible. Here's a few notes though that might help explain what we're aiming at; they are not in any order and it's not an exhaustive list as there is a lot more to BIPs than the below...
Fairness
There are members here that constantly give and ask for nothing in return. That has always worried me. Yes, I know that it is their enthusiasm that drives them however it is unfair, in my view, that they get no recognition or reward. Having a system that, whether a member wants it or not, gives recognition/reward, sits comfortably with me.
Also, those members who contribute the most (participation, expertise or financially), should be given more weight. For example, if a guest 'liked' a post, then their 'vote', should be given far less weight than a Gold member. This also helps with ensuring quality, the thing we are really all about.
Feedback
Many times, someone will write a helpful or even brilliant post but acknowledging that well, in a post, can be daunting and, even, take things off-topic. Having a simple system where people can give feedback on a post without having to do an actual post ensures that the poster is not left hanging.
Fun
Whilst the above is serious, brewing, and this site, should also be dynamic and fun. So, we need some fun in this system. Before I get to this though, let's have a look at...
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Differentiation, Controls, Interest Rate and Quality[/center]
[left]As mentioned above, the BIPs system is not something we've suddenly made up; like many other things we've seen here or will see on the new site, it has taken years in the making; you won't find it anywhere else.[/left]
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Differentiation: Every single member of the site can make themselves valuable. Members who like reading here can donate dollars (we need that!), sociable members can encourage/recognise others or point them in the right direction, experienced brewers can write quality answers and, professionals can offer their expertise.[/left]
[left]Giving out BIP's for a lot of the above can be automated. Other things will be dealt with one on one. Regarding the former, let's take a quick look at...[/left]
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Controls / Trolls [/left]
[left]I won't go into this in detail however, this site, to date, has an excellent culture. The day we lose that culture is the day it has no value, so, given we'll be opening the site up to a wider group (more on that later), it's important that controls are in place.[/left]
[left]A small example of a control is, say if BIPs were awarded for giving a 'thumbs up' to a post, there will be controls in place for someone who does that without reason. I don't want to expand on that as it has cost a lot of time and thought coming up with such controls. To put it simply though, giving a thumbs up without a valid reason would result in negative BIPs.[/left]
[left]One other example of a control is if a member constantly posted low-quality comments. Instead of being rewarded for posting, they would receive a penalty. In other words, those who try to cheat the goodwill of the system will not get very far.[/left]
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Interest Rate[/left]
[left]Another area in which I won't go into in detail, however, as an extreme example: Imagine someone registers randomly on this site, scores BIPs for doing so but never logs in again. Obviously, after a month or so, they should be given the same "weight" as a guest.[/left]
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Quality[/left]
[left]At the beginning of this post I mentioned a member being worried about being able to "buy" credibility. The answer to that is Yes and No but, in reality it is a No.[/left]
[left]Yes, you can spend money to buy BIPs. You can contribute socially and in many other ways and that will also earn you BIPs. And, it will earn you integrity and credibility for sure. However...[/left]
[left]Just because someone has a trillion BIPs, it does not necessarily mean they are an experienced brewer. The way that BIPs will be displayed will enable members to see how many BIPs have been earned by a fellow member purely from their brewing advice. This does not mean to diminish BIPs earned in other ways, it's just a nice way of, when you are looking for brewing info, finding the right advice.[/left]
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Fun/Reward [/center]
In the next 24/48 hours, I'll post some pics of how different members BIPs would appear but, one big worry for us is that members might take BIPs too seriously which would defeat the point of them. (And, it is going to cost a lot of time/money to program most of it so, don't hold your breath - we'll be doing everything by hand for a while.)
...
I think I'll have to cut myself off here now as I'm running behind now on some other things. There's probably enough above anyway to digest for now. Let me get the other things sorted and then I'll come back here with the pics and the 'Fun/Reward' side of things.
Pat
P.S. Have run out of time to check grammar, spelling etc above - hope it reads okay.