what do the "Forum points" represent and how are they calculated
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Sorry, but they don't represent anything, and this is not a topic for discussion. I expect it to be deleted shortly.
i do not understand what you mean by "not a topic for discussion" and why would it be deleted. and why do the exist if they do not mean any thing
Bill_R posted:i do not understand what you mean by "not a topic for discussion" and why would it be deleted. and why do the exist if they do not mean any thing
The topic has been beaten to death in the past, that's why this will most likely be deleted.
The points are part of the forum software and if I remember correctly, there's no way to disable them.
Bill_R posted:i do not understand what you mean by "not a topic for discussion" and why would it be deleted. and why do the exist if they do not mean any thing
Because it is a secret internal thing at Hoop.La, and doesn't/shouldn't mean ANYTHING to those of us participating on the OGR Forum.
Not long ago, there were rankings on here showing who had been on the most to the least. I'm not certain why that stopped. Rich Melvin and his associates are highly intelligent people. There was a good reason to them obviously. However, I miss the rankings.
I believe the points are assigned according to interaction, and I have absolutely no clue of the how.
Elliott's remark had to do with the "sensitivity" of the issue regarding these former rankings and point system? Don't ask me why, because again I have no idea.
The hottest topic with the most sensitivity issues is the "FOR SALE" forum...oh Lord don't ask and get everyone fired up! Rich and his crew will probably experience flashbacks for years to come! :-)
The rankings and points had to do with the number of posts and reply's made by an individual. It seemed there were some out there in forumland that were more concerned about their "status" rather (Like: Hey, I just made "Engineer," or I just made "Trainmaster," etc.) than actual quality content postings.
Outside of perceived status, points and rankings were meaningless.
Rusty
John C. posted:Not long ago, there were rankings on here showing who had been on the most to the least. I'm not certain why that stopped. Rich Melvin and his associates are highly intelligent people. There was a good reason to them obviously. However, I miss the rankings.
I believe the points are assigned according to interaction, and I have absolutely no clue of the how.
Elliott's remark had to do with the "sensitivity" of the issue regarding these former rankings and point system? Don't ask me why, because again I have no idea.
The hottest topic with the most sensitivity issues is the "FOR SALE" forum...oh Lord don't ask and get everyone fired up! Rich and his crew will probably experience flashbacks for years to come! :-)
John C
Thank you for your response. I was just curious and i am satisfied with your explanation. Mr Big Boy 4005 seemed a little hostel and i apologize if i hurt his feelings. i was not attacking any ones self worth. Just asking a question.
thanks again
cta4391 posted:Bill_R posted:i do not understand what you mean by "not a topic for discussion" and why would it be deleted. and why do the exist if they do not mean any thing
The topic has been beaten to death in the past, that's why this will most likely be deleted.
The points are part of the forum software and if I remember correctly, there's no way to disable them.
There are many forum members who are new. Perhaps they do not understand an issue's history. As a result, this is a legitimate question.
We see this behavior on the OGR forum constantly. Why do people think it is acceptable to disrespect or dismiss others just because they believe a certain question was answered within some obscure thread seven years ago? For you complainers: You once had this same question too. Move on if you don't have the respect to indulge others questions, in the same manner that those in the past honored you. You are not being forced to read anything.
And in response to Bill_R's post: Topics are deleted because unfortunately, moderators seem to get trapped into repeatedly indulging a small minority of perpetually offended, "cry to mommy" snowflakes - folks who would revert to sucking a pacifier if OGR ever disabled the "report" button 
Bill_R posted:John C. posted:Not long ago, there were rankings on here showing who had been on the most to the least. I'm not certain why that stopped. Rich Melvin and his associates are highly intelligent people. There was a good reason to them obviously. However, I miss the rankings.
I believe the points are assigned according to interaction, and I have absolutely no clue of the how.
Elliott's remark had to do with the "sensitivity" of the issue regarding these former rankings and point system? Don't ask me why, because again I have no idea.
The hottest topic with the most sensitivity issues is the "FOR SALE" forum...oh Lord don't ask and get everyone fired up! Rich and his crew will probably experience flashbacks for years to come! :-)
John C
Thank you for your response. I was just curious and i am satisfied with your explanation. Mr Big Boy 4005 seemed a little hostel and i apologize if i hurt his feelings. i was not attacking any ones self worth. Just asking a question.
thanks again
Elliott was trying to be helpful, not hostile. He has an AWESOME layout!!! Check out his videos. :-) He was just trying to explain in a few words...no way a newer person could have known!
When I was a new-be, someone REALLY did jump down my neck for a post in the "for sale" forum. I screwed something up. I would have appreciated it if that person would have explained my error to me (I didn't read the rules, who does? :-)) instead of coming across so terse.
Having said that, Elliott has been on here a long while and I could see how his helpful response may be misinterpreted. He was just trying to help man! :-)
If I would have been in your boots, and I have been, I would have asked the same questions you did. Fortunately, I wasn't the victim this time! :-)
Peace brother! Merry Christmas.
Elliot -are getting rough with new forumites again? Next I will have to put you in the same hot box as Hot Water.
Just to clarify - the point system was supposed to shed light on who was a higher contributor to the forum... the more post and replies, the more points... but then people starting replying and posting jibberish just to see their points escalate to reach an higher level even though they were not contributing anything to the forum... so it was killed.
I still use it when purchasing items from people on the For Sale forum... just to make sure they did not join yesterday and posted items are legit.
J Daddy posted:Elliot -are getting rough with new forumites again? Next I will have to put you in the same hot box as Hot Water.
Just to clarify - the point system was supposed to shed light on who was a higher contributor to the forum... the more post and replies, the more points... but then people starting replying and posting jibberish just to see their points escalate to reach an higher level even though they were not contributing anything to the forum... so it was killed.
I still use it when purchasing items from people on the For Sale forum... just to make sure they did not join yesterday and posted items are legit.
That is a good idea. It would lso be good when purchasing a item to make sure that person has been a member for a while.
All Is Good.
For the record Bill, I wasn't trying to be mean with my original comment. I was actually getting ready to leave the house to go shopping, so I was in a bit of a hurry. That's why the first word was "sorry". It was apologetic not sarcastic.
Thanks to all my friends who took the time to spell it out.
I'm still surprised this topic hasn't been deleted by now.
Big_Boy_4005 posted:For the record Bill, I wasn't trying to be mean with my original comment. I was actually getting ready to leave the house to go shopping, so I was in a bit of a hurry. That's why the first word was "sorry". It was apologetic not sarcastic.
Thanks to all my friends who took the time to spell it out.
I only hope that you were out buying my gift Elliott!
Big_Boy_4005 posted:For the record Bill, I wasn't trying to be mean with my original comment. I was actually getting ready to leave the house to go shopping, so I was in a bit of a hurry. That's why the first word was "sorry". It was apologetic not sarcastic.
Thanks to all my friends who took the time to spell it out.
Elliot
Thank you for your clarification and i do appreciate it. I had no idea that this was such a sensitive subject as you can see by my low points (laugh out loud) i am relatively new. sometimes it is difficult to interpret true emotions in a written response. No hard feeling and i am looking forward to checking out your layout video(s) as was suggested.
Merry Christmas
You sure touched the 3rd rail there with that question! 
The "Activity Points" feature in this forum is something I cannot shut off. I wish I could.
The reason this is such a hot button subject here is because in the past we had a few members who tried to "game the system." For whatever reason they considered these points very important to them and made a lot of unnecessary posts, just to gain points. Most of this activity has stopped now, but for a while it was a big deal.
The points are calculated via an algorithm known only to Hoopla!
Bill R. Directly from the Horse's mouth above....that is Rich Melvin--one of THE OWNERS OF OGR.
At a minimum you get 2 points just for joining, and you can get points (I'm pretty sure 1 point, via experimentation) just for "liking" a post or topic. Other variations on activity seem to carry higher points (new topic, response to topic(4 points based on my change in total with this reply), possibly more for pics/video included, etc)
There is one member with a "like" habit that has over 29,000 points without ever posting a single new topic or even a comment in a thread!
As has been stated, all of this is meaningless except for the number that results.
-Dave
We also had at least one person who quit from lack of likes and followers. They got a lot, but expected hundreds of both somehow.
They went back to Facebook to satisfy that need for a more dramatic number that proved those folks were really more interested in thier trains. 
I will never understand why some folks fixate on this stuff....points and such. Oh well I guess everything is a popularity contest to some. Excuse me I have to go check my points now....
Thats a shame..........I thought I might win a prize with the points. Oh well 
Mr. Forum administrator
I am the originator of this thread. My question has been answered and I am satisfied. this thread is no longer needed, please delete on my behalf.
thank you
