Lemmings icons / rank below usernames

[namida]

This is another thing like karma that's been debated somewhat. I doubt the result will be as unanimous as karma, but we'll see.

Should we keep the lemming icons (and "title") below usernames in posts?

This poll will run for 7 days (though I might close it off sooner if there seems to be a general agreement or no more votes coming in), at which point if one option has a clear majority I'll go with it, if two options are far more favored than the third I'll do a poll just between those two, and if it's roughly even then I will destroy the entire world in a sea of nuclear fire probably leave things as they are.


EDIT: Just to clarify, "Moderator" / "Administrator" titles below usernames will remain there no matter what. This is just about the lemming icons and the "Fun" / "Tricky" / etc texts.

[geoo]

Those lemmings, I have no clue what point they are supposed to serve. They contain no information whatsoever. At best they reflect the rank (Fun/Tricky/.../Mod/Admin), but for that they are redundant because, well, the label is there too. So to me they are just useless clutter. Really the post count tells everything that these lemmings tell...

I'd be happy for the rank to be scrapped too, though I think some people like chasing those spamming ranks. Mod/Admin rank should definitely remain though so new people immediately see what's going on.

[namida]

^ Good point about having the distinction. I've modified the poll (and as such, reset the votes, sorry to the two people who'd already voted) to include a "Keep the labels but not the icons" option.

Yes, the "Moderator" / "Administrator" texts will stay no matter what.

[NaOH]

I don't particularly see the point of the ranking system, since post count tells everything. But I think the users with the large number of posts should probably be the ones to decide whether the feature stays or goes, since there may be some incentive for users with lower posts to want the feature removed to inflate their image.

My two bits: I like the post count, it gives new users a sense of who is a large contributor and what the size of the forum is. But the ranking distinctions are kind of arbitrary.

[namida]

If the poll isn't too clear I may decide based on feedback in posts, and that's where the more-active users (not nessecerially those with more posts total, but those who are regularly active recently - the opinion of someone who's active these days and has 200 posts will matter more than someone who has 5000 posts but only 1 of them was in the last year, to give an extreme example) will have their opinion considered more strongly.

[NaOH]

Out of curiosity, what are the ranking levels?

[geoo]

Out of curiosity, what are the ranking levels?

http://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=1965.0

Check namida's post. Akseli's post contains the numbers from the old forum. I think some people (don't remember the criteria) are allowed  to set their own custom rank.

[Clam]

I think it's useful to have a graphical representation of a user's rank, in terms of both posts and mod status. It's easier than reading the postcount and title. As mentioned, this is more for the benefit of newbies - the regulars basically know where everyone stands.

That said, the lemmings are too big presently - I find them distracting when reading posts. So maybe they could be shrunk to half size, like we did with the clam and frog smileys . And can we put away the Christmas lemmings until December rolls back around?

Post-count isn't necessarily the best measure of a user's standing of course, but I suspect this place is less spammy than other forums . I think the most useful distinction is between total newbies (eg. someone who posts one topic in Help and doesn't come back) and those who make regular contributions for a time. With that in mind, I'd make it so the first few ranks really easy to get (say, 2nd rank at 20 posts), and then have the requirements ramp up sharply after that. This would probably require more than the current five rankings.

[Proxima]

This would probably require more than the current five rankings.

Fun, Tricky, Taxing, Mayhem, Crazy, Wild, Wicked, Havoc? (Leaving out Tame, because it makes no sense for that to come next after Mayhem.)

[geoo]

Fun, Tricky, Taxing, Mayhem, Crazy, Wild, Wicked, Havoc? (Leaving out Tame, because it makes no sense for that to come next after Mayhem.)

That probably also constitutes a sensible ordering by difficulty.

I think it's useful to have a graphical representation of a user's rank, in terms of both posts and mod status. It's easier than reading the postcount and title. As mentioned, this is more for the benefit of newbies - the regulars basically know where everyone stands.

Well, if you want to add newbie-friendliness through this, then the rank names should be more descriptive. Because right now, all they'll see under the username is 'Mayhem', and will wonder what on earth this is all about. And for me personally, it's the post count that catches my eye first in other forums that also have these silly stars/lemmings as rank indicators (of which there are surprisingly many for whatever reason). Maybe because it's more precise, because even if new people see the stars/lemmings, they won't know what it corresponds to. Could be 50 posts, could be 2000 posts, could be a mod status...they are just not very descriptive of their meaning.

And then why do you want such a (supposedly) in-your-face indication of rank anyway? Do we have a post-based caste system here where importance is measured in number of posts? It's funny because I remember one other forum (don't know which) where they wanted to even get rid of post-count to eliminate that notion (which I'm against though).

[Nepster]

I think it's useful to have a graphical representation of a user's rank, in terms of both posts and mod status.

Concerning mod status, one could just make the words "Admin" and "Moderator" bold and perhaps colour it red resp. blue.

...because even if new people see the stars/lemmings, they won't know what it corresponds to. Could be 50 posts, could be 2000 posts, could be a mod status...

...and there are forums where it represents karma, which then leads to an immense increase of silly jokes, because usually someone starts to upvote all of them .

[namida]

This one seems like a lot of people are in favor of one option too... 6 to 1, not counting my vote (and I don't feel too strongly about it; it's more just "it's always been there and I don't see too much reason to get rid of it" more than "I love them, don't get rid of them!")... let's give it a bit longer though.

PS: I have enabled the option on this poll to allow people to change their vote, in case the discussion sways anyone (regardless of which side they're on).

[Simon]

I've had it like this for 3.5 years. <_<

Clam is a mod/admin now, that information is still shown above the avatar.

-- Simon

[keiya]

One thing that might be considered if you do remove it is coloring moderator and admin names. That sticks out but doesn't take up extra space.

[namida]

One thing that might be considered if you do remove it is coloring moderator and admin names. That sticks out but doesn't take up extra space.

This can definitely be done.