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It's the introduction of a 'karma' system for users. If you like, it's a rating, giving staff and users some indication of each others' contribution to the forum.
The karma system has been custom designed for the Invision Board by our friends over on PoliceSpecials.com, and programmed by the ever fantastic MartinC a valued and talented member of their board, who have kindly allowed us to utilise it over here at UKPOLICEONLINE :smiley_notworthy:
You'll see your 'karma' appear as a series of shields with ticks just above any awards which you've received. At the moment, the karma image looks like this:
http://www.ukpoliceonline.co.uk/images/karma5.png
Your karma is anywhere from 0 to 5. You can't get negative karma, and everyone starts on zero, in which case no karma image will appear. Once you've got a karma of at least one, the image will pop up in your profile.
How Your Karma is Calculated
Your karma is calculated from a wide range of different measures, including (but not limited to):
- Number of topics you've started, and posts you've made
- How long you've been on the forum
- How active you are on the forum (e.g. daily post counts, most recent visit/post)
- How others rate you (the forum star rating system which forms part of your profile)
- How others rate your topics (again, the forum's built-in star rating system)
- Certain awards can give you more karma (e.g. achievement awards, great posts/topics)
- You get karma for becoming a Resident Fed or Resident HATO (well why not, you're practically part of our family :lol: ...)
- Mini moderators, experts and Forum Sponsors get an automatic karma uplift ;)
I'm pleased with this change which I think over time will come to be seen as a real indicator of quality, as well as giving you our lovely forum-goers an indication of how you're helping to improve quality here on the forum. I'm sure you'll have lots of comments and questions, especially about something as potentially controversial as this -- but I'd ask you to let it bed in and see what you reckon over time.
I'm fairly happy that the karma ratings awarded thus far are good, but there may be some glitches and anomalies but please bear with me, let me know about anything odd you find, and I'll try and get it sorted out for you. I have no doubt someone will start a discussion thread on this so I will keep an eye on that and contribute as necessary, however here are some of the Q&A I could think of off the top of my head.
Frequently Asked Questions
- I don't agree with my karma rating. I'm upset/cross/leaving forever.
- Everyone's in the same karma boat. See below for ways to improve your karma. And calm down!
- I want to give someone else bad / good karma. How can I do this?
- You can't directly increase or decrease another user's karma. That would lead to 'karma wars', which is nasty. You can rate the user (done in their profile), and rate their topics. Your votes, together with everyone else who contributes ratings, will be taken into account when calculating the user's overall karma score.
- How can I improve my karma?
- Mainly by contributing regularly to the forum and doing so with quality posts; starting topics which others like and rate highly, and/or posting messages which get noticed by the moderators will mean a gradual creep up in your karma. Don't expect it to leap up overnight, it takes time and care :)
- I don't give a monkeys about my karma. Can you take it off my profile?
- I imagine that a fair few users won't give a tinker's cuss about their karma rating, which is just fine. It's meant as an indicator of a user's contribution to the forum, and is a guide for others. Low karma may make no difference at all to your participation on the forum, but it will encourage others to post better quality topics, which is for the good of all. And no, I can't take it off your profile.
- How come users who haven't been online for ages still have karma?
- Over time, an inactive user's karma will decrease, because the system recognises they aren't active. But karma, once gained, isn't easy to lose, because it's indicative of quality. Even if the user isn't here on the forum, the posts which gave them the karma will be. So it makes sense that the karma stays too.
- What if I get banned, or suspended from the forum? What happens to my karma?
- Get banned, and all that karma's gone forever, regardless of quality on the forum! Suspended members lose karma temporarily, but they get it back when they're off the naughty step.
