Member Rankings/Titles

**BoldHighlander** · 9th March 10, 12:31 AM

And thank you Steve (& Chris + mod's) for all your efforts to make XMarks the very best forum on the internet!

**Arlen** · 9th March 10, 10:56 AM

Thanks you to everyone who has commented on here in regards to the new system.
A lot of people are going to miss the ranking system. It was fun and gave one a sense of pride and usefulness to rank up. I worked as an advocate on here for some time and was always happy to announce the new rank ups and see people contributing often.
But Steve felt that some of the newbies were sometimes confused or intimidated by the ranking system and that some VERY few people would post 'filler' posts to help them rank up faster.
He's the owner of the forum now and this is just one of the many changes he's putting in place to work towards his vision of the forum as a more open and fair place.

As far as the special titles certain members of the forum had; It is now the responsibility of the Moderators to get together the names of all those who have contributed a very great amount to the forum and to vote on awarding them a title.
If you know of someone you particularly feel deserves a special title feel free to send me a PM and the moderators can talk it over and vote one it.

This is a real period of change and upheaval in the forum and there are a lot of new things that some of us dislike while others love, but hopefully the forum will eventually come through it an even better place than it already was.

**Colin** · 9th March 10, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by Arlen

As far as the special titles certain members of the forum had; It is now the responsibility of the Moderators to get together the names of all those who have contributed a very great amount to the forum and to vote on awarding them a title.

That was always the case Arlen.

**macwilkin** · 9th March 10, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Colin

That was always the case Arlen.

Hear, Hear!

T.

**Raphael** · 9th March 10, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Arlen

As far as the special titles certain members of the forum had; It is now the responsibility of the Moderators to get together the names of all those who have contributed a very great amount to the forum and to vote on awarding them a title.
If you know of someone you particularly feel deserves a special title feel free to send me a PM and the moderators can talk it over and vote one it.

It is a shame that you are leaded by a blind man.

**Jock Scot** · 9th March 10, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by Arlen

Thanks you to everyone who has commented on here in regards to the new system.
A lot of people are going to miss the ranking system. It was fun and gave one a sense of pride and usefulness to rank up. I worked as an advocate on here for some time and was always happy to announce the new rank ups and see people contributing often.
But Steve felt that some of the newbies were sometimes confused or intimidated by the ranking system and that some VERY few people would post 'filler' posts to help them rank up faster.
He's the owner of the forum now and this is just one of the many changes he's putting in place to work towards his vision of the forum as a more open and fair place.

As far as the special titles certain members of the forum had; It is now the responsibility of the Moderators to get together the names of all those who have contributed a very great amount to the forum and to vote on awarding them a title.
If you know of someone you particularly feel deserves a special title feel free to send me a PM and the moderators can talk it over and vote one it.

This is a real period of change and upheaval in the forum and there are a lot of new things that some of us dislike while others love, but hopefully the forum will eventually come through it an even better place than it already was.

I don't want to put words in your mouth Arlen, but I do want to have this clear in my own mind. Are you saying all the old "special titles", (not the one's given for the number of posts), are now defunct, and maybe the intention is to start with a clean sheet?Or are those special titles of the past and apparently voted on, still with us and maybe expanded on as time moves on? Or are there never ever going to be special titles ever again old, or, new?

Now I quite accept that we have new management and new ideas and we have to accept that one way, or, another. It will help however if we all understand this minor matter right from the start. I may be being a bit slow here, but I am not understanding what the management are precisely saying on this matter.

**Colin** · 9th March 10, 11:29 AM

Special titles aside, if you guys really want to make everyone equal and to take out any discomfort for new people than you need to get rid of the post count as well. More emphasis is given to the post count than was ever given to the titles people had. People on Xmarks were basing someone's knowledge on the post count of others. Someone new can come onto the site and post a 1000 "way to go!" comments and climb up the post count ladder in weeks, but they are still not going to have a clue about Scottish culture, history, or the kilt.

Based on Steve's comment about why the titles are gone, that you also need to delete the "number of kilts" part of the profile. Again, more detail is paid to the number of kilts on has than the quality of their input. I have seen some revered on this site for the number of kilts and post they have, yet what they add pales in comparison to the posts of some that have 1 kilt and rarely post. (Hamish is the major exception. He knows what he is talking about and he deserves our admiration. Not for the number of kilts he owns, the experience and knowledge he shares, but because of the stand up person he is. Never was the word "Gentleman" used better than when used to describe Hamish)

Having a couple dozen kilts and spending a ton of time on an internet forum means you have too much time and disposable income, not necessarily knowledge about the subject. I often find the biggest talkers are the ones that know the least.

So if you guys really want the focus to be on the kilt and the shared experiences on a level playing field than ditch the "kilt count" and the " post count". Deleting the voted on special titles of people that were awarded those titles (as silly as some may have been) for their example and contribution to Xmarks is not going to do that.

**JolyStNicholas** · 9th March 10, 11:40 AM

"Oh The Shame Of It All" I think I will use this as an excuse to go out and have a pint and order meself a new KILT and celebrate something

**Raphael** · 9th March 10, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Ashton

Well, we know the person is kilted, that's why we are here in the first place.
And does "Defender of Flat Caps" really add anything to the forum?
.

Yes it does and in more ways that you can ever imagine. Your lack of imagination is your main problem, Steve. These titles make members feel like home because these are nick names given my peers. Now we are just members with no personality. Titles motivate members and make them stay. This process produce the traffic and have meaningful conversations. People don't come here for information only. People come here and stay because they found a home in cyberspace. You have taken lots away from us. It is shameful.

New members may be confused by the titles, and what's wrong with that. This is not the only forum that gives out custom titles. Many forums do that. you need to educate yourself more about proper netiquette before talking. It may cause confusion at first but people will learn quickly and navigate. I have read that some members don't really care about them, then again, most of them haven't been here since day 1. I have. I have seen the ups and downs of this website, but respect is what get us through.

Because people care, people created the tartan, kilt pins and t-shirts. These items are not created by the top, but by the people of this forum. There are not created for commercial purpose, but to created for the people and by the people. They are created because we felt that there is bond among us.

People have worked hard to make this a successful forum and you came in and destroy everything. You have no vision and you probably don't know what people want. All you have is a bunch of yes men that dare to oppose you. You have driven away members because of your action.

Have fun at xmarksthesteve.com!

**starbkjrus** · 9th March 10, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by The F-H.C.A.G.

Just for the reocrd, I loved the custom titles and thought they were a lot of fun and am disappointed that they are being discarded.

Also, I'm going to refute a few things here.

As far as I am aware, the Mod Squad voted on all of the custom titles. None were "arbitrarily given" by any one person alone.

Also, as far as I am aware, there was no "Defender of Flat Caps", but if there was, it was funny and meant something to those who are "in the know", and would just be shrugged off by those who weren't.

Hear, Hear! I cannot say it better.

Again, I think this is a fallacy. These so-called "vanity titles" were NOT put there by one person with no input from anyone else, but rather voted on by the entire Mod Squad, many of whom are no longer moderators since Steve took over the forum. Some of whom are no longer comfortable even visiting this forum since their input is gradually being erased.

As it was not the whim of an individual before you, Steve.

Sorry, but you asked for opinions and I am an opinionated kind of gal!

Be well,

I agree with Star. The titles were a bit of fun that added quite a bit. Seems to me that piece by piece all the fun is being sucked right out of XMarks. I suspect this is going to become a VERY expensive experiment.