Limit points for forum posts

I've noticed a few designers using forum posts to boost their rating points, and, hence, boost their rank among the top designer rankings at designContest.

Not to pick on any one in particular, but, the most blatant example lies in the top-100 designer who has achieved rank primarily by posting 2694 forum posts. Yes, this person has won medals, but there have not been enough contest entries for this designer to garner 12,541 rating points -- those are primarily coming from forum posts at 5 points apiece.

Perhaps designContest should consider a two-tier points system for forum posts:

Assign 5 points per post until the minimum number of posts is achieved to reach designer level 10 (i.e., 70 forum posts).

After 70 forum posts, every post thereafter is worth only 1 point.

I understand the desire to keep members active in the forums by rewarding posts with points, however, it opens the field up to those who will game the system by making inordinate numbers of posts. There are some who have hundreds, if not thousands, of forum posts which can skew the rankings ... and IMHO, rankings should be a reflection of skill, not forum activity.

I'm wondering if anyone else shares similar thoughts. Thanks!

Forum posts are only 5 points A designer can't get into the top designers with just forum posts

https://www.designco...n-rating-points

Of course you can't get into the top designers with just forum posts but do you think 100 posts should be equal to 1 gold medal. If I make 1000 posts and have no entry points I will have 5000 rating points. Does this make me a good designer or a good writer.

Sharie, thanks for responding.

I agree that a designer can't get into the top designers based on forum points alone -- you have to have some medal wins, a minimum number of points, and presently, you need to be at least a designer level 6. However, those forum posts CAN have a significant impact on rank.

In this particular case, the designer has submitted only 74 entries total (many of them scored a zero), received 2 gold medals (1000 points), and one silver medal (300 points). This person is an average performer. Based on the Knowledgebase article, those 2694 forum posts at 5 points apiece were definitely enough to pad this person's ranking, because there is no other way this person could have garnered 12,541 points.

The algorithm for computing rank takes into account designer level and rating points. When a person posts thousands of forum posts (and there is more than one who has), that's enough to significantly boost ranking over others at that designer level. Compare the ratings points, medal wins, and number of entries of the other top-ranked designers at level 7 (which is where this individual sits) versus the number of forum posts; you'll see those forum posts are what made the difference.

I don't mean to stir up the pot, but just wanted to point out that there are those who exploit the forum points to their advantage. I believe a cap on points for forum posts would help keep the playing field level and make rankings a truer representation of designers' skill.

Thanks for listening :-)

peechy what designer do you refer to?

I myself only have 5070 forum post and have been with DC since 2007, I do not know of any designer making 1000'0 of forum posts.

I found the designer you refer to

http://www.designcon...igner/illumina/

this designer has been a DC member since 2004 and used to be a moderator, this is why that designer has so many forum posts and is ranked #70, this designer's last forum post was sept 20 2012.

When you look at this you have to consider how long the designer has been a member, you also can't see any 1on1 projects or hidden/blind entries. You are not seeing all of this designers past winnings. Almost all of those points were gained before any new levels started with DC

Edited by sharie, 02 January 2013 - 08:44 PM.

I want to also point out

You are not seeing the points that are subtracted from designers due to inactivity, the designer you bring up has dropped in the designer list due to inactivity, This designer was much higher than the rank of 70 in lets say Sep of 2012, because of the lack of activity the designer has dropped. Before our new levels started, a newer designer like yourself would not have a chance to get to in the top 100 or even top 20 designers, now all designers have this chance.

We have many long time designers at designcontest, some since DC started in 2003, the only way that designer will lose points will be due to inactivity in the forums as well as the contests. Simply logging in doesn't count as activity.

Please, I don't mean disrespect, I'm just trying to figure out rank, how ratings points are determined, and exactly how much weight these forum postings carry. You'll have to admit that it looks strange to see someone with very few entries, very few medals, yet a large number of forum posts. So when the site was revamped, designContest reset the number of entries and number of medals for each member but not the number of posts?

With regards to moderators, do they still receive 5 points for each post made? In the top 100, there are 4 such persons with over 1000 posts and two with over 900 posts. As Savina mentioned, should 100 posts should be equal to 1 gold medal? Or is there already a cap in place for forum post points that is not explained in the Knowledgebase?

Thanks for the clarification.

I think our moderators should have more points for their posts! These guys work hard for no money they can at least have the points for the forum posts. I wouldn't worry or be concerned about our moderators posts. These guys work hard to protect your rights as a designer against the many fraudsters out there. What these guys need are a few more thank you from everyone : )

If I was looking at the top designers and seen one that looked odd then I would look closer at the designers profile and posts, that would tell me most the information right there

As far as the revamp goes........ MOst of our old timers will show way fewer medals because DC never handed out medals from 2010 on is when the medals started. Many of the the old timers winning entries do not even show up, they are on the old .net archived site. I even lost most of my winning entries. Less than half of my winning entries show.

As far as deciding if a designer is a so so designer, that is not for me or you to decide, we have our own taste and style, what counts is when the contestholder chooses your design as the winning entry.