Okay, I'm just wondering, what point is there to having ArmorPoints(pun intended)? I mean...it encourages people to spam, right? The merit system causes several people to start whining for merits, it creates unnecessary extra work for the mods, and all you get for it is a new icon on your profile and a couple new armatars. So, here's my question: Is it worth it? I was wondering why the site doesn't just take the whole idea of AP and toss it in the wastebucket. Here are some of the cons and pros I've managed to come up with for different ways to get merits.
1. Rating a game Positive: The idea is that people will be encouraged to give their opinion of a game. Negative: As it is the quickest and easiest way to get AP and it can't be counted as spam no matter what, I think that this could be abused as a way to get quick and easy AP, without having put any thought into it or even played the game in question.
2. Commenting on a Game Pros: It has been prophesied that someday, somewhere in the world, sometime in the future of Armorgames, someone will actually be smart enough, mature enough, and well-intentioned enough, to actually write a thoughtful comment using the commenting on a game system, intended to help the developer, and with no thought of a merit. However, until the prophesied Commenter of Justice arrives, we must deal with the cons... Negative: Obviously, it is a reward for spam, spam, and yet more spam! No one actually uses the comments system to comment on a game with an intelligent, well-thought out review, without their goal being to get a merit! Therefore, the comments are so clogged up with spam, that we can't even find a useful review(reviewer's intentions notwithstanding).
3. Forum Posts Positive: Obviously, rewarding people for forum posts is an alright idea, since most people spam it out in the game comments, being that they are worth more AP. However, people still use FPs as a way to get more APs, and the people who only care about actual, meaningful discussion in the forums, could care less about the points. Negative: Well, rewarding someone with AP for posting at all is possibly a good idea, but there's always the threat of spam looming around the corner, and I've gotten the impression that the mods are slightly more lenient around here. If there's one 5-7 word post, it's ignored. If there's multiple spam posts in one thread, the thread is locked. There's not really any punishment for it. Ever.
4. Game Designing Positive: This is an amazing idea. To reward someone for getting a game passed through is a good idea, and if you raise the bar for game standards, I think it's plausible that this could be the only way to get AP. Game designing is difficult and time consuming nearly all the time...so there's almost no way it can be abused. Negative: Error. File Game-designing-negative, not found.
5.Merits Positive: For those people who take the time to write out well-thought out reviews with the intention of helping the game designer improve the game, it is an excellent idea to reward them. Negative: Whining, and mods having to dig through garbage to find gold. Nuff said.
In my personal opinion, there are a few options which can be done to improve the AP system: A) Make it so that all thoughtful comments get a merit, regardless of which section they're in, however if you whine about the "merit" you're not getting, then you will be punished by losing all the merits you already have, and if you don't have a merit, then you can't get one for a certain amount of time. B) Make it so that only designing a game can get you AP, and raise the bar for games submitted. C) Remove the system in its entirety. D) Make your own option. This is just a thought I had, and there was a fatal combination going on; I was a nerd, I had an idea, and I was bored out of my mind. This is the finished product. So, this is just a few suggestions and reasons, everybody else, you're welcome to share your own and your thoughts on my ideas. Tally Ho!(and no, I have absolutely no clue what that means. I know it has something to do with hunting...I think).
That being said, I still think there should be some more restrictions on rating and commenting. A mod-bot could restrict the amount of ratings/comments per hour, and it would help.
Depends. Some days when I just feel like playing a few flash games I play quite a few games in the space of 1 hour, and obviously rate and comment them, so what would you suggest the limit should be so that it doesn't get annoying? Either way spammers can still spam the ratings and comments, just at a slower rate... So it wouldn't solve the problem.
O.k I get where you guys are going with this; spammers are getting lots of AP while doing nothing for the sight. That doesn't make them look legit though, the people that the mods and the players see as legit are the ones who, although they may have many ratings and comments etc., have merits and forum posts. For one thing merits, although you may be driven to earning them by selfish motivation, do help the sight. Second of all spam is a lot harder to get away with in forum land, there's less "wide open range" for spammers to get there free AP. Mods can easily scan all the active threads in a couple hours for spammers while looking through every single game for spam comments is nearly impossible. What I'm trying to say here is that if you are an spammer it's usually pretty obvious so 1. Players won't respect you. 2. Eventually a mod will ban you. I love the AP system, it keeps me on this sight when I would otherwise probabally leave, I don't abuse the system though and I enjoy putting down intelligent posts, well thought out ratings, and trying to help myself and the sight, I don't really see anything wrong with that... If only everyone could be soooo perfect lawl.
Oh you silly gooses. (Geese doesn't sound right there.)
Some days when I just feel like playing a few flash games I play quite a few games in the space of 1 hour, and obviously rate and comment them, so what would you suggest the limit should be so that it doesn't get annoying?
I'd suggest playing a game longer than 3 minutes before rating or commenting. I don't know what "quite a few" is for you, but if you played each game for 10 minutes, that's only 6 an hour. I don't see anything wrong with limiting to 5-6 per hour, then perhaps the games will have a fairer ratings.
Either way spammers can still spam the ratings and comments, just at a slower rate... So it wouldn't solve the problem.
Duh. Nothing can completely eliminate spam/stupidity. Slowing it down is the only option. Think about how much crap moderators sift through, wouldn't it be beneficial to lighten the crap-load?
Retail stores cover their merchandise with plastic tabs that spray ink/tear the merchandise if removed incorrectly, or metal tabs that sound off the detector at the store entrance, and have their employees hover over customers. It's not because they're eliminating shoplifting, they're just trying to keep the numbers lower. Something will always slip through.
spammers are getting lots of AP while doing nothing for the sight. That doesn't make them look legit though, the people that the mods and the players see as legit are the ones who, although they may have many ratings and comments etc., have merits and forum posts.
I don't worry about their points, I just wonder about accurate ratings (some people just click on games and rate without playing), or buttloads of one-word comments and whether the developer would want to bother to dig for helpful comments or questions.
Does it get you anywhere in life? Sorta, because you're kinda famous. Does it make you more popular? In a way, sorta. Does it attract more visits to your website? YES. Does it make you a better person? No. Does it get you money? No. All in all, I have to say it's sorta worth it, and it's sort of a waste.
Maybe you should only be able to comment and rate every 5 min. instead of 30 seconds. This (sic) spamming those would be hard without actually playing the game.
This is an excellent idea. And it should be implemented on the community boards as well.
This is an excellent idea. And it should be implemented on the community boards as well.
I think it's a great idea too, and it would be an easier solution to slowing down spam traffic than having more moderators to read/delete it all. If you're playing games for less than 5 minutes each then your ratings and comments may not be accurate, and you're leaving useless 1-3 word comments.
Ok was kidding there.
I got that. That's why I said, "hah!" recognizing that you were kidding.
I don't know, maybe after being on the page for a certain amount of time?
I know that there can at least be a 5-10 minute regulation between comments. If there's a 30-second interval right now, then there can be one that's significantly longer. Think about all the tard comments one can produce within 5 minutes... Like, a buttload.
I feel there are quite a lot of decent posts here, want to write too...
Mods cannot attack you for what rating you gave the game, but they can attack you if you're rating a substantial number of games while doing nothing else in a short period of time. Of course, since they cannot delete your ratings, they can only warn/temp-ban you.
I've never heard of a mod doing it, and the main reason is probably lack of proof (They'd have to prove you didn't write comments on those games). It's also not a terrible form of spam...
I feel they're kinda worth it... They're fun to collect to get new armatars, it's the main reason for them. Some people also like showing them off, which I guess you can do when you are high ranked.
People have been suggesting a better AP system for a billion years. Nothing has ever happened. Maybe AG 3.0, but that's not something you should wait for until we know more...
