MilPoints: Now With Teeth

[Mike Bobbitt]

All,

Today, I added a new feature to the MilPoints system. When rating another user's post, you can now apply a 5% warning to that user in addition to the MilPoints rating. I'll jump right in to answering some questions:

• Warning levels may restrict or limit what a user can do on the site (see below for details).
• Warning levels are visible to all members.
• Warnings are cumulative, so if a user draws five 5% hits, they will be on 25% warning.
• Every 24 hours, a user's warning level will automatically drop by 10%.
• You can still only rate (and therefore warn) each user once per day.
• The 5% warning can only be applied to users when deducting MilPoints. If you check the 'warning' box and give them points, no warning will be applied.
• A history of all warnings applied to a user, including the note provided by the 'warnee' is visible to all Staff.
• Staff already set a user's warning level, and may increase or reduce it as the situation dictates.
• Abuse of this system will be dealt with quickly and harshly.

As a user's warning percentage rises, more restrictions are automatically placed on their account. As noted above, warning levels drop automatically over time, and eventually, a reformed user will be back down to 0%. So... what are these percentage warnings, and how do they work?

• 10%: The user is 'watched' by the system. Staff can see who has reached this level of warning, what they are doing and what they are posting. In essence, they are now 'on the radar.' This warning level is reached after 2 users apply a 5% warning.
• 25%: The user's posts will be moderated. I.E. they can still post replies/new topics etc. but these will need to be reviewed and approved by a Staff member before they become visible to other users. Note that this moderation process may cause the warned user's posts to be delayed, or completely rejected. This warning level is reached after 5 users apply a 5% warning.
• 50%: The user is 'muted' and cannot post. This warning level is reached after 10 users apply a 5% warning.

So, let's go through a quick example. Let's say a user goes on a real trolling tear, and draws 5% warnings from 8 people. They are now on 40% warning, and any future posts they make will be moderated. In 2 days, they will be down to 20% warning, and their posts will no longer be moderated. Two days later, they will be down to 0% and back to their pristine state. A record of all applied warnings (date/time, who applied the warning and a note) will stay with their account permanently.

The idea is that no single user - or even a small pack of users in collusion - can create a problem, but together the community has the power to start policing itself.

As always, feedback, comments and questions are welcome.


Cheers
Mike

 

[kratz]

This is another innovative user based approach. I agree with the idea and would like to see how it works out. As a stable and well thought out community, this forum is one of the best places to trial such a concept.

 

[ballz]

I like the idea a lot, and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out in practice. I just have one question, can one single post earn more than a 5% warning?

What I mean is, suppose someone makes ONE stupid post that pisses 10 people off enough to all give their own 5% warning to him... Now he's at 50% warning already, and is muted just because of one comment he made.

In reality, if the post was that bad, the staff is going to be doing their own thing anyway... using the progressive system we have in place, or whatever. 

Just something to consider, perhaps having a cap on warnings for one post. Even if the user is already at the cap, if "x" amount of people tick the "warning" box, then the post automatically gets reported to the mods for review. So the cap could be 10% for one post, but at 5 warnings for one post it gets automatically reviewed by mods.

Just throwing something out there.

 

[Kat Stevens]

That's it, I'm boned.   

 

[navymich]

Will a poster find out that they were given a warning?  For example, is it written in the MPs notification email or indicated in your MPs history?

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Mich, the poster will get a notification e-mail that will subtly (for now) indicate that a warning was issued vs. a regular MilPoints assessment. I'll likely need to tune that a bit.

ballz, the system does allow unlimited hits on a single post, but if a single post is so bad as to draw multiple hits, it probably was deserved. The Staff can adjust warnings if needed, but I don't expect it generally will be. More likely, a Staff member will move to apply a warning and find that the community has already done so. At least, that's how it plays out in my Utopian mind.

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Nice! I see the system is already working on a spammer making posts here. 

 

[HavokFour]

Nice! I see the system is already working on a spammer making posts here. 

You're welcome.  8)

 

[PuckChaser]

You're welcome.  8)

I got the first round in, then fire for effect.  :nod:

Love the new system!

 

[opp550]

May I ask what happens when a user get a 100% rating? Not that I will try to see for myself  ;D

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

They stay at 'muted' for 5 days, until they drop below 50%, then moderated for another 3 days and watched for another day after that. In essence, it just takes them longer to get their warning level back to zero. Odds are though, that if someone makes it to 100%, the Staff are going to intervene in a more conventional way.

 

[Thompson_JM]

I like it...

Makes this place feel like a real democracy! lol...

Seriously though, it sounds like a great idea Mike!

I'm looking forward to seeing it in action!