JoomlArt Forums 32,862 posts

[shackbase Friend shackbaseJoin date: May 2007Posts: 158Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 8 Thanked: 5 times in 1 posts]

#129777

I was just scanning the forums and I noticed the credit for each user, I’ve seen it before but never reflected about it before.

What does forum credits do? Apparently you can save them and make a ‘bank’ loan for more… but what can you actually do with them and how do you receive more?

Cheers,
–Tone

[bennitos Friend bennitosJoin date: May 2008Posts: 1717Downloads:0Uploads:39 Thanks: 39 Thanked: 474 times in 407 posts]

#254116

This is explained in the following topic:

http://www.joomlart.com/forums/topic/credits-redemption-for-ja-membership/

3 users say Thank You to bennitos for this useful post

1. shackbase
2. jaway
3. cjmicro

[shackbase Friend shackbaseJoin date: May 2007Posts: 158Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 8 Thanked: 5 times in 1 posts]

#254124

Thanks Benitos – I appreciate the link… and I gave thanks! 🙂

Cheers,
..Tony

[mfcphil Friend mfcphilJoin date: September 2007Posts: 2866Downloads:3Uploads:218 Thanks: 211 Thanked: 388 times in 133 posts]

#254134

and just by giving thanks you gain a few credits.

thats a good forum feeling 😉

[shackbase Friend shackbaseJoin date: May 2007Posts: 158Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 8 Thanked: 5 times in 1 posts]

#254136

You get credits for giving thanks? If anything, I would have guessed that giving credits would have cost some credits to prevent people from going hay wire thanking anything and everyone in sight.

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#254152

<em>@mfcphil 59731 wrote:</em><blockquote>and just by giving thanks you gain a few credits.

thats a good forum feeling ;)</blockquote>

This is true mfcphil, only if the recipient is thanked properly. There are many customers however who are clueless of the credit system may be grateful to and thanked those who helped them, but the latter do not get credit the “Thank you button” was not use in the process. There are those who even thank others by private mail. Well at least that is my experience, I would have more credits others for the Thank you’s that I got, had those who I helped did indeed use the icon. But, I did not help people just to get those credits.

We must thank people as a matter of courtesy for responding, or if they raise points that we agree with and want to share our views in series of discussion.

We should use the Thank you button prudently when they did help us solve a problem or gave clues that could point to possible solution to a problem or question we asked.

Personally, it is the right thing to do to thank people who helped you. However, we who thank people must not get credit, simply because we did the right thing — thank them.

This could be abused. We could have a mutual “Thank you” quid pro quo, just to ramp up credits.

I see Thank you notes, for no apparent reason. How could a one-liner response deserve a thank you note from another? But I see them here.

If I thank all those who responded to my posts, since I started, I would have a 1-year developers credit already. To avoid this potential abuse, as stated above, I thank those who responded to my post, as a matter of courtesy. But use the Thank you button more prudently.

In reality, considering how much time I spend sometimes, and I pay myself for those hours spent, it would be cheaper for me just to pay the membership dues (30% discount of a year’s is less than fifty bucks) — that would be about an hour or so of my time, had I charged for my services.

I respond quite often, especially to new users, if I have encountered the same problem and know the solution. This is my way of thanking those who helped me before.

Cornelio

1 user says Thank You to cgc0202 for this useful post

1. TomC

[mfcphil Friend mfcphilJoin date: September 2007Posts: 2866Downloads:3Uploads:218 Thanks: 211 Thanked: 388 times in 133 posts]

#254164

I think JoomlArt would be very wise indeed to keep an eye on those who use the forum correctly (yourself in cluded Cornelio) and reward those that help out all year round with some kind of bonus on top of the points, maybe a 25% discount on your next membership.

I don’t mean those who simply reply to any post simply to boost their credits, I am talking about those who really helps others, therefore taking some of the burden away from the Joomlart staff.

1 user says Thank You to mfcphil for this useful post

1. dawidt

[questbg Friend questbgJoin date: May 2008Posts: 1912Downloads:0Uploads:1 Thanks: 146 Thanked: 339 times in 197 posts]

#254166

I’m with mfcphil, there are certain members here who have helped me above and beyond the call of duty! For instance Cornelio and VisiGod (and others) have helped me learn my way around Joomla, Teline II and even hacking CSS code … something which scares most newbies to run and hide!

I truly appreciate their assistance, and hope I can help other newcomers further down the line with the knowledge these people have helped me gain.

Oh, and I only use the ‘Thanks’ button if I asked a particular question and the answer solved my problem … I think this is a good guideline for the ‘thanks’ button!

Cheers
Chris

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#254263

Thanks mfcphil and Chris for stating what you posted here.

If I remember correctly, you were one of those who sent me an email mfcphil in regard my post about how Moderators should behave in a forum.

I must admit it was a stroke of genius on the part of Joomlart to have thought of this idea. This is akin to people joining contests or asked to submit contributions — and they get a potential prize

Getting credit points is just too easy based on the current system — not that I am complaining too much. 🙂 However, I think the criteria should be revisited because those actions that deserve to be properly recognized are not always the actions that should get proper credit.

Just imagine these and I use my case, as an example. I was away from the Joomlart forum since early February because I was really very frustrated with the pace of the JA Teline upgrade to be compatible with Joomla 1.5x. Then, after so much delay (despite the campaign by JA Teline users), the first stable template version has so many bugs, I had to give up on original JA Teline and went to use the News template of Gavick Pro.

When I came back in mid May 2008, after learning about the new JA Teline II — something that I have requested since the next day I joined on 2 August 2007 — I suddenly saw these credit points attached to my name that I was not familiar with.

But, here is the deal, within less than a month since I came back, I earned more than 3,000 credits added to just more than 1,000 credits for my prior posting before I came back — more than enough to get a 1-year standard membership or six (6) Developer’s subcription. At this pace, which I doubt I could sustain, I am on my way towards a i-year Developer’s subcription.

I did post a lot, before I left (and before the point system), and posted more because I really like the new JA Teline II, and wanted to make it work, in spite of some of the difficulties encountered, as well as the inherent flaws I recognized in the architecture (layout and css) of the new JA Teline II.

I do criticize Joomlart, and praise them too when it is due; but I spend as much time also to counter criticisms of Joomlart staff that are unwanted or excessive. Many these criticisms sometimes are not even template issues but more often just a lack of in depth understanding of many new users of Joomla, basic html, css, their server, etc. — rather than the template itself.

I had a better understanding of these separation of Joomla script and template scripts — when I had to learn installing clean Joomla and then the template — while using Gavick templates the past few months. This better understanding of the distinction provided me more insight on what I experienced before while using the QuickStart kit by Joomlart.

I did help some people, like Chris, and others. I even offered two people the use of my multisite account at no cost and had to spend several hours, just to create an independent site for these, just to resolve whether it was indeed the server (one is having problems with a Window server) and another had issue with the proper username and database name configuration for the database installation). And, I did those because of the desperation in them.

You know how frustrating it is when you know it might not be your technique that is causing the problem, but something else. Unfortunately, you do not have the proper scripting background to solve the problem and prove your point.

Of course, there are those who I confused too; but I meant well.

Anyway, while it was not intentional, I do post long answers (even before the credit system) because I do not have great command of the English language. If I have time to edit it, I could slash what I have written to a third or less of the original — with minimal typo and grammatical errors.

As much as verbose responses should not lead to more credits, by the same token, one liners or short answers that would require additional clarification or do not result to a positive resolution of a problem should not be the basis of getting credit points.

As many of us here agree — the credit system must focus more in doing a good deed (a resolution to the problem at hand). This is not the case now with the current credit system since a user may get more points by providing short answers, but require quite a lot of back and forth before the issue is even clarified.

I did get “too many points” too just for problems I encountered — that too should not be the case. There are so many repetitous problems or variations of the same kind. Hypothetically, it is even possible that the one asking the question may get more points than the one answering — especially if thanking people also lead to extra point. 🙂

It should not be.

Cornelio

[askieman Friend askiemanJoin date: May 2008Posts: 23Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 2 Thanked: 3 times in 4 posts]

#254287

Wow, you always made great posts Cornelio! 😎

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#254291

<em>@askieman 59916 wrote:</em><blockquote>Wow, you always made great posts Cornelio! :cool:</blockquote>

Thanks, askieman. I am glad I am reaching some people.

Cornelio.

[questbg Friend questbgJoin date: May 2008Posts: 1912Downloads:0Uploads:1 Thanks: 146 Thanked: 339 times in 197 posts]

#254324

I’m with Cornelio. I’ve actually amassed quite a few ‘credits’ since I’ve been here, mainly by just trying to find out the basics about Joomla, templates, Joom!Fish, etc. However, my intention was not to earn any prizes, simply to gain the information I need to build my site by asking relevant questions.

Personally, I would be happy with no credits, I’m more than happy to pay my dollars every year just for the advice I’ve gained so far!

[cdznutz Friend cdznutzJoin date: March 2008Posts: 7Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 4]

#255355

Somehow I have negative credits yet I have a 2 year subscription here….

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#255358

<em>@cdznutz 61201 wrote:</em><blockquote>Somehow I have negative credits yet I have a 2 year subscription here….</blockquote>

They want you to participate in the forum.

Cornelio

[onboom Friend onboomJoin date: March 2008Posts: 26Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 5 Thanked: 2 times in 1 posts]

#256547

By helping together, you’ll get points.

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