Massive Points Update

Submitted by humanelement on June 7th, 2019 at 2:06 PM

We ran a major update to the database today! Part of the update included one of the biggest reported issues - points. In our review of the board, we found that there were 1,537 users with an incorrect points value associated with their account. Each user was given one point PER comment for every published post. This collectively applied a total of 12,591 points to user accounts.

Some users will notice a HUGE increase from this update. But our news isn't all great. We have not fixed the problem for everyone. There are still 2008 users that are in need of an increase, and we are working to make that happen asap.

Stay with us, folks.

befuggled

June 7th, 2019 at 8:22 PM ^

This is a common misconception. Maizens hatch in feces, and lay their eggs in feces. Then for a few glorious days they post feces on college football message boards before they're banned and die, only for the cycle to repeat itself over and over and over again.

trueblueintexas

June 7th, 2019 at 2:14 PM ^

Some users will notice a HUGE increase from this update. But our news isn't all great. We have not fixed the problem for everyone. There are still 2008 users that are in need of an increase, and we are working to make that happen asap.

This paragraph made me immediately think of one of those late night male growth commercials.

NFG

June 7th, 2019 at 2:20 PM ^

If you thought the points didn't matter when watching "Whose line is it anyway?", just wait till you see how valuable MGO points are...

reshp1

June 7th, 2019 at 2:25 PM ^

The problem was not the point total (who cares). The problem was there's still no meaningful action taken for posts that are very negative like hiding them and collapsing the reply chain, or very negative posters like banning or suspending them.

4godkingandwol…

June 7th, 2019 at 2:27 PM ^

I’m curious about other people’s thoughts on this. What value do you place on points? And how do you use them on the site? My point of view is below. 

1) I don’t care about my total points over time. I find it meaningless. 

2) similarly, I don’t use it as a proxy for other posters reputation.  Sadly, some of my least favorite posters have the highest point totals due to the frequency of posting. This is probably an inverse correlation and partly causal. 

3) I like to check on my old posts to see if people liked or disliked my POV and/or attempt at humor. So, I care more about points as it pertains to individual posts vs my aggregate score. 

4) Similarly, I use points on other people’s posts to scan ones that may be worth reading. Again, this is on a per post level, vs an aggregate. 

Curious about other people’s usage of points. 

The Mad Hatter

June 7th, 2019 at 2:50 PM ^

I liked it when the points showed the upvotes and downvotes.  I posted something that I thought was hilarious (and also pretty offensive to many people apparently) a few years ago.  It got nearly an equal number of up and downvotes (over 50 each).

If I made that same post today it would show up as a mundane +5 or -5 post.  It used to help me moderate my own posting. 

You wouldn't know it, but I self-censor about 75% of things I think of posting. Because I would have been banned 50 times already if I didn't.

DualThreat

June 7th, 2019 at 3:16 PM ^

Totally agree on the separation of up and down votes.  In the past I would sift through the comments of a large thread and only look at the comments with huge numbers of upvotes or huge numbers of downvotes (or both), but now, those votes equal out and you might just see a "0" next to a very polarizing post!

Bring back statistical separation of up and down votes in posts, please!

O S Who

June 7th, 2019 at 2:50 PM ^

i agree as well.

i think a poster rating (based on average points per post or something) would be more meaningful than a total point count. i have had an account for a long time and dont post frequently, so i dont have many points. but that doesnt mean that my posts suck (although they probably do)

M-Dog

June 7th, 2019 at 6:26 PM ^

If somebody says something really strange or stupid, I'll look at their points and Joined date to see if I should take it seriously.

If they have a lot of points and they joined years ago, I'll know they are familiar with the tough crowd around this place, and it's probably just satirical.