Point counter

Gandalf

Distinguished
Dec 12, 2009
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19,460
I've noticed that in my Profile the "posted messages" are incrementing, but the "Points" count has stopped at 187. :fou:
I understood that 4 points was awarded for each posted reply message.
Can someone please "unstick" my point counter. It has been at 187 for about 24 hours.

Thanks...
Gandalf
 
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What ever is going on is happening again.

Seems the points have stopped accumulating since sometime around 24 hours ago more or less.

Wonder if it has anything to do with the infinite scrolling bug I've been seeing some people complain about recently?
 
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Patience my friend :)

I guess we'll just have to wait.

I'm just used to the points showing up within a minute or less of a post, 5 minutes max. :p

Then again, if the system is truly broken, enough users will begin to notice and start to complain.
 

dpaul8

Distinguished
Sep 15, 2009
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18,860


One of the brilliant things that distinguish Tom’s Hardware Forums from other internet sites is your point system and badges. When I first joined a few months ago, I thought it was a hokey system. I noticed noobs posting short replies to every thread they could find -- obviously to get more points to advance to the next level. I was not interested.

Then, I had someone select my post as the best answer and I got 40 extra points. Wow, that was pretty cool! I know this sounds stupid, but I actually started plotting my average points as function of the number of posts. My objective was to try to get selected as the best answer as much as possible so that I could maximize my average points per post.

Interestingly, I also use other posters average points per post number (total points/number of posts) as one measure to gauge the trustworthiness of their advice. For instance, if a poster has 100 posts and 500 points, that is an average of 5 points per post, the absolute minimum for that number of posts. I know that this person has never been selected as the best answer and has never received any bonus points. Their advice still may be good, but if I question what they are saying, looking at their average points gives me an additional piece of information to determine how much weight I should give to their advice. In contrast, if someone has 1,000 posts and 5,000 points their average points per post is also 5, but I know that this person must have received many bonus points to keep their average up and I will not discount any advice they are giving.

Please do not discount the value of your point system. I truly believe that it is one of the reasons that you have one of the most unique and highest quality forums on the internet. Getting this fixed should be one of your top priorities.

P.S. The moderators on Tom’s Hardware forum do an excellent job of maintaining order and civility on this site. Keep up the great work!
 

randomizer

Champion
Moderator
Well, the people who have been here for years have a few nitpicks with the system. For example, I have 1.5 points per post if you divide it simply, although in actual fact I have 4 points for some posts and about 0.3 points for most of them (posts prior to the implementation of the points system). But that's been discussed to death in other threads.

The best answer system is certainly better than originally, now that people actually bother to select best answers because they can find the button. But often the first reply gets selected before anyone else has a chance to post. So the system isn't perfect because people are the weakest link. I can't say for certain whether I find the points or the post count more valuable, but I generally prefer to judge a person off past posts, or just off the post I'm reading, rather than by a number only.
 

dpaul8

Distinguished
Sep 15, 2009
341
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18,860
Yeah, I notice that many of the veterans have a very low average point count, but I just assumed that this was due to changes in the system over time, or maybe due to a glitch in the system similar to what is happening now.

I agree that the best way to judge a person is based on their past posts. I never look at point and post count unless a person says something that is intriguing and thought provoking, and I want to find out more about that persons posting history. As I said before, it is just an additional piece of information that may or may not give you insight into where that person is coming from.
 
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Here at Tom's I may only be at Apprentice level (at this point in time) but I'm far from being an apprentice and I really do know my stuff even though I only have 2 best answers to date. But I also don't find that I have to rush to gather as many points as possible in as short a time as possible.

So the number of points a person has is not the best way to judge the trust worthiness of a persons answer as you have no idea how much technical skill that person may have under their belt in real life instead of the virtual world.

Part of my knowing what I am doing is that I am really good at what I do, but I'll be damned if I'm much good at explaining to others how to do what I know as Remote support is not my strong point. I need to be the one who is actually working on the system which needs to be worked on and for the most part, I'm socially inept.

I've been dealing with Spyware, Malware and other forms of parasites for 8+ years now and I have been through the Boot Camp training for this stuff.

About the only thing I never learned to do is programming as I find it extremely difficult to learn. The only programming I was ever able to learn was back in the 1980's and have since forgotten is Hexadecimal and Basic.

My post history is not going to tell you anything about who I really am, at least not enough for you or anyone else to truly judge me for who I am with out knowing who I am. But I will give you some information you would not glean with out my volunteering it. Although I may have volunteered some of this already.

- Personally, I am not much of a people person as I'm more of a loner.
- I Hate cellphones and as such, I do not own one.
- I have an extreme hatred of Telemarketers and Scam Artists to the point that I wish it was legal to Kill them.
- Most of the time, I prefer a Quiet environment. Any noise including people talking just cuts through my head making it so I can't think straight, hear my own thoughts, concentrate.
- Also when I'm trying to listen to someone or something, other sounds tend to make it difficult for me to hear what I am trying to listen to.
- I have always had a fear of heights and these days I also have a fear of falling.
- I do not like big cities (way too crowded)
- I much prefer the country side, preferably far away from other people.
- I love Japanese Anime & Manga
- I have always had a fascination with Japan and would one day love to visit and tour the place, especially some of the older, more traditional places.
- I'm a big fan of Bizarre Foods and there are quite a few interesting items I wouldn't hesitate to try.
- I spend most of my waking hours on my computers and network from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. I also work on systems for family and friends.
- These days when I go into a computer store I am bored unless I something catches my eye or I need something.

I've got a reputation locally as being the one to go to when you have a problem with your system.
 
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:lol: if I lived near the Ocean, yes I would.

The ocean is one thing I love :)
When I was younger, I used to dive for some fairly big sand dollars.

Some of the information in my last post was directed at dpaul8 just to make a point, but at the same time, I was being extremely honest.

- Honor, Honesty and Integrity is an extremely important thing that can be added to the list about me.
 

dpaul8

Distinguished
Sep 15, 2009
341
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18,860
So the number of points a person has is not the best way to judge the trust worthiness of a persons answer as you have no idea how much technical skill that person may have under their belt in real life instead of the virtual world.

I apologize if what I said offended you. However, I never said that the best way to judge the trust worthiness of a persons answer is by their number of posts. In fact, I said something that is almost the complete opposite of that. I believe the quality of the posts are much more important than the quantity of posts.

However, given the fact that Tom's Hardware does not appear to accurately keep tabs on anyone's actual number of posts / points, what I said was of little value, and I regret posting it.
 
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:D < Chuckle >No offense was taken. < Chuckle > :D

I was just pointing out that you can't judge a by how they post.

Also, maybe if more people know a bit more about me, they might understand me a bit better. and it might help them to understand my answers in a different light instead of misunderstanding some of my instructions.
 

Gandalf

Distinguished
Dec 12, 2009
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This thread was not intended to question a member's value to the site. My concern was to the functionality of an aspect of the site. I learned long time ago that fixing little errors could prevent big errors. If message count is incremented on a timely basis, I do not see why point count can't be. Unless point count is implemented manually. I certainly hope that is not the case.

Be the way, to those who are reading this... Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
 
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I just took another look at my points and here is how it's currently looking for me.

50 points = Creating your account
50 points = Confirming your email
40 points = Best answer in a thread (Times 2 = 80 Points)
10 points = Opening a « discussion » thread
==========================================
190 points total

4 Points = Posting answer posted on a Thread
4 Points = Posting comment on News
==========================================

351 messages posted x 4 = 1404 Points

If you count this post, it'll be 352 posts and 1408 Points

1404
+ 190
======
1594 Points

1598 Points if you count this post, yet my points are currently stuck at 1159 Points.
 


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I don't mean in that way. I just only saying that the newcomer could not come back to the forum 'cause they counter points doesn't increase.

I am not lose my time here, because everyday i learn something new, in fact, till today at 21:00 (GTM -5) i found that my counter points doesn't increase.