A New VIP?

[demonsushi]

I'm glad everyone can agree on an alternative to the original idea, and I think it's more on-the-mark than, "VIP for forum popularity".

As everyone stated earlier, VIP for forum stuff just doesn't work. VIPs are VIPs because they help/have helped the community on a direct basis, be it through moderation, advertisement, or creation. Forum members do so on a less direct route, assisting and bettering players who are already involved with our community (I consider owning a forum account as a significant step in being part of MCGamer's larger community and culture). There's no question that they are influential and appreciated, but their assistance may not warrant such a generous privilege. It's, "bringing in new people" versus, "helping the ones who are here now".

But for that reason, I've been trying to find non-rank-related ways to encourage good posts and great posters. There are three new forum trophies that were added in (Positive Poster, Power Poster, and Profound Poster) that measures Like/Message ratio after 20 posts or so, thus encouraging people to make thoughtful posts. I was hoping to do something with the Medals system too, though that's still very much WIP. I'd also like to have some unlockable forum abilities as well, like text colors or fonts, but I do not believe Xenforo will allow us to do so; there are no options to configure the text editor with rank/trophy/medal-specific functions.

If anyone knows of anything else we can do, I'm all ears.

Thank you!!! I don't have any further suggestions but thank you for the lengthy response

 

[BlueHeron]

I strongly disagree with VIP for forum popularity. I mentioned this a couple of days ago somewhere, but forums are places for open discussion, not popularity contests. The beauty in a forum is that it's a place where anyone can post their own opinion, debate, and receive feedback. We're all of equal minds on this site, and there's no reason for one member to have a higher rank just because he has more friends.

 

[WilloWizard]

While it is true that VIP stands for "Very Important Person," the point behind the VIP rank is the fact that they have significantly helped the server. YouTubers bring in new users as they advertise the server. Builders help make the servers more fun and diverse. Ex Sr. Staff Members do a helluva lot behind the scenes, and are doing a ton to help the server. Having followers on the forums? Not much aide to the server being provided there.

Actually, most people subscribe to MCSG YouTubers because they are recognised for SG content.

I also love how MCSG YouTubers who don't have 20k subscribers (or didn't have 10k when that rule was still around) make a big fuss about not being able to disguise after Friend rank was taken away and are given VIP just because they asked for it.

There is also a certain person that got Friend Rank for being a friend of senior staff just before it got removed, and then a couple of days later he gets VIP because of the same reason. I don't really remember him contributing to the community at all in that time, and he still doesn't really do anything towards it now, as far as I know.

So I'm not just arguing with someone and contributing to the thread, I'd like to suggest a new rank being made. Something that recognises people's achievements that are not important enough to earn them VIP, much like Friend rank. I'm sure the Devs still have the code for friend rank, and maybe even a list of names, perhaps.

I'm pretty sure that'll kick up a bit of a fuss, but hey - this whole thread already did, to be honest.